Itinerary advice for two adults in fall for second Italy trip

the opportunity to do a few water-based activities,

When in the fall are you planning on going?? What type of activities?

Reduce your time in Milan. Get advance tix to La Scala if it is on your list. Nice hike from Ravello to amalfi town if u like hikes. Stay one night in Capri it is dreamy at night. Book soon.

You’ve left a lot of options on the table. Whether you want to include another major European city will be up to you, but I’d advise against it. You should use those major destinations as the spur of their own itineraries. You could easily spend this entire trip in Italy.

Naples, Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Capri, this area is packed with terrific sightseeing opportunities. You could easily spend a week here. I can’t recommend it enough. So, if you’re thinking of shifting days I would put them here. I suggest staying a couple days on the Bay of Naples (Sorrento or Naples) and then a few days in an Amalfi Coast town. This will help maximize your sightseeing and cut down on excessive day trips. Figuring out the details here is a whole other ball of wax that will require it’s own research.

With that, I would skip Cinque Terre. It’s not the kind of place you can bounce in and out of. A day trip is pretty much out of the question. There’s also a certain amount of overlap with Amalfi Coast (stunning coastal scenery.) So, pick one or the other on this trip. Getting all the way from Milan to Naples is a long day, but easy train travel. Even so, you might consider stopping overnight somewhere convenient in between.

@CJean - We're planning on going sometime between Sept 27 and end of October, but are flexible. We were going to possibly rent Kayaks at some point, go to the 'blue grotto' and/or perhaps spend a half day on a beach, though that is very optional and can be worked in at will if needed.

@awrzesinski - Thank you, that makes sense. I was wondering if we really needed to see both Cinque Terre and Amalfi area on a single trip.

Unless you have a list of places you are dying to see in Milan, hold this to maximum 2 nights. (I assume you are stopping there to break up the trip from Switzerland.) If you skip the CT as recommended (and I concur) and hold Milan to 2 nights, you have 3 nights to play with. Add at least one to Muerren and 5-6 nights would not go amiss on the Amalfi Coast.

Stay at least one night on Capri. Seeing the Blue Grotto can’t be guaranteed due to frequent rough seas. The boats around the island didn’t even go out until our fourth day there.

Amalfi area is definitely an area where you could easily spend a week along with Capri.

Why Milan? It's about the least interesting city in Italy. If you want to relax, go to Lake Como. It is too time-consuming to go to the Cinque Terre as a day trip.

The Amalfi Coast offers much more than the CT. 4 nights is barely enough, especially since getting there from the north will take the better part of a day, and then you need another 1/2 day to get to Rome.

For the Naples area, I would go for 4 nights to visit Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and Amalfi Coast. Recommend basing in Sorrento.

I think you might not find going to the beach to be the best idea for the Naples area.

Why not fly out of Naples on the return? It would save you those two days in Rome since you've already been, to use elsewhere.

Thanks for all of the feedback. We will modify our plans slightly to add more time in the Amalfi area, which is an overwhelming consensus here.

A few follow-up questions:
-Does starting in Mürren and ending in Rome (or nearby) make sense, or would the reverse have any benefits? Arriving in Zurich and getting to Mürren takes several transfers and is not exactly short. I'm not looking forward to doing that jet lagged, but I would make it work.

-Is Naples really that bad to spend a night or two in? Rick repeatedly (in guide books, radio and tv shows) recommends having a base in Sorrento instead. Could seasoned travelers get by with a night or two in Naples, to get more immersed in the culture there?

Thanks,
Bobby

In the fall, start north and move south, so Mürren to Rome.

Mürren always takes several transfers. Coming from Rome you change trains in Milan, Spiez, and Interlaken Ost, then in Lauterbrunnen you take a gondola plus cogwheel train or a bus plus gondola to reach Mürren. Coming from Zurich you change trains and Bern and Interlaken OST, then the same drill from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren. When you do it, it is not as arduous as it sounds, but traveling with lightweight luggage will be a blessing.

Naples is absolutely fine. I wouldn't recommend it for a first-timer, but you've been to Rome. Naples is kind of Rome on steroids, gritty, more in-your-face, harder to cross the street. It's as safe (other than that street-crossing issue) as other major cities. Harold likes to say that the only subtle thing about Naples is its charm. If you spend a couple days there, you will find that charm. It's also cheap and the food is really good.

I would skip overnighting in Naples. I did not like it at all. Especially since Sorrento and Amalfi (town proper) were so amazing.

We went to the Amalfi coast for our honeymoon in early September and felt 4 days there was perfect to see all of the surrounding sites. We did not do Paestum, however. Allow a full day for Capri and another for Pompeii. There is a wonderful hike down the back side of Capri to a remote beach club that was a great way to chill out for the day.

I also would avoid more than one night in Milan unless there is a real draw for you to spend more time. I usually transit through Milan and stay in an outlying city when flying through MXP. Stresa or Lake Como (Varenna, Bellagio, etc...) would be a much nicer post-wedding stop - weather permitting.

If you can fit in a stop in Siena or Assisi on the way down, I would highly recommend that.