opinions on tentative intinerary please

No doubt you'll have many responses agreeing you're cramming too many changes of hotel into a relatively short trip. I'd suggest cutting out either the Cinque Terre or Sorrento. Both are going to occupy a lot of time to get to and from..

See fewer places and enjoy them. Relax during the day and watch the people go by. Walk around town. Have fun instead of riding or driving.

The only thing you will remember is "We were there" instead of "We had a wonderful time".

I would agree that there are too many changes of hotel- 6 hotel changes in 12 nights! You will spend most of your time in transit staring out the window of the train. Cut out Civita, and Sorrento (it's further South than of the other cities).

Be sure to make reservations for the museums. If your husband isn't keen on museums he'll be even less enthused to wait in line to enter them.

In eleven nights, three changes of venue are plenty. Four might be justified, but there will be precious little dulce fare niente even if you are very nimble. Five really underestimates the time and effort it will take for you to move about.

The temptation is huge because there is so much to see. However, because there is so much to see you simply can't see it all.

Thanks again for your replies. I'm now thinking of 3 nights Sorrento, 2 nights Orvieto, 3 night CT and 3 nights Venice. Do you think this would be reasonable, even with the long distances between places?

Rome and Florence may have to wait for another trip...

Kay

Oy. Now you're talking about a completely different type of Italy trip. Maximum transport and minimum history (Venice aside).

I suggested choosing between Sorrento and the CT because both are coastal areas and both difficult to get to. Trying to do both at the sacrifice of Florence and Rome seems a waste of a once in a lifetime trip.

It really depends on why you want to go to Italy in the first place. Sorrento and the CT are diversions, nothing more. They're pleasant enough as a break from a month long trip, but not as the focal point for a transatlantic flight.

If this is your first trip to Italy (please tell me if it's not) and your husband isn't keen on museums, I'd suggest you pare back to Rome - Orvieto - Venice. A little bit of everything.

Kent - We can't? Dang!

Kay,
When we did Rome in Sept it was my 2nd time and my husband's 1st time in Italy. He did the Colosseum and Forum and I skipped it this trip and did my own things I was interested in. You and your husband do not have to do everything together. Dave and I met up for dinner and the evening. I got to St. Peter's again with him. The Scavi tour under St. Peter's was new for me. I read about it from reading postings on the is web site. I did do the Vatican Museum with him because I did want him to see the Sistine Chapel. The crowds there were even worse then I remembered. He is a history buff and went off to some obscure museums that he was interested in without me. We did the CT and Venice. We decided to to save Tuscany for a trip in the future. On my 1st trip to Italy years ago I did Venice, Florence, Rome, and Capri. Just remember you and your husband do not have to do EVERYTHING together each day on you trip. It was fun to hear of his adventures . He hiked the CT I took the boat.

Sorrento, CT, Orvieto and Civita should be used as "palate cleansers" after the intensity of Rome or Florence. Try to minimize travel by keeping things in as straight a line as possible. So maybe Rome, then Orvieto (or maybe Assisi or Siena?), then Florence and then Venice would be one possibility. Some of this also depends on what time of the year you're going.

Michael, I was wondering how to put the point that Rome and/or Florence shouldn't be missed in favour of Sorrento or CT. "Palate cleansers after the intensity of Rome or Florence" is positively poetic, and hits the nail right on the head!

I agree about doing some things apart depending on interest. My wife loves shopping and I don't. We solved that by having cell phones with local numbers so the cost of communicating was low enough that when we couldn't find each other around the Spanish Steps in Rome and while wandering the streets of Sorrento, we just called each other.

While you are at the Ufitzi, he can be watching all the pretty girls of Florence. My favorite occupation but it sure wore out my eyes (and my head when my wife beat me later).

Hi again: I've been thinking again about our itinerary and have decided to forego Sorrento (another time perhaps). Thanks for all the input, as well as the ideas of not doing everything together with my husband.

My current idea is:

Arrive in Venice and 2 nights there (the flights arrive in the morning). Then 3 nights CT (we like to hike). Then either 3 nights Florence and 3 nights Rome, or 2 nights each Florence, Orvieto (a break from the big cities) and Rome (flight home from Rome).

How does that sound?

Kay

Hello Kay,
Suggest fly into Rome - 3 nights, Venice 3 nights.\, Florence 3 nights,CT 3 nights at least, then back to Rome.(If you are going by train, check the schedules/routes BEFORE you book your rooms.
My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Italy Oct 17-Nov 6. 2 nights Rome, 3 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence, 4 nights CT, then had a car for a week out of Orvieto, then back to Rome 2 nights. We "should have" scheduled our time in Rome and Florence to arrive in the afternoon to get acclimated, spend two "full days" then leave the next morning after breakfast. Our time was rushed in Rome and Florence. We did all the museums. Venice has so much to see when you wander the back streets. I'd spend 3 nights in Venice. If we go back to Italy, I would spend longer in Venice and during the year of the Bienalle which will be 2009.We are NOT art/museum experts so "sad" to say we didn't appreciate it as much as we could have if we knew what we were looking at. Enjoy

Hello Kay, you have a good travel plan now. I suggest plan to be at Florence 3 nights, and Rome 3 nights. You could visit the hill town Lucca the day you travel from a Cinque Terre village to Florence.
Reserve tickets for visits to the Uffizi in Florence, and Villa Borghese in Rome, before you leave home. I do not recommend dragging your husband through the Vatican art gallery, but he might like white marble sculpture in Villa Borghese gallery.

Kay, You said 11 nights - Are you factoring in the one day you lose going over there, so that it's really 11 nights in Italy?

Yes, it's 11 nights (12 days if the flight arrives early.

Kay

I like your revised itinerary (Venice-CT-Florence-Orvieto-Rome). Ever since we visited there, I've thought that Venice would be a good place to recover from jet lag. (But avoid the San Marco area between 10 a.m. and 5 pm if you can. The sea of humanity can be daunting.)

I might drop Orvieto as an overnight place and instead add it as a daytrip on the way from Florence to Rome. You can also do a little of the "palate cleansing" while in Florence by taking the commuter bus up to Fiesole in the evening for a beautiful view of the city and dinner at a nice restaurant (see RS book for detail). It's one of my best memories of Florence. Or you could go up to Piazzale Michelangelo for a similar experience. (Florence is surrounded by hills, so there are lots of scenic overlooks.)

And you can decompress a little from Rome by going to Ostia as a half-day trip. (I like to avoid packing and unpacking, so I'm a big fan of day trips.)

If you are not into museums big time one day in Florence might be enough.In that case Id suggest 2 nights in Siena with a full day in Florence by bus.Easy scenic trip(1hr.)and Siena is a neat place to visit.Get a reservation to see David in advance.

Kay, Check the train route/schedule BEFORE you book your rooms. We were going Venice, CT, Florence, Orvieto then Rome. The train schedule did NOT work from Venice to CT without taking a whole day or night to travel. We switched our itinerary to Rome, Venice, Florence, CT, Orvieto then Rome.
You must spend the night in Orvieto. All the locals come out in the evening and stroll (passagieta?). My husband I just stood and watched then joined them. Orvieto has a lot to see if you want to spend a day there. Buy the pass at the TI office.

Thanks for pointing that out for me. I already booked the arrival in Venice and departure from Rome, so I'll have to think about things before booking the rooms.

Sienna is really touristy: so is Florence, but there is so much to see there, not just museums, but simply walking along the river. Siena is an easy day trip by bus from Florence.