Itinerary Check

It sounds like a lovely trip. I like that you’re spending enough time in each location to slow down and enjoy the wine and gelato! My only suggestion would be to fly into Milan and start at Lake Como. We did that on our first trip and it was the perfect place to get back on your feet after jet lag. Then to Florence and Tuscany. Then you would be perfectly situated for Rome without backtracking, and you can explore Rome without jet lag. Depending on which location you choose in Tuscany you can return the car in Florence, Siena or even Chiusi and train into Rome. Then easy hop from Rome to Sorrento, Amalfi, Salerno or wherever you chose. Finish up in Naples and fly home. My only other personal plug is for Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples for a couple of 3 nights before flying home. Where we stayed was magical. I’m so glad we didn’t skip it. The planning is almost as much fun as the trip itself!

Gigi's right about changing your flights and starting in the slower paced lake region while you absorb the atmosphere and get over jetlag and lack of sleep. Rome is a big, hectic, noisy, often confusing city, definitely not the place to start.

Driving around Tuscany in September is not likely to be relaxing. You can't drive into hill towns, you have to park in lots below the town centers. Parking is often very limited, if you don't arrive early, you may have to wait a considerable length of time for a spot to open up. I'm not a hiker, so I don't know where you'd find hiking trails. If you want a wonderful place to hike, consider going to the Dolomites between Como and Florence. Stay for 3 nights or more in one of the towns and use buses and ski lifts to access the trails, there are varying levels from easy to challenging. If you want to see Tuscan or Umbrian hill towns, base in one and use public transportation.

Consider staying a night or 2 in Salerno if you want to daytrip to Calvello. From Amalfi. It's an hour and 15 minutes by bus to Salerno. It can take half an hour just to rent the car. Google maps shows a 2-hour drive. You should plan to spend your last night in Naples so you have a relaxing day before heading to the airport. There's plenty to see and do in Naples. I wouldn't want to be in transit from Amalfi town to the Naples airport. Too much could go wrong. Even from Salerno, you'll want to have plenty of time to get to the airport and you'll have your luggage with you, so once you get to Naples, where are you going to go with hours of free time?

Hi,
Thanks for the input. We are flying into Rome because we want a direct flight and there aren't any to Milan from our city.