Need help with itinerary for Italy for family of 4

Looks pretty good. Are you flying out of Naples? If so you might want to spend the night before your departure in Naples. There are lots of hotels near the station.

But, Portofino is nowhere near Sorrento. You may be thinking of Positano?

In Rome, if you have time, the boys might enjoy going to Acqueduct Park on the Via Appia. You may want to consider a few hours at the Borghese Gardens (if you are not interested in the Galleria Borghese), the park is extensive and in summer you may be able to rent rowboats on the lake, or take a Segway or golf-cart type bike ride around the park.

Get the vaporetto pass for Venice, you can take unlimited trips in a specific time period. You could go to Burano or Murano (or both), a little less crowded than Venice during the day. Good restaurants, too. Some of the churches in Venice have the best artwork. An elevator ride to the top of the bell tower in Piazza San Marco might be fun, too.

Try flying into Venice and out of Naples (or the other way around). That eliminates starting in the middle, going north, and then going south. Going from point A to point B almost always takes longer than anticipated, and you will want to keep in transit time to a minimum. TC

have you bought your plane tickets yet? If not, I'd consider flying into Venice and fly out of Rome - or the other way around. You don't need to make a big circle, just travel in a straight line. For example, fly into Venice and spend a few days there. Take the train to Rome - it will take all day. Or, you can fly to Rome. Spend a few days there and take the train or drive to Sorrento. Fly out of Naples. You don't need to rent a car either. We spent almost 3 weeks in Italy last year and we took public transportation.

3 days in Sorrento area is enough. We did a day trip to Pompeii & Herculanean. We took a tour bus to Ravello, Positano, etc.
You might want to spend 3 full days in Venice. Lots to see.
Rome - one day for the "Caesar Shuffle", one day for Vatican and at least one day for the city itself. Do go to the Borghese Gallery, it's worth it. Reserve admission time in advance, esp. in June-July. With so much to see in Rome, I don't know if I would take a day trip to Orvieto if it's your first trip to Rome.

Florence was nice too. You might want to think about substituting Florence for Sorrento. Do Sorrento another time.

Email me if you need advice or questions.

thank you everyone for the suggestions.
i already have my tix so my dates are firm as well as my arrival and departure city.

need to make sure sorrento is on the list as the the kids really want to see pompeii

In Venice consider a rowing lesson www.rowvenice.com

The kids will love it, probably much more than a gondola ride as it is hands on.

You don't have to fly from Venice to Naples. It takes about the same amount of time to take a fast train since you don't have to check in early for a flight, is cheaper, more comfortable, and has the benefit taking you directly from city center to city center.

Keep in mind that both the Spanish steps and trevi fountain are being restored, so they might not be as impressive as you'd hoped.

We're travelling to Italy this summer with our three children ages 7, 9 and 12. We only have five nights but I'm looking to extend it to six just because I can't seem to fit in everything we'd like to visit in Rome. I can't imagine trying to squeeze it in two days. We're also doing to day trip but that's to Pompeii because its a must see for my daughter. I'd like to do an overnight in Sorrento so that we could a day on the Amalfi Coast but that just won't work for this trip. You may want to really explore what the kids would enjoy seeing in Rome before you limit your time there. I can't even seem to fit in the Galleria Borguese which I think they'd enjoy. We'd like to visit the Vatican, Borguese gardens, coliseum and forum, palazzo valentini, piazza del popolo and the spanish steps, capuchin crypt as well as a few churches such as san clemente and St Peter in Chains. There's just so much to fit in. When you start planning your days you may find that there's a bunch of cool sights that your boys would really enjoy in Rome rather than spending two days along the Amalfi Coast (while beautiful, maybe not particularly exciting for the boys?)

Hi Cathy,

I'd like to throw in a suggestion. Have you considered a day trip to Paestum while visiting Sorrento? It's about 1 1/2 hrs (possibly less) south by car. When we did a trip to Sorrento a few years back, we visited Paestum in the morning and made our way to Pompeii that afternoon. It makes for a long day, but the temples are beautiful.

Happy Travels,
Amanda