Itinerary

I am worn out reading your schedule. Stay longer in Sicily alot to see but skipping CT this trip. Florence in 2 days is a rush but if u must. 2 days in Amalfi coast area is rushing also. Any chance u can fly into Rome or straight into Sicily? That would give u more time to enjoy gorgeous Italy. Sicily does not get the advertizing it merits, ck out the highlights, you will be amazed.

Two weeks is a decent amount of time to see Sicily. Just Sicily. I had 18 days, but it wasn't quite enough without a rental car. Sicily is a large island with wonderful things scattered all over. Unless the sole purpose of your trip there is to spend a day or two with relatives (which I could understand but would regret), a two-day visit is pretty useless.

I urge you to drop Sicily from this trip and add that time to your stays in Florence, Rome or the Amalfi area.

Two days in Sicilia = at least a half-day each traveling to/from airports and destinations. What if one flight is delayed?

Save Sicilia for when you have time to actually see it. Enjoy the mainland for this trip.

If Sicily is a top priority because of your family connections, then I would skip Cinque Terre. You'd be better off flying into Florence, spending a couple of days there, and catching your connection to Catania.

Since you are not much for big cities, you could choose a base outside of Florence such as Fiesole. See http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/aroundtuscany/10-small-towns-near-florence/ and http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/italy-travel-cities-outside-of-florence

Same idea for staying outside of Rome; see http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/cities/all-roads-lead-to-rome and http://olivetreehill.com/places-to-visit-outside-of-rome/

Thanks for all your input. Thought this was a bit much for 2 weeks. May put Sicily on separate trip for another time. Regards!

"May put Sicily on separate trip for another time. "

Smart move - it's a great place and deserves all the time you can spare, but certainly at least a week to make the time it takes to get there and back worthwhile.

"This seems like we're living out of a suitcase, but don't see any other way to see all the sites in a short time!"

You can't see "all the sites" in Italy with even a long time, so just accept it now. In two weeks, you will see a fraction, of a sliver, of a piece, of what Italy has to offer. You'll just have to come back (Italy is addictive - I've been seven times since 1989, and still have lots on my wish list).

You won't be sorry leaving Sicily for its own trip. That gives you more time to enjoy "Italy" and when you go to Sicily you'll be so glad you have more time there.

Where you stay on/near the Amalfi Coast depends on what you want to do there. If you want a day along the coast, a day for Pompeii/Herculaneum, maybe a day for Capri, then Sorrento is best placed. Take the train from Florence to Naples, then change to the local Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. If you want to spend more time exploring the Amalfi Coast towns (Ravello, Amalfi, Positano) and the Greek temples in Paestum, then Salerno is a good base. You can take the train from Florence to Salerno. There is bus and ferry service from Salerno to all of the AC and both train and bus to Paestum. I just spent a few days in small-town Salerno and really enjoyed it. The historic center is 100 meters from the water and the ferry docks, lots of great, inexpensive restaurants. The AC towns are a lot more expensive, both for lodging and eating. But if you want a little splurge and some scenic relaxation, then stay in one of the AC towns. For 2-3 nights, keep in mind that it's a long trip there and back.

If you want 2 full days to explore your destination then you need to allocate 3 nights. Keep your travel days separate, and consider any extra time you find yourself on these days as a bonus - to get oriented, to hangout in a cafe, to browse the shops, to do any housekeeping chores like groceries, laundry, or updating a journal.