Italy itinerary bottom of country to top - advice, please

you consider that a vacation? Wow

Lovely places, but it seems to me there are quite a few stops with too many day trips listed for the time you'll have available. I say that as someone who is always totally dependent on public transportation, however.

Although a day trip from Bologna to Ravenna will allow you to see the seven major mosaic sites, it won't be sufficient for some of the things I really enjoyed: the historic center, some more-minor mosaic sites, the mosaic museum and the art museum. The latter usually has an exhibition of contemporary mosaics, though it wasn't open in September 2022. I'd recommend 3 nights in Ravenna.

Padua's worthy of being more than a day trip from Verona.

I think you should split the itinerary across two trips. That might allow you to include Sicily.

I agree with Acraven, it seems that some of the places you're staying you don't have enough time to actually see that place because you have so many day trips planned. Granted I am not familiar with all those places so maybe some of those 'day trip' places will be multiple places seen on one day trip and maybe your base locations are just being used to see other places in the area and you're not that interested in them of themselves.. I have done day trips from a base location that included two other locations for 1/2 day each and sometimes that works and it's enough to get a taste. However, that doesn't jibe with your statement "Overall, we like a leisurely pace with time to get a feel for a place and its surrounding area". Somehow I don't see that happening with this itinerary. We all travel differently, but even if you like a fast paced trip I think this would best be done as two trips.

My husband and I did as you did for Portugal and Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro and it worked well for us. For this trip, you're trying to cover a lot of ground. You have a good chunk of time, so I think it's a good start. I'd certainly join you! That said, I would encourage to think about quality vs quantity. I think I'd break it into two trips, or, alternatively, drop 5 or 6 nights somewhere along the way (nights 29-34??) and add a day or two to some of your destinations, depending on your goals for each town. I don't think that you have adequately accounted for is the simple logistics. For example, how long does it take to pack up and travel from one destination to the next? (Bologna to Verona, for example.) Probably would need to factor in a half-day on the road, if not more, which of course decreases your actual time on the ground in each overnight location. Do you like to take a day now and then to stop and breathe? By that I mean to not have anything on your "must do today" schedule -- sleep in, do laundry, stretch out on a chaise and read at your agriturismo, whatever. For each overnight stop, you're listing a lot of day trips. I'm assuming you realize you can't do them all, but driving times alone will limit which ones you actually pick. Right now, your itinerary allows little/no time to enjoy the locations where you're staying. In Locorotondo area, it would be nearly impossible to cover all those destinations for day trips. One or two would be plenty. Even doing some of them, you'd leave only a little time for Locorotondo itself., not necessarily a bad thing as it's pretty small. We found that while places in southern Italy seem close together on the map, you need more time than you'd think to get around. Same for Lecce--a lot of day trips to accomplish for a short period in Lecce. You could easily spend two days in Lecce alone and pick one day trip. I haven't been to Bologna, but I have been to Ravenna, Parma, and Modena. Each deserves at least a full day. That leaves you no time in Bologna itself. You get the idea. I look forward to seeing how your itinerary develops.

@phred - Not a vacation, but it's a lot, I know. The trip covers a lot of ground like a Best of Italy tour. That's why I brought the full itinerary to this forum to get feedback. I've seen all sorts of itineraries and lengths of stay, on this and other forums. Recently retired, my husband and I are figuring out what works for us. I think he may prefer slow travel and to stay in one place longer, spoking out from there. I've begun to extend my fast travel to 3 or 4 nights at most stops. We're a travel work in progress. :-)

@acraven - Thanks for your feedback. It's often a challenge to find that balance of site-seeing, activities, and day trips. And, we've discovered that a good outdoor cafe or restaurant can derail the most well laid plans. :-)

We considered Sicily, but after viewing several YouTube videos, thought it might have a similar feel to Puglia and surrounding area and we wanted variety. (We loved having variety in Portugal!) That may not be the case at all. The original thinking was to do Sicily/Amalfi coast/Basilicata/Puglia in one trip and the Alps (Italian and Swiss) on another. Perhaps Bologna (and day trips) and Verona (and day trips) could fit nicely into the Alps trip? Also, I'll take a closer look ar Ravenna, etc.

Positano doesn’t strike me as a good base for 4 nights. We found the town, itself, dull. There’s very little to see other than over-priced tourist magnet shops. There have been postings here about the buses from there being packed and the need for long waits. Imo, Amalfi makes a much better base.

I would shift a day or even 2 from Sorrento/ Amalfi Coast to the Verona segment. Padova merits a least a full day, as does Vicenza.

"We considered Sicily, but after viewing several YouTube videos, thought it might have a similar feel to Puglia and surrounding area and we wanted variety. "

I just completed a trip that included Puglia and Sicily. They are very different. If you want to see Sicily you would definitely have to split your trip in two as Sicily deserves a minimum of two weeks. So many cultures included in one island.

Agree with Bob, as we just completed Puglia and Sicily also. Very different from each other. Both worth a visit. I like your original plan better.

The spring and fall shoulder seasons are disappearing as such- the crowds are coming earlier and in greater numbers. If you are flexible, I'd recommend going earlier in the spring, such as April , a week after Easter break. We were in Sorrento this past mid-May, and Positano and Amalfi town were shoulder - shoulder crowded already.
Also- more time in Lake Como, the most beautiful place to relax!
Safe travels!

I think your trip sounds very doable and exciting, but I would suggest some tweaks. By the end of a long trip I would want a bit more relaxed feel. You have 3 two night stops at the end. I would add more nights to Lake Como and maybe combine your dolomite’s into one stay. I also feel you dedicated a lot of time to the Amalfi area with both Sorrento and Positano. Perhaps taking one or two nights from Positano would give you a bit more time for the north