Itinerary Check - Rome/Florence/Tuscany/Amalfi Coast

Day 8 currently looks like it’s a lot just to see Pisa. If you really want to see it, I would add Lucca since it’s close to Pisa. Then you’re not backtracking after Montepulciano. You might want to take the train from Florence to Pisa or Lucca and pick up the car there.

And since you will have a car, I would skip San Gimignano and pick some of the less touristy little villages to enjoy, along with Siena & Montepulciano.

The Amalfi Coast is easy to see by public transport- ferries or bus, unless you specifically wanted a tour.

Be sure to stay overnight in the city where you will fly home. Have a great time!

I would allocate many more days to Tuscany!It is a large area with so many wonderful places to explore. “Drive around hill towns” is not enough. You have to separate those towns and focus on them. Between Siena and Florence you have the charming Chianti villages.
We did not go south of Rome until our 7th or 8th trip to Italy. Save it for another trip and see even more of Southern Italy then.

I think I'd be tempted to drive from Montepulciano to the nearest train station with high speed trains and turn in the car there. Train to Naples then ferry or Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. Use the Circumvesuviana to get to and from Pompeii.

If flying home from Rome, you'll want to be in Rome the night before your flight. Consider travelling on to Florence on your arrival day and put Rome at the end of the trip.

Unfortunately, Pisa can be a common place to have luggage stolen from a car, so I would try to incorporate in into a day trip from Florence, easy by train.
Sorrento to Pompeii is so easy by train, so I would not keep the car the extra day, as parking can be a pain in the area.
It's not a huge deal to have a one-night stay in Rome at the end, but you could consider heading straight to Florence on arrival (train ride is not long) and save Rome for last.

Look at flights into Bologna (BLQ) or Milan (MXP). Either of these would make your trip flow better.

Thank you all for your input so far, I appreciate it. I think I may take the suggestion to take the train from Rome to Florence to start the trip and then end in Rome to fly out from there. It sounds like Pisa might not be worth it but I will reconsider doing it as a daytrip from Florence rather than driving there. If I skip it, I will add a day to Tuscany (maybe 2). I realize I need to do more research for Tuscany to see what towns I want to focus on once I have the number of days we'll be in the general region.

Hello Erin, to echo some of what Jean said, I would train to Pisa and Lucca as a day trip, return to Florence and rent the car there (probably the airport) and then drive to Montepulciano. You will drive right past Florence on your way to Montepulciano from Pisa and there is no reason to drive, park (probably with your luggage in the car) and then drive back past Florence. (I say this having driven into Pisa from Tuscany BTW.)

Also I would drop off your car in Sorrento (or on the way there) and return to train travel. Pompeii is an easy 20 minute train ride from Sorrento and unless you're way out of town there is no reason for a car there. Even then I would balance the cost of a couple of taxi trips against the car rental cost, parking costs, potential ZTL fines and hassle.

For Tuscan hill towns I would look at Pienza, Montalcino and other hilltowns within your comfortable driving radius.

I would say that in general your schedule is do-able but you are really tearing through the highlights at a breakneck pace. If you know you are comfortable with this pace of travel and/or you're doing the Italian sample pack to see what really interests you for a return trip then "you do you". But if you are just trying to check off as many things off this list as you can I suggest you schedule in some down time and be realistic about what you can comfortably and happily accomplish.

One of the great lures of Italy - especially in Tuscan hilltowns - is the slower pace of life and taking time to enjoy la dolce far niente. Be sure you're getting the whole experience not just seeing as many things as possible.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod

Tuscany can be overwhelming--so many choices. These two websites may help in ways a guidebook does not (but if you like to consult books too, get a regional one!)
https://www.visittuscany.com/en/index.html
https://www.discovertuscany.com/tourist-info/

How many NIGHTS will you have on the ground in Italy?
If you count your trip in NIGHTS you’ll get a clearer picture of what your itinerary looks like

It looks like maybe 15 nights? Could you clarify that?

Day 1 - Fly into Rome Day 2-4 - Forum/Colosseum/Pantheon/Vatican
Museums

Is this 3 or 4 nights in Rome?

Day 8 - Rent a car, day trip to Pisa, drive to Montepulciano Days 9-10
- Home base in Montepulciano, drive around Tuscan hill towns, thinking Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano (suggestions for ones to see?) Day 11 -
Drive to Sorrento Home Base Day 12 - Pompeii Day Trip, Turn in Car

Lucca is too far as a day trip from Montepulciano. We drove from Pienza to Lucca last spring- scenic route took us almost 3.5 hours. If you take the Autostrada it’s maybe 2 hours- still too far as a day trip.
SG would probably be about 2 hours from Montepulciano- also too far IMO.
Driving in Tuscany is easy but kind of pokey.
There are plenty of lovely towns closer to Montepulciano- stick with the Val D’Orcia area- Pienza, Montecchiello, Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico, Montalcino, etc.

Siena needs a good full day so you might consider day tripping from Florence.
Pisa is sort of out of the way- easier as a day trip from Florence and no worries about luggage left in the car.

I would drop the car long before Sorrento. Parking (and driving!) is a huge issue in Sorrento. Drop car in Chiusi (make not sure a Sunday as agencies will be closed) then take train to Naples (regional train then change at Termini or Tiburtina to a fast train) Circumvesuviania to Sorrento (or private driver from Naples if budget allows). This will be a long day so I don’t think stopping at Pompeii would fit- visit as a day trip from Sorrento - you won’t have to worry about luggage.

Day 16 - Fly Home (either private car to Naples or train back to Rome
and then fly home depending on flight prices/times.)

If your flight is on this day you need to be IN Rome the night before. If you fly out of Naples and flight is later in day you could stay in Sorrento night before, if early am you’ll need be be IN Naples night before.

RT Rome is probably going to be your best flights/prices. To eliminate the split stay/1 nighter- I would head right to Florence when you land at FCO. There is one direct train FCO to Florence at 1:53- could work if timing is right. Otherwise Leonardo Express to Termini then fast train to Florence
Put all your Rome nights at end.

Fly to Rome
Train to Florence- 4 nights- w/ day trip to Lucca/Pisa and /or Siena- there are several guided bus trips from Florence that include Siena, Pisa, SG- something to consider
Pick up car- drive to Montepulciano- maybe stop in SG on your way.
Montepulciano 3 nights
Drop car Chiusi- train to Naples
To Sorrento 4 nights- day trip Pompeii, AC, Capri
Train to Rome- 4 nights
Fly home from Rome

Check out Mondo Guides for your day trips from Sorrento
www.sharedtours.com
They are really fun and very affordable. We did the boat trip to Capri with them and it was one of our favorite things that trip.

All drivers must have an IDP- you can get at your local AA
Do your homework on driving in Italy- ZTLs, speed cameras, parking, etc. You don't want any nasty surprises in your mailbox after you return home!
We always book our cars with AutoEurope.com

It does seem like quite a lot of traveling...and are you sure you don't want to include Venice instead of Pisa? It's only about 2 hours by train from Florence... and it's stunning. Maybe you could do a day trip from Florence around the different towns in Tuscany if you add more days there?

We did two trips to Italy the past couple years and we divided it like this:

First trip: Fly into Rome--train straight to Florence for a few days, train onward to Venice a couple days, train back down to Rome for 5 days, fly out of Rome.

Second trip: Fly into Naples--straight to Sorrento, day trip to Pompeii, do Amalfi Coast and Capri, up to Rome, fly out of Rome.

I read through all your comments and revised my itinerary a bit based on some of your feedback:

Day 1 - Fly into Rome, train to Florence (Night 1 in Florence)

Day 2-3 - Accademia/Uffizi/Duomo (Nights 2-3 in Florence)

I may change these next couple days in order to spend some time in the Chianti area rather than Pisa/Lucca. If that's the case, I'd pick up the car on Day 4, spend Night 4 within the Chianti region or Siena. Spend Day 5 in Siena, and then Drive to Montepulciano for Night 5.

Day 4 - Day Trip to Pisa/Lucca via Train (Night 4 in Florence)

Day 5 - Pick up Car in Florence - Day in Siena - Drive to Montepulciano (Night 5 in Montepulciano)

Days 6-7 - Day Trips to Pienza & Montalcino (Nights 6-7 in Montepulciano)

Day 8 - Return Car in Chuisi - Train to Sorrento (Night 8 in Sorrento) - Is Chuisi the easiest/best place to drop the car off to get a train to Naples/Sorrento?

Day 9 - Day trip to Pompeii via Train (Night 9 in Sorrento)

Day 10 - Ferry or Bus Day Trip to Positano and Amalfi (Night 10 in Sorrento)

Day 11 - Day Trip to Capri or Ravello/Salerno (Night 11 in Sorrento) - Would Capri be a better day trip than additional towns along the Amalfi Coast?

Day 12 - Train to Rome (Night 12 in Rome)

Days 13-15 - Forum/Colosseum/Pantheon/Vatican (Nights 13-15 in Rome)

Day 16 - Fly home from Rome

I appreciate your feedback. I do know it's a lot of sights and travel crammed into a short amount of time but it will also probably be awhile until I will be able to make another trip to see more and there are many other areas of Italy I'd like to see on future trips.

This looks much better, IMO, even though it is still very hectic. At least you are aware of that. As for the question of Capri vs additional AC explorations, perhaps wait and see how you feel on the day. Transportation tickets for those don't need to be purchased far in advance. But since you asked, my vote is Capri (weather permitting).

Start monitoring the Vatican Museum website 3 months out (tickets are currently going on sale about two months out) so you can grab your ticket. The regular-entry tickets are selling out way, way ahead of time now, and September/October will not be less busy. Tours will probably be available closer to your travel date, if that's how you plan to handle the Museums.

Other Rome sights for which you should get entry tickets in advance (how far in advance varies) if you wish to see them: Colosseum/Forum, Galleria Borghese, Domus Aurea, San Clemente.

Capri, Ravello, and Salerno are not comparable. And to get to Salerno, you either have a long ferry ride, or a change of bus in Amalfi. Ravello is a magical place, but it's very small. Most people here would probably choose Capri, which is very big, hilly, and highly pedestrianized. It takes strong legs and good stamina, but is quite beautiful and special too.

This is few hundred Euros, but you can hire a car and driver (not a guide, a driver) from Sorrento to take you to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, plus a view viewpoint stops. That's one full day. Just an option, if you can afford it. That's what we did. Not a negative, but you'll only be seeing Sorrento on evening walks to dinner and after. But it's mainly a postwar, purpose-built, resort town, if attractive and with some good restaurants. Can't give a list myself.

It is not fair, because I haven't been to Salerno, but it is hard to believe that it is better than a nice, bigger, Tuscan town. It would certainly be less touristy, but also less historic.

It is not fair, because I haven't been to Salerno, but it is hard to
believe that it is better than a nice, bigger, Tuscan town. It would
certainly be less touristy, but also less historic.

Well, Tim, you should visit Salerno...on your very next trip!

However, in this instance, Erin, I'm going along with Tim and probably others, in recommending Capri as that day trip, or I believe there is a tour you can take to La Sorgente bufala mozzarella farm a few km's south of Sorrento if you wanted to not do the Capri steps & stay relatively close. Salerno's wonderful but on the other side of the peninsula & inland besides. Logistically it would not be fun.

And BTW, a good friend of mine has been basing in Sorrento just over the last few days and said the SITA bus queues were awful...on April 3! If you pick the month of September to travel, not to frighten you but the reality is it's guaranteed the Amalfi Coast will still be very crowded. October may be a little better, but still will be busy. I'm afraid high season is 6 months long now!

Day 10 - Ferry or Bus Day Trip to Positano and Amalfi (Night 10 in
Sorrento)

Mondo Guides offers an Amalfi day trip that takes you to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Very affordable.
You could sign up now and see if tour fills. If it doesn't can still go on your own,
www.sharedtours.com

Either way I'd skip Positano and go to Amalfi then up to Ravello.

Check their Capri day trip as well- a really fun day.