Itinerary Help - Rome/Florence/CT in July (12 days)

This looks pretty good. It's a bit inefficient to have to go back to Rome instead of making this an open jaw trip, but if you already have your ticket or otherwise need to do a round trip to Rome, so be it. You should be fine using the train; if you were going to spend more time in Tuscany a car might come in handy, but Siena and Orvieto are both easy to reach using public transportation.

I think you are right that it will be crowded (and probably hot) everywhere. You may feel the heat less along with water in the Cinque Terre, but your other destinations are likely to be hot. I was in all the places you're planning to go last summer at almost the same time of year. In Rome, I found that the best policy was to go out early, then return to my B&B (air conditioned) after lunch for a rest. Then I would head back out later in the afternoon. There are plenty of things you can do at night: just for starters, the Colosseum offers evening tours, the Ara Pacis offers a night program (as do a couple of the Imperial Fora), and you can just wander around and admire the monuments lit up at night.

Regarding staying in Siena instead of Florence, since you've allocated most of your time to seeing Florence itself, I think staying in Florence makes the most sense.n

Thank you for your reply. We actually are not tied to going back to Rome - we just need to fly to London on July 12th to meet my husband's family there. I've never flown within Europe before. If flying to London from another airport, do you (or anyone else) have a recommendation? Florence? My biggest worry of flying out of a tiny airport is we end up on one of those airlines where the luggage requirements are so strict we end up paying through the nose to check our bags. We'll try to pack light but we'll be traveling for over 3 weeks, and in both Italy and the UK, so we need to pack for U.K. and Italy weather.

Also - any AirBnb recommendations in Rome or Florence or Cinque Terre with Air Conditioning would be SUPER DUPER welcome!!

OK, on 2nd thought, I think splitting Rome just for the sake of flying out of Rome makes little sense. So, then my dilemma is...should I travel from Rome (4-5 nights) to Cinque Terre (3-4 nights) to Florence (4 nights) and fly out of Florence to the UK, or should I travel from Rome (4-5) to Florence (4-5) to Venice (2-3) and fly out of Venice to the UK? With 12 days could I ALSO do CT AND Venice? That seems like a bit too much. I am sure Venice and CT are TOTALLY different experiences, but I'm wondering if it is smart to be in a coastal town for a possible slight break from the heat, or if Venice is just THAT worth it. But would I be totally missing out if I don't do Venice? Also, is the airport a consideration - i.e. is flying out of Florence a big pain vs. flying out of Venice? Maybe these questions belong on a separate thread...but if anyone can digest all that and respond, I'd be super grateful.

With a budget of 11 nights, 4 nights Rome, 4 nights Florence ( gives time for days trips to Siena or whatever) and 3 nights Venice and you are positioned for easy access to fly to London.

If you choose to do CT, do it between Rome and Florence ( or Venice). Trying to do Rome , CT, Florence and Venice is too much running around for 11 nights.

My $0.02

You also have the option of flying out of Pisa into London Gatwick on Easy jet. Many options p/day. If you need to check luggage, doing so when you book will save $$. Pisa airport is about 1 1/2 hrs from CT. Many flights per day.

We visited those three last summer in July. Did not visit Venice. Loved Florence. I would stick with your plan and fly out of Florence.
It was hot. It will likely be hot. Make plans for the morning and later afternoon/evening, and plan something mellow in the afternoon (picnic in a park, nap in the apartment, beach, sit in a cafe...). We hiked between all the towns in the CT even though the main coastal trail was closed between Riomagg. and Manarola. We stayed in Monterosso (but you can train there from Vernazza and hike back to Vernazza from Monterosso) and hiked to Corniglia the first day, and the second we trained to Rio. and hiked north up and over the pass (it is seriously UP, like a staircase up one side and another one down the other to Manarola. ...And we did it after lunch. In July. So yeah, while it gets hot, you can still hike in the sun). In Manarola we swam in the swimming hole and jumped off the big rock there (youtube has videos of people jumping here), and then trained back to Monterosso). We stayed in airbnb's in all three places.
For this I just look at the towns and figure out where we would be ok staying (area of town in proximity to what we want to see), and then study the listings; amenities (meaning AC), price, location, and reviews (!) You should look soon though. Its getting late to find lodging for July
Have a great trip!