Itinerary help!

In order to avoid staying twice in Rome, you could take a train immediately from the airport to Orvieto or Florence, either of which take 2 - 2.5 hours with one connection. I think Orvieto would be a lovely first stop. There's no need to book these tickets ahead. Orvieto is the cheaper train ticket, which is nice since you won't be getting an advance purchase discount on it. (Tickets booked ahead are useless if you miss the scheduled train.)

By spending all your travel time on land, you'll be able to add smaller towns between the big cities. See some itinerary priorities at https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary, which are fleshed out in Rick's Italy guidebook. The 2018 edition will be in stores this month. Most of Rick's two-week itineraries would include a Cinque Terre stop. For instance, you can spend a half day in Pisa and then continue to the Cinque Terre, instead of round-tripping between Florence and Pisa. Siena would be another great destination to either day-trip or add an overnight stop.

Laura's advice is excellent. We enjoy beginning in a smaller town while we're recovering from jetlag, and Orvieto is lovely.

Since you're already in Italy, I wouldn't want to head to a cruise. The evening dinners & mornings of many of the busier locations are some of the best times to enjoy a place before the cruise ship "day crowd" arrives.

Definitely recommend picking up a RS Italy book. It will give you lots of great information besides just itinerary ideas. Enjoy Italy - my favorite!

Thanks! I do have an RS Italy guide book, albeit a few years old. I’ll check out a newer version from the library and see if it’s enough different to warrant buying an updated version.

Orvieto first, hmm.... intriguing idea. I’d kinda like to head south to Sorrento first, but not sure I really want to deal with that hassle while jet lagged.

So maybe start in Orvieto, then on to Florence and Venice, train it back to Naples/Sorrento, and finish in Rome. With 17 nights do you suppose we could fit a day or two in for Verona? My 19 year is very into music and I think we’d all get all get a kick out of seeing music performed in the Roman arena. I hate to move around so quick, but certain family members want to see “everything”.

Regarding Pisa, this is easily doable from Florence. However, I found Pisa to be the least enjoyable part of our two week trip to Italy. If you really want to go, go as early in the day as you can. Once the hoards of tour-bus tourists hit, the place can be miserable. Be prepared to be yelled at (hey, you're ruining my picture!), pushed around (you're blocking my picture), and smacked with selfie sticks (oops, sorry!).

My advise, take a really early train (regional to S. Rossore), see the tower and cathedral, then go spend a nice late morning and afternoon in Lucca.

With 15 days to play with, in my humble opinion, I would catch a train directly to Venice and work my way back to Rome. (But, keep in mind that it's going to be hot in July.) The train will put you all to sleep so I would set your watches to periodically wake you up. The good news is the train ends in Venice so you won't miss your stop.

Verona is easily down via train from Venice as a day trip. Padua and Vicenza are also good candidates for day trips from Venice.

Florence is 2 1/2 hours from Venice by train. Florence makes a really good central hub for exploring Tuscany. But, if you want to drive, choose a hotel on the outskirts and don't even think about driving into the historic center. (Google ZTLs or Italian restricted traffic zones.)

If you want to go to the Cinque Terre, I would do it between Venice and Florence but getting in and out on trains can be time consuming due to its remoteness.

Sorrento is also a little out of the way if you are wanting to just pop in and pop back out. If your intent is to visit the Amalfi, you might want to consider a couple days dedicated to just the Amalfi and pick Salerno or the city of Amalfi. If your intent is to visit Pompeii, you might want to consider an escorted day trip from Rome.

Finally, I prefer to pick central sightseeing hubs and mix in-situ sightseeing with day trips. This minimizes unpacking, packing and transportation time. I have rented apartments in Venice, Florence and Rome and feel it's the only way to travel. You can get a really nice 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment for the same or less than multiple hotel rooms. Plus, in Europe, many "double" beds convert to two single beds.

Good luck.

Good points above, but my advice would be to forget going south to Sorrento. It is a long ways out of the way, would take a day of travel to get there and back, maybe more, and then you have the Amalfi, Capri day trips, so you would likely eat 4-5 days just doing that little bit of Italy. Use time elsewhere. My five trips to Italy we dedicated one and half weeks to the area around Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Go there next trip.

You about 15 free days in Italy. Your plan of visiting the three cities is a good one. I liked the suggestion of booking it on the heigh speed train to Venice right off and working back to Rome. We did Rome, then high speed to Venice, then train to Verona, then car to Portovenere and then back down the coast to Rome to fly home. That worked but we had a car.

Here are some thoughts.
Venice is great for 3-4 days, but day trips from there are easy. Padua, Verona, even Trieste (which few people visit).

Florence. 2-3 days and then day trips. You can get a tour of Tuscany for a day. There is Pisa, which I found interesting but most don't (Campo Santo was fascinating to me). However, the likely best is Lucca. You can, on a very long day, do Cinque Terre from Florence via trains. You could stop in Montecatini Terme to see a quintessential Italian town and have lunch.

Rome.

Day trips could include Ostia Antica, Tivoli, and Hadrian's Villa, even Orvieto, so you don't have to be in Rome all the time.

Again, I think you have plenty to do without going south. At any rate, have a great summer vacation.

Buon viaggio

The opera in Verona is fabulous! I've been twice (Aida and Carmen!) and if your 19 year old loves music, this would be a life-long memory. The opera tickets are also reasonably priced, given the general cost of opera tickets in the US. (You'll be glad, though, if you book seats in the designated seat section; these seats have backs and are more comfortable than sitting on the stones on the sides.) However, the opera ALWAYS lets out AFTER the last trains back to Florence have departed, so if you want to have this experience, you will need to book an overnight hotel room in Verona. So, here's one more suggestion: Once you land in Rome, take a fast train to Venice (it will take about 4 hours). Purchase drinks and sandwiches in the Rome train station and justeat picnic lunch on the train on your way to Venice. 2 or 3 nights there, then one night in Verona on your way to Florence. See Orvieto on your way back south toward Sorrento or Rome. However, you do it, suggest you plan one overnight stop in Verona between Venice and Florence. Do arrive in Verona early enough in the day to do Rick's suggested walk through Verona, and eat dinner before the opera. Opera website is www.arena.it. Do book your hotel as soon as you decide to do this; hotels book up quickly during opera season.

Thanks so much for that link!!!! Looks like they are playing Carmen and Aida around that time. I can ask my daughter if either of those sound interesting to her, and that will help nail down some of our itinerary a bit.

With some of these suggestions in mind, I’ll sit everyone down when we’re all together for Thanksgiving and I’ll let each person choose what to do for 4 days of the trip. Hopefully we will be able to come up with a cohesive plan!

Angela, sounds like a great idea to have everyone participate in the planning.

I like Laura's idea of taking the regionale train to Orvieto for a night or two, you will save a lot of money on train tickets. Best prices for the fast trains (Roma to Venezia) are available 120 days out, but these tickets will be worthless if your incoming flight is late and you miss the train (you would have to buy new tickets).

I also agree with spending a night or two in Verona. A daytrip to Lucca/Pisa from Firenze will also give your daughter a chance for music - Puccini was born in Lucca.

If your group wants to go to Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, it's a long day of travel, but doable.

You will have a great trip if you eliminate some of the travel between cities which takes the better part of a day(checking out, getting to the train station, getting from the new train station to your lodging and checking in) and do day trips from some of the bigger ones. For example, you can get an all day bus tour from the Florence train station to San Gimignano and Siena which includes lunch in Siena. I disagree with the writer who suggested a day trip to the CT. That area is NOT a place to do in a day. There are five villages and it is a 2 1/2 hour train ride with a transfer EACH WAY. I made this mistake, but realized it while we were there and booked two nights in a hotel in Monterosso the following week. Hike some of the trails and you will find the scenery breathtaking. Pisa and Lucca, on the other hand, are each an easy day trip. One suggestion for Florence if you decide you like the day trip idea. Consider renting an apartment for 4-5 nights. I can provide our rental agent if you are interested. We did 5 and it was great. My wife would buy fruits, veggies and flowers at the daily open air market in the piazza below our apartment and cook dinner several nights, plus we had cereal and coffee for breakfast. Much easier than being tied to a schedule in a B&B or hotel. I took my wife and her mother and this was our first trip to Europe. I learned from my mistakes and the next two, all two weeks, were much better. Since you are going to be in Rome twice, consider dividing your "must see" list in to two segments and make them distinctly different, but a minimum of five days. Have a great trip.

I truly appreciate all the help, folks! I think I’ve just about got everything nailed down, although it’s still a work in progress!

3 nights Rome
2 nights Verona
4 nights Venice
3 nights Milan (day trip to lake maggiore)
3 nights ???
Last night in Rome

The ? needs to be voted on... either CT, Florence, or Sorrento. If Sorrento we will grab a night from Venice to make it 4. It sure has been hard to choose! One wishes to see everything!!!

I think you may have some extra time in Milan. If so, I recommend a day-trip to the atmospheric hill town of Bergamo. Easily done by train.

Why not head directly to Florence on the afternoon of your arrival - it’s about a 90 minute train ride from Rome Termini. Then consolidate your Rome time at the end of the trip.

3 nights Florence
4 nights Venice
2 nights Verona
3 nights Milan (day trip to lake maggiore)
4 nights Rome