One Trip Northern to Southern Italy

For the places you list, and assuming flights into Milan and out of Rome, you'd cut your transportation miles by reordering your itinerary like this: (Milan) - Varenna - Tuscany - Amalfi - Rome. That seems fast-paced to me, but perhaps it suits you. Just keep in mind that 3 nights at a destination does not give you 3 full days of sightseeing time.

"Fall" could mean starting the trip in September or in December. Recommendations might be different for those dates.

I think you are spreading yourself too thin.

If you must 'do it all', I would do a 'one way' trip; arrive in Milan and depart from Naples.

Otherwise it looks like you are going to be spending your time in transit, rather than being someplace.

don't forget how long it takes to leave a hotel, transfer to another city, check into another hotel - well over 1/2 day - lots of precious time. I think you've got too much planned. 4 nights per town barely gives you 3 days. 3 nights barely gives you 2 days. Florence and Rome alone need minimum of at LEAST 3 full days and that is pushing it and not enJOYing and savoring. We do 6 days in Florence with Day trips into Tuscany. Amalfi is A LOT too. We base out of Sorrento and take a guided day trip into Amalfi. But we all travel differently for sure. Happy Planning.

hey hey jacksun
it's your anniversary and you say you're go getters. this is a lot to accomplish in 14 to 16 days, as joe32F and chinalake have mentioned. look at a map of italy, what cities you want to see and train schedules. remember that check in times to hotels are after 2 to 3pm, is there luggage storage or early check-in, time it takes to depart hotel and get to train station (use italian names and stamp tickets before boarding), checking in to next hotel, have reservations reserved for what's important to see, waiting in long lines, crowds. we have no idea what 2022 will be like, but lots of travelers are antsy to travel and fall is a very busy time to travel. i'm assuming you are doing trains, if you plan on renting a car, don't forget to get an IDP at AAA/CAA, parking is a nightmare, ZTL zones for $$$ fines, times for rental hours.
as chinalake says, enjoy italy instead of spending so much time in transport.
as joe32F say, fly to milan and leave out of naples (multi-city) instead of backtracking (more wasted time). be in the departing city night before, never know what "oops" could happen and miss a flight back to wherever you are flying back too. newcomers look at cost for budget and want to see it all in a short time, can't enjoy the beauty of italy since some are stressed out about getting here and there.
good luck on your planning, it is time consumming but you will get more out of it knowing what you research, plan and understand. the posters here will tell you good bad and ugly, all up to you.
aloha

Hi, I don’t know what country you’re coming from, so I will just guess the US.

Day 1 - leave US; fly to Europe
Day 2 - arrive in Milan at Malpensa. Train to Milan & Varenna (jet lag day - tired & inefficient day)
Day 3-4 Varenna
Day 5 - train to Florence, bus to Siena
Day 6 - guided small minivan wine tour or similar to see the Tuscany countryside
Day 7 - bus to Florence
Day 8 - Florence
Day 9 -train to Amalfi Coast
Day 10-12 Amalfi Coast
Day 13 - train to Rome
Day 14-15 Rome
Day 16 fly back to the US. Most flights out of Rome heading west will be AM flights, some very early!

I am very efficient with my time, quick changes to the next hotel, etc. and even I think this is rushed. Is it possible to add another 3-4 days to give yourself more time at each location? Otherwise, you will be sad to leave each spot, and Rome, etc. really need much more time. Would you enjoy a cooking class at one of your locations? Think of the activities that will really help you remember the cities to determine how much time you need vs. just 2 days here, 2 days at the next location.

If you’re not able to add days, I would drop either Lake Como or the Amalfi Coast. I’m not having you fly out of Naples because that airport is a zoo.

Hoping we’re all traveling again next year!

Morning,
We had to postpone a big anniversary (and birthday!) trip last May, so we too are excited to travel again.

We have been to Italy several times. Let me ask you this. Do you expect to return to Italy sometime?If so, think about splitting this up into two trips.

You could easily spend 5+ days in each place you mentioned. As others have said, changing places every few days is a hassle, tiresome, and reduces your valuable time in each city.

My suggestion would be, either stay your 14 days in Varenna, Florence and the rest of Tuscany & Rome, and plan to return to Amalfi another time. Or conversely, you could spend time in Amalfi, the Sorrentine Coast and Rome and save northern Italy for another trip.

FWIW, this trip, we had planned to return to Florence for 5-6 days, and make a few day trips through Tuscany from there, and stay in one accommodation in Florence, rather than changing hotels. Parts of southern Tuscany are only an hour or so drive south from Florence. Also, there are many smaller towns around Florence to visit. Our last trip to Italy was a week in Sorrento and we took day trips from there. Prior to that, we stayed a week in Rome and saw a multitude of sights, without having to change hotels . Took a train ride to Lake Bracciano to visit the castle (tour in Italian).

Staying put allows you to linger, wander, and enjoy places of interest that are less famous, but no less interesting.

Having said all that, you said you were go-getters. So am I. And it's your vacation, so if this is your choice, go for it. Just know, you will be travelling a lot, and not seeing as much.

I plan just like Jean--writing it out day by day. That itinerary would make me sad, but if it works for you, god speed!

Hello,
This is totally doable. I did a similar trip in 2016. I flew into Milan from there I booked a tour to Lake Como it was day trip. Lake Como from Milan is about hour drive or so. From Milan I took the train to Naples then local train to Serrento. In Serrento I booked another tour of the Amalfi coast. It was wonderful, but you can rearrange your trip from Milan stop in Tuscany (Florence) then continue to the south and back up to Rome. Its just researching what you want to do in each city.

I had a trip plan in 2020- Flying into Paris though it did not happen this was my itenary I would of traveled with my 10 years old nephew and niece.
Paris 3 nights
Day 4 fly to Milan
Day 7 train Florence
Day 9 train Serrento
Day 12 train to Rome
Day 15 flying back to Paris night before we fly home back USA

Hey 'go-getters'!

I mean, that's what we all want to do, right? Get as much experience in the 16 days as possible?

I am by no means a veteran traveler, but I have been to Italy 3 times in the past 10 years, and have learned that logistics are everything. You find out over time which ideas are bird-brained from a time-wasting standpoint, and rectify it next time around. And as stated above, we all jones for different things while traveling.

I've found that train travel, even though it decidedly takes longer than air, is actually more efficient for some. We have taken to finding interesting villages, towns and cities along the train routes, where the stations are smack dab in the center of town, requiring nothing more than stepping off the train upon arrival and walking a block or so away to our hotel, apartment or B&B. No security, no queues.

We did this in Lucerne, Switzerland for a 2-night stop-off between Paris and Florence, and the whole experience was utterly delightful. Our hotel was literally across the street from the stylish station. And we planned our departure for late morning, so we had plenty of time for a good night's rest, breakfast, and time at the station (or nearby markets) for provisions for the next leg of the trip. There's nothing more fun than packing a picnic for a scenic train ride.

Stuff like this--and we also stayed in an apartment a 3-minute walk away from Florence's SMN station--makes the term 'travel day' fun and part of the experience rather than a dirty word meaning wasted time. For April 2022, we're currently investigating an epic 17-day journey starting in Zurich, traversing the Alps on the Bernina Express and concluding with a week at an apartment in my favorite city on Earth, Rome.

Yes it is doable.

I've been to Italy 13 times, some fast moving trips, others just staying in one place for a week or more. But if you like to keep busy, are efficient in your moves and realize you will be skipping lots of things then this could certainly be a fine trip. What Jean outlined is excellent.

After a few fast moving trips I began to slow down, saw the benefits of 'slow travel' and starting advising others to do so as well, like most of the responders to your question. But then a few years ago I took a trip with a friend who had never been to Italy, rarely traveled at all, and of course she wanted to 'see as much as possible' so we did a whirlwind trip and it was great. Of course being very organized and not 'wasting' time is important. You need to book hotels in places easy to get to when you arrive in each place and research how to get to them. Also know all your options about transportation (will mostly be trains, some buses) between locations. And research what you want to see and where exactly those things are. But with good pre trip planning you can really accomplish a lot in a short time. I would take every minute you can get for the trip (so 16 not 14 days)

If you do decide to fly in to Milan, consider using Linate airport instead. You will save time and money getting to Milano Centrale for the train. I have found that it is less expensive to fly to Linate as well. YMMV.

After a few fast moving trips I began to slow down, saw the benefits
of 'slow travel' and starting advising others to do so as well, like
most of the responders to your question. But then a few years ago I
took a trip with a friend who had never been to Italy, rarely traveled
at all, and of course she wanted to 'see as much as possible' so we
did a whirlwind trip and it was great. Of course being very organized
and not 'wasting' time is important. You need to book hotels in places
easy to get to when you arrive in each place and research how to get
to them. Also know all your options about transportation (will mostly
be trains, some buses) between locations. And research what you want
to see and where exactly those things are. But with good pre trip
planning you can really accomplish a lot in a short time. I would take
every minute you can get for the trip (so 16 not 14 days)

Isabel, that's our situation. After 3 trips on our own, this journey a year from April will be with our best friends, who have been to Europe a couple times but not Italy. We've traveled domestically together but not abroad.

That's why, like you say, it's so important to suss out the intra-country travel aspects in advance so there are few surprises. Of course, there are always going to be some, even for places we've visited before. It's Italy, where Plan A is occasionally Plan B and sometimes Plan C!

And I think a dynamic of traveling with others should involve planning 'possibilities' or options rather than set-in-stone. For example, we're thinking of 10-11 days of quasi-whirlwind travel from Zurich, Chur, Lecco, Verona and Florence--all along the train lines--to a final chill of a week in Rome. There--as we did 5 years ago with just my wife & I--we had many things to do if we wanted, but nothing hammer-down reserved. This was late February, when it was easy to get into most restaurants or attractions. We're thinking of a similar plan this time. There could be a day when 3 of them want to do something & I'd be perfectly happy sitting alone at a cafe with a book or my laptop, sipping a caffe and people-watching.