Italy Itinerary

IMHO, too many places, too little time. Arethe actual days on the ground 21 or 19? Don't count your travel over and back from the U.S. I would suggest Venice, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Amalfi coast. Skip Florence and Other places in Tuscany just because it sounds like you really want to see CT and you say Capri is a must do. You may find a couple extra days to get a feel of Tuscany/Umbria and if so, stop at Orvieto on the way to Rome. In 2010, my 21 day trip included Florence, CT, Rome and Umbria. I easily filled my days.

Michele We did somewhat the same trip-and others - did not do CT or Florence, however, we drove and we did spend 27 days not 21. Remember to account for travel time by train between these areas and in Tuscany train travel to some towns is non existent. Make sure you fly into one city and out of another.eg. Fly into Venice and out of Rome. Venice 3 days Train Travel to CT 1 day CT - pick one town (Vernazza is the middle) 3 days Train to La Spezia - pick up a car (we used Hertz not hard to find from train station 20 minute walk) Car to Lucca 1 day Pisa just a day trip and then on to Volterra Volterra 2 days San Gimingano 2 days Siena 2 days - leave car there and take train into Florence Florence 2 days Train to Naples and then local train to Sorrento 1 day Sorrento 3 days - travel to Capri, and ferry to Positano Train back to Rome - 1 day Rome 3 days This is 25 days including travel day back home. This will give you an idea on what you need to cut out. One word of caution if you decide to rent a car DO NOT attempt to drive it into Florence. There are ZLT zones that you do not see, they ticket your car and subsequently the rental company passes it on to you. Very expensive.
If you need any other help PM me.

Do you have any requirements for time spent in each place? For example, you say Capri is a must (which I agree with - one of my favorite places in Italy). How much time do you need to spend there? Is a night okay or do you want to spend multiple nights? Also, when you say Tuscany are there any towns in Tuscany that you plan to see other than Flornce? That's alot of questioins but could help you hammer out an itinerary.

One other comment - I like Shelley's proposed itinerary alot and think it could easily be trimmed to bring you down to 21 days. You could cut out Volterra and spend only one night in San G. and Siena. Just a suggestion!!

We did all those areas but in two trips. I think after a while it is just going to become a blurr to you. You can do all those places in 21 days the question is will you really remember and appreciate the places you saw.

Michele, That's a fairly "busy" Itinerary for a 21-day time frame. Does that include your two travel days? Visiting seven places allows three days per location, with no allowances for travel times. That would allow only one other location in Tuscany (besides Florence) and only one spot on the Amalfi Coast. While it may be feasible, you may want to skip one of the places on your list to allow for a more relaxed travel schedule. Using open-jaw flights would be the best option to maximize your touring time. Were you planning to use public transport to get from one place to another? Hopefully you'll be able to hike between the five towns of the Cinque Terre? One of the four trails is currently closed, and no word yet on when it will re-open. As you won't be travelling for over a year, it's possible it may be open. Good luck with your planning!

I think this trip looks ok if you consolidate a little. For "Tuscany," take a daytrip to one of the hill towns from Florence. Maybe make Florence a 4-night stay. For Capri and Amalfi Coast, stay in Sorrento 3-4 nights and take daytrips by ferry and bus. In the CT, you may not be able to hike all 4 segments of the trail due to trail closures. Two days of hiking should be enough for the rest. My suggested schedule: Venice 3-4 nights, Florence 3-4 nights, CT 3 nights, train to Sorrento (via Rome, about an 8-hr trip) 3-4 nights, back to Rome for whatever time is left. Add nights to Florence if you want to daytrip to more Tuscan hilltowns. If you take early trains, most of these train trips will get you to your new town mid-day. That gives you 2 1/2 days per town. Do plenty of research and planning in advance to make the most of your time in Italy. I've stayed in the CT town of Monterosso. Trains to Rome stopped there, thus eliminating the need to change trains in La Spezia. In my experience, two full days are usually enough to see the main sites of these places. I like to find lodging near train stations (within 10 minutes walk) so that entries and exits via rail are quick and smooth.

Wow, your suggestions are great, thank you! I have an idea of what I have to do, now. I really appreciate all of you!

We did our first trip in October 2010 with this itinerary: - Venice, 4 nights (minimum number IMHO. Don't short-change Venice time!) - Vernazza, 3 - Siena, 3 - Montalcino, 3 - Orvieto, 2 - Rome, 5 - Milano, 1 (to fly out)
That's 21 nights and looking back was too rushed. I wish we had skipped Siena and added a night each to Orvieto, Montalcino and Vernazza. We did not go to the Amalfi Coast until trip 2. I think you could do something similar to what Swan suggested, maybe trade out Florence for the AC. Also, I think you need at least 4 nights there to bother with a day trip to Capri.