Need help to suggest itinerary for a 2 week trip from Milan to Naples

Much too much for 2 weeks. I’d suggest flying into Venice and out of Rome. From Venice, visit Florence where you can day trip to Sienna and Pisa and end this trip in Rome. Save the other destinations for the future. The easiest way to travel is by train in Italy. Easy to use and fairly economical.

There’s a big difference in experiencing a place versus just being there. See what these cities have to offer that interests you and share this with the Forum. To get an idea of what to see, check some of the tour itineraries on this site as well as diving into the Explore Europe and Travel Tips section. They’re a wealth of info on what the various cities are noted for, traveling by train, exchanging money, skipping lines at attractions, staying connected with your phone.

Once you narrow things down, request more specific info. Buon viaggio!

I'll second that this is too much for two weeks. Only you can decide what stays and what goes if you shorten your list but the more difficult travel logistics in and out of the Amalfi Coast make it the obvious choice. You don't mention a time of year but season can also dictate choices in some areas.

The classic Italian trip is Venice, Florence, Rome for really good reasons and with 2 weeks I think you can add a fourth location is you want to but that's really as far as I would stretch it. And since you already have side trips planned for Florence - Siena and Pisa - you need to consider those days as well. Milan is an easy airport to choose but compared to the other cities has much less in terms of "must sees" than the other cities. If you can fly into Venice that gets you directly into one of the big 3 directly so that is worth considering.

My general advice is to make of list of the nights you have, where you're going to sleep each night and plug in your travel times and see how much time you actually have. Keeping in mind 2 nights in a location is only 1 full day preceded by a day of travel with packing and luggage and check in/out of lodging along with travel time. Changing locations too much means logistics really start to eat into your "time on the ground" versus actually experiencing the country itself.

Make is list of your "must sees" - David, Uffizi, Vatican, Leaning Tower, or whatever they are - and see how much time you need in each place and budget your time accordingly. You will probably need to make some difficult choices and leave some things off. But better to do that than plan too many places to manage and return with mostly memories of trains, planes and automobiles rather than amazing sights, experiences and food.

Hope that helps. Plan well and have a great trip,
=Tod

Just a follow up since you asked for an itinerary and I didn't really address that.
Assuming you have 14 nights - something like this:

Day 0 Leave the states
Day 1 Milan
Day 2 Milan (train 2:30 to Venice)
Day 3 Venice
Day 4 Venice (train 2:30 to Florence)
Day 5 Florence
Day 6 Florence (Pisa)
Day 7 Florence (Siena)
Day 8 Florence (train 1:30 to Rome)
Day 9 Rome
Day 10 Rome
Day 11 Rome
Day 12 Rome or Naples (train 1:30 to Naples)
Day 13 Naples
Day 14 Naples
Day 15 Fly Home

I think this short changes Venice which should really get at least 3 nights and and Florence with the days trips but - leaving Amalfi off - I think this is with a day or two of the most reasonable schedule. Flying into Venice I'd add a day one of the two extra Milan days to Venice and probably the other to Rome since Rome will absorb as many days as you want to throw at it.

My opinion is you can't add Amalfi to this schedule without dropping another city or adding some more days.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

I am planning to cover all major tourist places in Central Italy -
Milan, Venice, Florence, Sienna, Pisa, Rome, Vatican, Amalfi, Naples.

Welcome to the forum!
When will this trip be?

What do you mean by "cover'? If you are just interested in a "drive by" of each of the locations so you can check off a list - sure you can do it. Will it be enjoyable? Wouldn't for me but might be for you.

What are YOUR interests?
Have you made lists of your must sees in each location?

There is no need to fly IN to Milan if you don't have much interest in Milan. The Last Supper is the big thing there.

Do you have a good guide book? If not you could start here and see what you might like and how much time you need for each.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy
Here is a whirlwind 3 week itinerary that still doesn't quite cover your entire list. It's got a lot of 1 and 2 night stays which are exhausting. A 2 night stay means 1 full day for that location. Each location change takes up at least a half a day, if not more. Each hotel change is time wasted packing/unpacking, checking in/out, getting oriented, etc.

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary

My bare minimum for your list would be:

Milan 1-2 nights
Venice 3 nights
Florence 3 nights
SIENA 1-2 nights or day trip here from Florence
Pisa- day trip from Florence
Rome 4 nights- one day here for Vatican
Amalfi- assume you mean the Amalfi Coast- 3 nights
Naples 2 nights

That's a minimum of 17 nights. All pretty easily done by train.
I would suggest dropping all locations south of Rome. I wouldn't consider Naples and Amalfi to be Central Italy.

We are doing the exact same thing but changed alot do to others suggestions. We did not want to live out of a suitcase like we did in new zealand. Our itinerary is
day 1 fly to milan, loose a day here
day 2 land in milan, private car to bellagio/lake como/varenna, for 5 days, taking in sights around the lake and train to lugano switzerland for day.
day 8th train to rome. 3.5 hours long,
day 9 rome
day 10 rome golf cart tour
day 11 train to naples/sorrento
day 12 sorrento
day 13 capri/blue grotto tour
day 14 amalfi coast either by ferry or car
day 15 head to naples spend night early early flight
day 16 fly home (florida)
we didn't really want to see venice or florence we are more into nice scenery great food, less crowds best you can, which is why rome is only 2 days. I do have some mobility issues and venice is tons of walking. study on these forums, you will learn alot of others like i did, good luck

Hello,
Thanks so much everyone. I have considered all the advice and also received an itinerary from a local travel agent who specializes in Italy travels.

Arrive in Rome - 3 nights
Train to Positano - 3 nights
Florence - 4 nights
Sienna - 3 months
Venice - 2 nights.

Few comments from my side:
- I am not so sure if Positano is required if I could see Cinque Terre. Is this right?
- do I need 3 nights in Sienna? Can we not just do a day trip from Florence to Sienna to see the country side and back?
- Instead of staying in Florence, is it a better idea to stay in San Gimignano and do day trips to Pisa, Cinque Terre, Sienna and to Florence. Is this better from cost perspective or will I be better off staying in Florence itself?

Please suggest. Thank you.

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary

Above is the Rick Steves suggested Italy itinerary. His expertise is fantastic! You just asked if you need three days in Siena. He recommends two in his sample plan. In any case, I'd recommend you read his suggestions!

Good luck and have a great trip!

Hi, this 2-week itinerary we did in Italy covers what you’re requesting, except Naples. You could do a day-trip from Florence if Pisa is a priority.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/mother-adult-daughter-italy-trip-aug-sept-2022

Flying IN to Venice is easier than OUT so I’d reverse the order
Venice is also a great place to get over jet lag

Venice needs more than 2 nights-give it 3

Stay in Florence-minimum 4 nights add a night for each day trip
sIENA can be a day trip but it is so lovely at night, I’d stay over

Positano is not required-it’s a long haul to get there as well-your choice

End in Rome minimum 4 nights

Something like this
Venice 3 nights
Florence 4 nights day trip SG, Pisa or other hilltowns
SIENA 2 nights (an alternative would be Orvieto)
Rome 4 nights

If you have 2 more nights you could slot Lake Como or Cinque Terre between Venice and Florence

All easily done by train ( except Bus Florence to SIENA then bus to Rome)

Thank you Christine. I like your plan.
I also thought to skip Positano.
So you recommend I stay in Sienna. Rick also suggested it.

I didn’t see any opinion on staying at San Gimignano vs Florence??

Stay in Florence,
Connections to SG are not that great

I agree in general with ChristineH's post. Two weeks may seem like a long time, but if you try to hit even half of your original locations, you would spend an inordinate amount of time packing and hauling luggage. You may not be interested in Slow Travel, but it would be a shame to miss relaxing in cafes and watching the Italian world go by. My husband and I favor doing a museum or site in the morning, then kicking back and wandering and exploring neighorhoods, stopping in a cafe, etc. There is so much to experience, I doubt you would regret taking things down a notch.

Have the best time!

Another welcome to the forum, ramsdesk!

Another vote for Christine's suggested itinerary. To be honest, what you were originally going to try and do was a little scary: way too much in too little time! That crash-and-burn plan is quickly improving, though! :O)

Venice 3 nights
Florence 4 nights day trip SG, Pisa or other hilltowns
SIENA 2 nights (an alternative would be Orvieto)
Rome 4 nights

Unless I missed it, It's still important to know what time of year you're planning on doing this trip? As well, it might help to know what sorts of things you wish to see/do in Italy? Those interests can help us suggest a day longer, say, in one place versus another. Florence, for instance is a treasure of Renaissance and Medieval architecture and art. If you like those sorts of things, you might only do one day trip from there.

As well, some attractions are closed on certain days of the week. If you have your heart set on some of them, you want to make sure you set aside time to work around those closures. It's one of several reasons I personally find Rick's own suggested itineraries too rushed, especially for first-timers.

Great to see the increasing fan club for Christine :-).

I am planning early September for about 2 weeks. I agree my earlier plan was too packed and good sense prevailed, thanks to all of you.
I do like Architecture, History, Art but hey, I can't do this every day. I like country side, natural scenery/landscape as well. Want to do a much relaxed vacation and not rush to every single place morning and evening and get too tired later. I really want to walk through the alleys in Rome/Florence, see the colored houses, sip a coffee, lick a gelato, stroll in the evening etc. At times, sit and just watch around you and do nothing. Not sure if this is too much to aspire.

Welcome your suggestions.