Itinerary Help and How to get there?

It really depends on your Dolomite specifics and how much time you would give up for that in transit. I am unfamiliar with that area but others can propose options. You could definitely insert something in Tuscany instead and it would be really efficient being between Florence and Rome. You can stick to all train/bus or choose to rent a car for the rural Tuscany portion.

Be sure to check the flights--often but not always flights out of Venice are super early and it's a pain, so you will often see the suggestion to start in Venice and end in Rome.

Be sure you're OK with the high possibility of miserably hot weather in Rome and Florence in July.

Florence weather -- July 2024

Last year was bad, as per above, but July 2022 was even worse:

Florence weather -- July 2022

Hello mtroopuh, and welcome to the forum!

This schedule seems okay but transportation around the "the Dolomites" needs to worked out in some detail.

Keep in mind that 3 nights somewhere is only 2 full days with days of pack, check-out, travel and the reverse on the other end.
Three nights in Florence with a day trip means a partial day in Florence, a full day and then a day spent in Siena or wherever you decide to visit and then checking out the next day. Florence has more sights and museums than you can probably see in a week but if you can see everything you "must see" in a day and a half in the city then it's not too fast. You just need to be realistic about what you can see in the time you have in each place.

My only other note is seems like you are flying out of Venice. Make sure your flight is not early - many flights that connect to the US leave Venice early in the morning to connect with flights in Paris, London, or where ever. Travel logistics are more difficult in Venice so while you can see the airport from the city it can be difficult to reach early in the morning. And if cruise passengers are leaving on the same day the small airport can get easily overwhelmed so you want to arrive earlier than later.

Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod

I'd suggest flying into Venice (or Milan) and out of Rome, for the reasons Todd mentioned. Venice is great for wandering and working through jet lag. Also note that Rome will be impacted with several million more visitors this summer due to the Pope's Jubilee. Would you consider skipping Rome this trip? Maybe visit Lake Como instead?
Do firm up your itinerary and book lodging asap. If you share your budget, I can suggest lodging.
Have a wonderful family trip. Safe travels!

But as far as the best place to stay in the Dolomites, Ortisei.

I just realized you also asked about trains in addition to your schedule. Yes, trains are generally the best way to get around Italy - especially when you can take fast trains which are the fastest way to get around.

There are two train companies in Italy - the state run Trenitalia and the private run .Italo that only runs fast trains between big cities.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html (Use Italian names for cities - Firenze for Florence and Roma for Rome - for best results)
https://www.italotreno.com/en

Local regionale trains have one price that never changes and can't sell out so there's no reason to buy them until you need them,
Fast trains have reserved seating, multiple classes and you can buy tickets ahead of time at a (sometimes significant) discount trading flexibility for price.
Rome to Florence > Fast train
Florence to "Tuscany" > Slow train or bus to Siena or a tour of towns you arrange with someone
The "Dolomites" section of you trip needs some clarification before anyone can tell you how to get there. It will probably involve a fast train to a jumping off point and switching to local trains, buses or some other mode of transportation.

To get to you hotel in Rome you can either train into the city from the airport or take a cab directly for a set pice of 50e or 55e
into the city center.

Honestly you seem a bit adrift. I would recommend getting and studying at least one Italy guide book to supplement your planning and maximize your time on the ground for your trip. Rick's book is the obvious one to recommend but there are many good ones that will list information about trains and list "what to see" sites in each city so you can narrow your choices and book tickets ahead of time. Both Rome and Florence have enough sites to take up as much time as you want to throw at them, so with limited time you'll need to make some hard choices.

Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod

I think the itinerary looks good. As far as being rushed, you could spend weeks in any of those places and still not see everything, so use the time you have and see what you can.

Reversing the direction might be a good idea if the flight schedules work better - taking a small boat from your hotel to the Venice airport during the pre-dawn hours might be incredibly beautiful, or it might be utterly miserable! You could also check and see if Delta will resume flying nonstop Atlanta-Venice this summer, since that flight probably leaves later. The other benefit of reversing the direction is you’ll be traveling north to south and you’ll have some time to acclimate before hitting Rome in high season in the Jubilee year.

Train is definitely the best way to connect Venice, Florence and Rome. We haven’t been to the Dolomites yet but check the guidebooks for details on where to stay and how to get around by public transit. You could also rent a car for just the Dolomites. We just got back from Italy last month where my wife and I and our teenage daughter spent 10 days driving around in a Peugeot 5008 - it had room in the back for all 3 big suitcases!

Good luck with the trip!

We did something similar in 2022 with our college age kids. We stayed 4 nights in Rome, 3 in Florence and 3 in Venice. Both of them stated they really enjoyed the trip but in retrospect would have preferred more time in fewer places, and due to a school trip in 2019, one of them had already visited all three cities.
Trains are great, and I advocate using them to get from city to city. I agree with other posters that said a little more research is needed; eg, are hotels with aircon available when and where you want them, what city are you flying into and out of, etc. We have flown out of Venice but it was to another European city and was an afternoon flight. I will echo the sentiment of others; catching a morning flight out of Venice will be somewhat challenging.

Look at what your flight options are from Venice to home.

Many flights from Venice that connect to US bound flights require a 4 AM ( perhaps earlier) wake up.

You may want to re-think having Venice last.