Itinerary Help: Is Venice, Amalfi, Rome, Florence in 11 days doable?

For starters:

Since Florence is between Venice and Rome; no sense backtracking. Hit Florence as you go by the first time.

Depending on how you finally arrange the sequence, using a train would probably be faster, door-to-door, than the mess of getting to and from the airports, arriving at airport early, etc.

Don't take easyjet from Venice to Naples. Ed is right backtracking is a waste of time. Here is what I would do.

4/23 - arrive, spend night in Venice
4/24 - Venice
4/25 - train to Florence
4/26 - Florence
4/27 - train to Naples, train to Sorrento (take eurostar from Florence to Naples)
4/28 - Sorrento
4/29 - Sorrento
4/30 - Sorrento
5/1 - train to Rome
5/2 - Rome
5/3 - Depart

I agree..Don't backtrack to florence again..

Edited I should pay more attention

You might want to eliminate the Amalfi Coast leg of your trip and save it for another time or make a day trip out of it instead. I made a similar trip over two weeks seeing the same places and it felt very rushed. I can't imagine doing it in less time with a 20 mo. old toddler. Florence is not a day trip! You need to spend 2 or 3 days there to appreciate it.

This is what I would do:

Fly into Venice and spend 3 days. Move on to Florence for 3 days, then to Rome for 3 or 4 days and maybe allot 1 day for a day trip to the Amalfi Coast (you won't be able to see everything). That's still a lot of traveling to do with a toddler in tow along with all of his/her necessities and luggage too.

Scott from Dallas makes a couple of good points. One, you will feel rushed, so that is something to think about but probably unavoidable. Two, Florence is not a day trip, but neither is the Amalfi coast. Of all the places you have listed the one that needs the most time is Rome. You truly do need 4 days in Rome to experience most of the major sights. To best plan your trip I would pencil in 4 days in Rome including your arrival day and work back from there. You will still have enough time to spend a couple of nights in Florence, Venice, and Sorrento. Additionally, by spending more time in Rome you won't feel so rushed by the end of your trip.

thanks so much for all your advice!

it's a good idea to go down the boot instead of backtracking. i was thinking of skipping florence if we didn't have enough time. but i heard it would be unfortunate to miss.

i was afraid I was trying to fit too much in.
at the same time, we're kind of the drive thru tourists. get to the major point, take a few pics and move on. it's hard to sit and sip coffee with a child in tow.

i also heard positano is a must! the views look gorgeous! and coming from chicago where everything is flat it's a nice change.
but is the consensus to cut out the amalfi coast?
and just stick to the three major cities?

The big question you should ask yourself is if you came home and didn't make it to Sorrento would you regret it? If not, then cut it out and consolidate your time to Venice, Florence, and Rome. If you think you will regret missing it then give yourself a couple of days to check it out. Spend two full days there and use Sorrento as a home base to see Pompeii and take the bus ride to Amalfi. Then finish up in Rome. 11 days is enough time to see all those places but not enough time to fully explore each of them.

you all have been a great help! thanks so much!!

i'll have to do more research on what we "must see" vs. what we can skip in each of those cities and build our itinerary from that. but having scott's suggested itinerary is a good gauge.

i was planning on booking all of our hotels in advance. but if we can keep it open it would be so much easier to just go with the flow and stay in a city longer if we need to and move on to the next if we're done.

so last question, would you guys book the hotels in advance or book it from day to day? would that be hard to do there?

i'll have at least the first two nights in venice booked and the last 3 nights in rome. but everything inbetween i'd like to leave open.

yay? nay?

Nay on leaving hotel bookings till you get there - at least with a child in tow. It's just one less thing to think about while traveling with your baby. Planning as much as you can ahead of time, while you are in Chicago, baby asleep, easy computer access, etc. - you'll thank yourself later.

You could day trip to the Amalfi Coast if you hired a driver for the day (the Rick Steves way). It's a little pricey, but with the right driver, you could hit the highlights and see just enough to whet your appetite for your next trip. This way, you can leave your luggage behind and be less encumbered. Rome is definitely a 4 day affair.

hiring a driver for a day trip to the amalfi coast is a great idea!

that way i can just book the hotel in rome and use that as a base. rather than booking one in sorrento and risking not having enough time to get there.

and at the same time i won't have to worry about where we'll stay from place to place. b/c karen you're right, it probably isn't the best idea to keep it open with a baby!

should i just refer to rick's book for suggested drivers? or does anyone have someone they recommend?

Whew, I feel rushed thinking about this trip. We made a Rome>Sorrento>Florence/Sienna>Venice trip last year in 14 days and it was a little rushed. A few things: Using Rome as a "home base" for Sorrento (Amalfi coast) is not feasible. It is 3.5 hrs each way, so you would really be rushed. And also remember that flying between cities is just as time wasting as the U.S... It basically would waste the entire day checking out of your hotel, going to the airport, flying, and re-checking into your next hotel. A whole day out of 11 wasted. I would not do that.
In closing, having gone to Sorrento and Amalfi, I honestly think with this short time frame, it is the logical place to cut out. It's unfortunate, but it doesn't really work.
I would do this: Venice 3 nights> Florence 3 nights (with side trips to Sienna or Tuscan countryside) > Rome 4 nights. Take your time. Italy is EXHAUSTING. Its hot, fast, and confusing. And it is at its best when you can slow that down.