January Itinerary Input - Rome, Venice, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast

Given the time you have and having been to all the place you want to go on 3 different trips I would cut out Sorrento or Venice and just do two locations.

Sorrento is not simple to get to from Rome and worse trying to get there from Venice.

While visiting the Amalfi Coast in winter allows you to see it without crowds, note a lot of places will be closed. I heartily recommend saving it for a spring or fall trip (you can come back!). It also eats a lot of travel time to get from Venice to Sorrento.
I'd add more time to both Rome and Venice instead, just something to consider, good luck!

About Venice--read the many posts and articles about what is happening now, just you would be prepared in case it happens, but November and December are more common that January for flooding, so I would not worry too much about it. It is what it is, so all you can do is educate yourself.

Your trip sounds fun! We enjoyed the Capuchin Crypt In Rome and also did a food tour. We also went to their little zoo, which is an off the beaten path thing to do if you like zoos.

Sorrento is lovely but since you mention your and your husband both enjoy history and architecture you might consider adding Florence in between Rome and Venice and skipping Sorrent/Amalfi until you can go when it’s warmer. I believe many restaurants shut down for the winter months, which is worth checking out. Florence is also much easier to access via train from Rome and then easy as well to continue on to Venice.

If you’re concerned about flooding in Venice, you could check out Ravenna, which is amazing for history, art, mosaics and architecture. But if you do go to Venice, check out Row Venice - they teach you to row a gondola. I LOVED this experience.

Are you already tied to flying in/out of Rome? If not, flying out of Venice is convenient and would save you the trouble of getting back to Rome.

Reading (or re-reading) DaVinci Code and/or seeing the movie is fun - you can tie in the sights from the novel to the sights you see in Italy.

I like to book food and sightseeing tours when I visit new cities, even if it’s just to get my bearings. You can certainly get this info from a guidebook or audio tour, but tours - especially food tours - get you to the front of the line, back of house, etc. - cool experiences you might not get to do on your own.

Enjoy!

I'm going to agree with the others about the AC. First,you don't have enough time- it will take the better part of a day just to get there, and you need to return to Rome the the evening before you fly out. Second, the weather is too unpredictable in Jan. It could be cold and rainy the whole time you're there, and there are precious few indoor activities in that area. And third, as mentioned, a lot of places will be closed. That time of year it's more prudent to stick to the cities.

I haven't been to Venice so I can't speak to going there. We were just in Italy and finished up in Sorrento/Amalfi, we left 11/5. We had 3 days in Amalfi coast/Sorrento and saw Pompeii on our way to Sorrento. The train ride Naples to Sorrento is cheap, but painfully slow. I believe there were something like 30 stops. In winter, you have fewer options to get to Sorrento. We had wanted to go to Anacapri, but we didn't really have the time, plus the weather was poor so even had we wanted to go, I'm not sure there would have been options to get there. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Amalfi from Sorrento on the bus. It is a fairly pleasant bus ride but does eat up a lot of time. We ate at a wonderful restaurant in Sorrento, but they like others would be closed in January. IMO, at off times of year, its better to go to bigger cities to hedge your bets in case of poor weather. I think I'd either add the Amalfi time to Rome or I'd go to Florence as suggested.

Thank you all for the suggestions! So if we do Florence instead of Amalfi. Maybe spend a night or two on the way back from Venice to Rome? I definitely don't want to fill up the trip too much, but also don't want to waste any opportunities either.

Yes, you could do that if you are interested in Florence, or you could read up and choose somewhere else, or just do day trips from Venice and Rome. All good options, I just would not want to go to the Amalfi coast in January. I'd much rather go somewhere that can be at its best even in winter.
To maximize time, you could depart for Florence upon arrival in Rome (it's not a long trian ride), or even head all the way to Venice if you arrive very early. That way, you could put all of your Rome time together at the end and not have to split the stay.

Day 10: travel back to Rome to fly home.

You really should spend the night before your flight in Rome. ( it is unclear to me if you plan to fly out the day you 'travel back to Rome', or fly out on 'day 11')

Given you arrival time in Rome, had you considered going directly to Venice? ( 2 or 3 nights)

Then Florence and then end in Rome. This would save one hotel change.

For the time you have and the time of year Sorrento is really stretching you thin, for what could be less than ideal conditions.

We fly out of Rome on day 10 at 2pm. Would coming from Florence they day of flying out still not be advised?

While 2pm is plenty of time, there can occasionally be transport strikes, so most would probably err on the side of caution. To me it is just a personal preference to go to the farthest place first and work back.

The flight leaves at 2PM ( presumably to the US?) therefore the standard advice is to be at FCO by 11AM.

To do this you should be ON a train out of Florence no later than 7AM. And hope nothing goes sideways.

On paper it works, but I would not want to spend my last night in Florence munching Tums like M&Ms.

Your risk tolerance may be different than mine.

Rome is a great airport. I was pleasantly surprised. Very easy to navigate thru it. We even took the express train which was also problem free. Even with all that, I would stay in Rome the night before. Even in a country not prone to striking I'd be concerned being so far away and reliant on public transportation, the night before a flight. Also, it ended up being a nonevent for Florence, at least, but there was a rail strike declared on a day that we planned to go from Florence to Siena.

The uncertainty (however slight) of making it to the Rome airport on time after spending the night in Florence is a major reason why many people would choose to travel on to either Florence on Venice (or other destination) the day they fly in from the US. Putting the stay in Rome at the end of the trip positions you where you want to be for the flight home. You may be--as many of us are--fuzzy-brained on your arrival day anyway, so it's a good use of that time to travel to one of your other destinations. Then your last full day in Italy can be spent fully enjoying Rome, and you'll even have time for a leisurely breakfast on your departure day.

I think we’ll take everyone’s advice and make sure to be in Rome the night before. Thanks!

Any recommendations for Florence and wine tasting in January? I’ve read a lot will be closed and the vines will be pruned.

If you have not yet booked your flights consider flying into Venice from the US and flying home from Rome (open jaw or multi city booking). This should help you make better use of your time,. Venice is a great place to get over jet lag as you will be outside a lot, or walking, or taking the vaporetto, all outside! In Venice consider visiting the Guggenheim Museum, the Ghetto, and the workshop where they make/repair gondolas. Last time I was there I treated myself to lunch at Florian’s on the Piazza San MArco. Probably the most expensive ham sandwich I have ever had but such fun sitting and watching the world go by for a couple of hours on a hot sunny day. Unfortunately going in January may preclude this! No one can predict what the weather will do in January in Venice but be prepared for rain, cool temps. Buy a vaporetto pass for the length of your stay, you will be using it quite a lot.

Rome, definitely a food tour, I did one of Testaccio which is a less touristy area of Rome but an area with a long and interesting history. I used Eating Italy and it was a great tour with more than enough to eat and drink! Luckily lots of walking between food stops! They offer one of Trastevere as well. Visit San Clemente a lovely old church near the Colosseum, which is built on top of a very early Christian site which is built on top of an older temple. From the newer church you descend through the different layers, walk along Roman streets etc. A wonderful way to understand the many layers of Rome. Certainly, if the weather is clear go up to the top of the Victor Emmanuel monument for great views across Rome. Walk through the Jewish Ghetto with its reminders of Rome’s past ancient and more recent. The Pantheon, try and get there early before the crowds, the piazza Navona and Campo de’ Fiori with its market. Of course the Colosseum, the forum and the Circus Maxima and ...well you don’t have enough time for it all. If time permits the ancient city of Ostia Antica is an easy journey by train out of Rome and never seems to be too crowded.

Get hold of good guidebooks and see what appeals to you... Rick Steves has some good walks around Venice and Rome but don’t feel you have to slavishly follow them. If you are planning on going to the Vatican Museum look at booking an early morning tour - there is one called Pristine Sistine which is well recommended on this forum.

How many NIGHTS do you have? Count your trip in nights not days.

Just because its January I'd drop Sorrento- go to Florence instead. There just won't be much open in Sorrento- although probably more open there than the actual Amalfi towns, ferries not running and I'd think the weather might be lousy as well.

Have you booked flights? If not try to book open jaw- INTO Venice out of Rome- much easier to depart from Rome than Venice.
If you have already booked RT Rome then consider heading out on your arrival day to Venice- not sure but there might be trains to Venice from FCO?

I'm going to assume you have 10 nights
(If you have 11 nights add 1 to Rome)

Do 3 nights in Venice, -- 2 nights is only 1.5 days- not enough time especially if you want to see Murano- (we like Burano much better) Train to Florence- 3 nights there, then train to Rome for your final 4 nights all together in Rome- this eliminates 1 hotel change and has you in your departure city night before departure. I would not chance anything else- not even for a 2 PM flight.

Rome-
Don't miss the Borghese Gallery- must book tix in advance
Food tours are also fun- Eating Europe offers several- use EATWELL10 for a discount
https://www.eatingeurope.com

We also liked the Capuchin Crypt.

Florence- check museum schedules- some are closed Mon, some on Tues
Might take a day trip from Florence to Lucca or Siena those are easy to get to on your own
Or Walks of Italy offers some good ones (also has tours in Rome and Venice- we've done several in Rome- all good)
They are running a 25% off sale now- that's a real savings!
https://www.walksofitaly.com

Venice
Get a length of stay vaporetto pass- money well spent
We very much enjoyed the Secret Itineraries tour of Doges Place
https://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/special-itineraries/secret-itineraries-tour/

Alessandro's cicchetti tour is lots of fun
https://www.schezzini.it
email him

You can book a timed entry to St Marks- not sure how necessary in Jan but it's only 3 euros- check the schedule and try to be there when interior is illuminated
https://basilicasanmarco.insidecom.it/en/attractions-in-veneto/tickets/skip-the-line-saint-marks-basilica/#choose

The easy solution to your departure flight dilemna is to save Rome for the end of your trip. Go directly to another destination (Venice or Sorrento/Florence) on your arrival day. Yes, it's extra travel after a long flight, but the arrival day is usually one of the least productive days of a trip anyway so you might as well spend a few hours of it making the end of your trip simpler.