One week in Italy

You could easily do both Rome & the Amalfi coast section in 8 days. As a solo traveler, you can get around much quicker then while waiting for any others to get moving.

I think I might do that, but if I have a round trip ticket to Rome how would you plan it, would you do like 2 days in rome then 2 amalfi/naples then back to rome for 3 days or would you do 4 or 5 days in rome then 2 days and then backtrack back to rome to fly out?

To answer your question about combining the two cities – I would suggest going from Rome to Naples on the day you arrive, and then later return to Rome for your vacation there. You can check skyscanner.com to see if there are any budget flight options, or take the train.

However, I would suggest you consider spending your whole time in Rome. When I was in a position of having very limited vacation time and really needing relaxation, I found it much more enjoyable to go to one city for a week to 10 days, taking day trips from that city if desired. It was so much more relaxing than trying to learn different cities, dealing with the transportation issues, and dealing with checking in and out of various hotels. You could easily keep yourself occupied for a week in Rome itself, and there are a number of enjoyable day trips -- Orvieto for a hill town, Tivoli, Naples/Pompeii, and many more.

Are you flying in and out of Rome? If so, you could possibly add another city for maybe 2 nights, or just stay in Rome and do day trips. You don't want to waste the precious time you have traveling. Relax and enjoy your trip!

I haven't bought tickets yet, but I also do like the idea of staying put in Rome. It reminds me of when I first went to Paris for barely 2 days, rushed and didn't see much, but years later I went back for 6 nights and fell in love with it. So maybe it would be worth it to really get to know Rome well and hit other cities on another trip down the road.

You can certainly find enough to do in Rome. And if you feel you want to do day trips, you can do so from Rome.. I'm a traveler who likes to stay put in one area. That being said, we spent 8 days in Sorrento and from there did trips to Capri, Positano, Pompeii, etc. Rome is wonderful and so much to see. I think your time will be well spent there. Maybe save the Amalfi coast for another trip.
I'd also recommend renting an apartment.

I am planning on spending 6 nights in Rome and doing a day trip to Assisi, thereafter spending 4 nights in Palermo with the intentions of meeting relatives. My flight is from home to Rome and return to home base on 1 ticket and another ticket to fly round trip to
Palermo and back to Rome for return to home base on original ticket. This may seem the wrong way but checking prices it was better to purchase two separate tickets rather than doing a Multi-City ticket. I am staying in a Monastery in Rome and booking my tours online. I project to be saving roughly $1500 for 3 people.

A week in Roma is a good start! We are going on 3 1/2 years and have not yet finished....

If you base in Roma and get bored, you can always go to Tivoli and Villa d'Este, Ostia Antica, Orvieto, or even Pompeii as a day trip.

Seven nights on the ground is not a lot, and traveling solo you can find a relatively inexpensive place in a cool Roman neighborhood to stay for the duration (maybe Trastevere?) & daytrip it from there if and when you feel like it. Pompei is a tad more than 2 hours by train each way but pick a good day weather-wise to view the magnificent ruins.

Or, if you wanted to stay somewhere else first, take Sherry's advice and go directly from Rome to Naples, then stay a couple nights on the Amalfi Coast before returning to Rome for the remaining 5 nights. Plenty of options there, and in May, although it's technically high season you won't see the throngs of tourists that you would later in the summer and into early fall. I am partial to lesser-known A.C. villages like Cetara, Ravello and Minori.

Day 1 Arrive Rome. Train to Naples and Sorrento (4 nights)
Day 2 Day trip to Capri
Day 3 Day trip to Pompeii and Naples
Day 4 Day trip to Positano and Amalfi
Day 5 Train to Naples and Rome (3 nights)
Day 6 Rome sights
Day 7 St Peters and the Vatican
Day 8 Depart Rome

Would I go to Naples first from Rome right away to avoid traveling back to Rome just to fly out of Rome? I haven't thought of that.

also, if I were to do the Naples on the day I arrive, would it be best to pre order a ticket in advance for the high speed (1hr) or play It by ear in case of delay and buy regional train tickets? Maybe high speed for the trip back to Rome?

Couple options there, Bryan.

If you are arriving Rome late afternoon or evening, I would wait until the next day if you wanted to begin your vacation in Naples or on the Amalfi Coast.

But if you are arriving at Rome Fiumicino airport in the morning after an overnight flight from the States, then yes, you would get over to the Roma Termini train station, then take the train to Napoli Centrale station. From there, if your destination is Sorrento on the north of the Amalfi Coast, either take a different train there or ferry/hydrofoil to Capri, then another ferry to Sorrento.

However, if you will be staying at one of the towns on the southern coast--Amalfi, Ravello, Positano--you may be better off staying on the same Rome/Naples train to the end of the line--only another 40 minutes--to Salerno, then take a SITA bus (or again, a ferry/hydrofoil) to your destination.

RE: what kind of train tickets to buy, like you say play it by ear and buy a regionale ticket to Napoli Centrale upon arrival at Rome Fiumicino. That place can be a cluster-you-know-what of epic proportions, so you don't want to have a train to catch. I didn't check but I don't think you would save that much money by buying in advance. Back to Rome? You can A/B it but I think the same applies there.

Going to Salerno seems interesting. How is it staying near Amalfi as opposed to Sorrento?

Salerno is very interesting. We used it as a base in March, stayed there 5 nights at a great B&B. Not that it would necessarily work as a base for you on this trip, though. But Salerno is within an hour--by train, bus or ferry--to Paestum, Herculaneum, Pompei, Naples, and the southern part of the Amalfi Coast. That's why it worked for us. We'd come back each night after daytripping, and find awesome restaurants in the Old Town. It's a small, working Italian city.

I cannot vouch for Sorrento & the northern coast and have only traveled as far as Amalfi, but all those towns along the southern coast there are absolutely spectacular. Traveling solo and wanting to explore, if I had to pick one you'd dig, I would go with Ravello. But it's hard to go wrong.

If you follow the option of going south to Naples and the Amalfi Coast first, you could check out the option of flying into Naples and out of Rome, and save the time and money of the transfers.

Gosh, Rome has so much to offer. I love going to one place and staying to really feel the city. We can't always do that when traveling with other people so I would suggest you take advantage of your solo travel and stay in Rome. You can always take a day trip if you get bored for some reason. I'm not the type to run through places just to say I've been there and really see not much at all. Find your favorite breakfast spot, restaurant, cafe, etc.

Its so hard to make a decision with so many great cities in that country. Now I find myself looking at Venice, it looks great, maybe solo would be a good way to explore the island. Maybe 3 days in Venice fast train to Rome for 4. But then again the Rome only sounds good too. I guess these are good problems to deal with!

I would have no problem spending 7 days in Rome since we have spent about 21 days and still haven't seen anything. Packing and changing hotels is always a pain in the butt and a time waster. I would park for 7 days in Rome and maybe break it with one or two days trips out of the city. There are lots of interesting places around Rome that are easily reachable with an hour or so train ride. The shortest trip we did was five days in London a few years ago. And a number of 7 to 10 day trips elsewhere.