Hey everyone. My wife and I have booked our flights to Italy April 22-May 7. I lived in Italy for a few years and still speak Italian but this is my first trip back. My wife has not been before. Here's our plan:
4/23 - Arrive Venice
4/24 - Venice
4/25 - AM train to Florence
4/26 - Florence
4/27 - Siena
4/28 - AM train to CT via short stop in Pisa to see the beautiful lawn and the tower (staying in Riomaggiore or Vernazza)
4/29 - CT (hike day)
4/30 - train to Rome AM, Rome
5/1 - Rome
5/2 - Rome
5/3 - AM train to Naples/Sorrento sleep in Sorrento - I'm thinking about taking the boat to Capri here, then going to Sorrento from there in the PM
5/4 - Sorrento - Naples/Pompeii day trip
5/5 - Sorrento - Amalfi Coast drive
5/6 - AM train to Rome
5/7 - Depart for US
A couple of things. This itinerary hits just about everything we'd like to do. Naples is big and dirty, but I loved my time there and I have to get a pizza from Da Michele. The CT to Rome day is a little long so one variation I was thinking of is skipping the stay in Siena and going to a Hill town like Cortona or Orvieto for a night after the CT. We're both not huge art fans, so we probably could see most of Florence in a day. We're also planning on meeting up with some Italian friends in Florence so cutting a day there might not work for us. I also realized after booking the trip that our stays in Venice and Florence coincide with the Settimana della Cultura so all the state run museums are free. Could be a zoo though, plus we have to deal with Liberation day in Florence and Labor day in Rome. What do you think? Any suggestions?