overwhelmed need advice!

With 8 days Rome and Venice, maybe stop in Florence - it's on the way. Or Rome, Naples, base in Sorrento - from there to Pompei and Amalfi coast. In March I would go for the second option. It's farther to the south therefore warmer.

I suggest that you stay half the time in one hotel in Rome and the other half in one hotel in the Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi/Capri area. That would allow you to do everything on your list except Venice and Milan, but as you note, you really have only 8 days actually in Italy, and trying to go to more places would, I believe, exhaust you and eat up sightseeing time with travel.

Nice gift, tbliss, and lucky family! Can I get adopted into your family, quickly please? Like many others, you certainly have the challenge of just how many locations, and which ones, to include in a quite short stay in Italy. It sounds like you are locked into flying both in and out of Rome, is that true? That requires putting some time and money into back-tracking at the end of your trip. If you're not locked into that, you should consider a multi-city, or open jaws, ticket, such as into Venice and return from Rome ticket. Seems like you have 9 nights in Italy, is that true? It would be helpful to know the exact dates, your home airport, and your flight arrival and departure times, if that is already set. All that may define how you need to spend your first and final days and nights. You list several places, in opposite directions from Rome, but don't indicate your family's prime interests, such as history, art, scenery, outdoor activities, food, etc. I think if you tried to combine Venice, Rome and the Amalfi Coast (incorporating Pompeii and/or Capri) you would be doing a lot of moving around and traveling on trains, more than I would like, but you might feel differently, and want to see a little bit of these places, instead of settling in a bit. This does not even include Milano at all. In my mind, and in March, I guess I would focus on Venice and Rome, maybe with a stop in Florence in the middle if you like. Venice is unique and can be magical, even if the weather is not very good. Rome of course is rich in many eras of history, plus art, religion, as is Florence. The Amalfi Coast is more natural beauty, plus the nearby ruins of Pompeii, but in March boats may not be moving, and the weather could hamper your enjoyment. Pompeii is a possible, but really long, day trip from Rome, on your own, or perhaps by guided tour. Think of it this way, you can't go wrong, and surely you will each want to return to Italy often in the future, as we all do! Do keep us posted on your plans, dilemmas, and questions.

Since you have to fly in/out of Rome, stick to Rome and Venice hotels. It's a little over 2.5 hours by fast train from Venice to Milan, so that's a possible day trip. You can also take a day trip from Rome to Pompeii. That covers everything except Capri and the Amalfi coast, both of which are too far for your short trip.

Stay your first night in Rome, then take an early train to Venice for 3-4 nights, then back to Rome. Try to get a hotel in Venice that's close to the train station, so you can get in/out quickly.

I like Chani's advice in trying to give everyone a taste of what they want. The only change I would offer is that if your flight arrives early enough (before noon), go immediately to Venice so you do not have only one night in Rome. Given 9 night assumption, spend 4 in Venice and 5 in Rome, taking a day trip to Pompeii. Capri is really not as wonderful as many people think. It is early, too, in March, to go to an island. Can be blustery. (We were on Procida for Easter last year and it was not exactly chamber-of-commerce weather.) Milan is second-trip/longer-trip material.

If conversely you really have to do the Amalfi Coast, skip Venice as an outlier.

Keep in mind that it will be busy, especially around Easter. :)

My family and I are going in March too and we are trying very hard to avoid the crowds in Rome around that time!

Have a great time.

sghandi08, Rome is not necessarily crowded in March. It gets a bit busy for Easter week, but it's never stopped us or our guests from touring/having fun.

If you have 9 nights and you want everyone to get a look at the cities they want to see (except for Capri), I would try to do the following:
Fly into Milano, spend the first night there. Take the fast train to Venezia the next day, stay two nights. Fast train to Firenze for two nights. Fast train/commuter train/bus to Napoli and/or the Amalfi Coast for two nights. Bus/commuter train/fast train to Roma for your remaining two nights. This gives you one full day in each place, plus whatever is left of your travel days.

If you can reach a compromise, I would fly into Venezia, spend two nights; fast train/commuter train/bus to Napoli and/or Amalfi Coast, 3 nights; bus/commuter train/fast train to Roma, spend four nights and fly out of Roma.

Thanks everyone, you guys have given me even more to think about and consider. We fly in on the 10th arriving in Rome at 9:20 am and fly out on the 19th at 6:45 am. I wish I had checked out this site before we booked the flights because then I would have done the multi city airports for the arrive and departure, but we are stuck with flying in and out of Rome. Since we are flying into Rome and arriving early, would it be best to stay that day in Rome and see as much as possible, then wake up early catch the train to Venice or Sorrento? is it good to travel at night?

Day 1 Arrive Rome, train to Sorrento
Day 2 Capri
Day 3 Pompeii
Day 4 Train via Naples/Rome to Venice
Day 5+6 Venice sights
Day 7 Train to Rome
Day 8+9 Rome sights
Day 10 Depart Rome

Just on the question you raise in your last message: with a 6:45 am departure flight out of Rome, you are pretty much required to spend your last (short) night in Rome. So, I think you are best off concluding your trip with your visit to Rome. And if you can, on March 10 after a long flight to Rome, you should quickly connect to travel to your first destination, either Sorrento or Venice. Otherwise, you will be spending nights in Rome both at the beginning and end of your trip. You still need to decide, do you limit yourself to Rome plus one other base city (with some day trips), or are you going to spend shorter times in three places, Venice, Sorrento and Rome, with a long day of travel between north and south somewhere during your trip. I myself traveled by train between Sorrento and Verona (a little closer than Venice) in 2014, from hotel to hotel it took me about nine hours of travel. But my overall trip was almost a month, not nine days.

You land at 9.20 a.m. It can take 1/2 hour or 1-1/2 hours to get through the airport, depending on the lines and luggage retrieval (hopefully not longer than that). Then you have to take the train to Rome (Termini). It runs twice an hour and takes about 1/2 hour. Then you can take the next train to . . .

If you are going south, you get the next train to Naples (run about once an hour, take just over an hour). Then you need to get to the local Vesuviana train to Sorrento (it's like a metro train, not a "real" train) with few seats and lots of stops. This train runs either every 1/2 hour or every hour and takes about 1-1/4 hours to Sorrento. All this after an overnight flight, when you are jetlagged, pretty tired, and schlepping luggage.

If you are going north, it's definitely easier. There are hourly trains to Venice from Termini. While it's nearly 4 hours on the train, it's only one train. You can relax on the train. While the actual train time is more, the total journey time may be less and it will certainly be easier.

I think with the time you have I would consider skipping Capri (go back when the weather is better if possible and do the gorgeous Amalfi Coast in one trip) and also skipping Milan. Take the train from Rome and start in Venice and then I would go to Florence, stay there a few days ( I love Florence) and take a day trip to Sienna and possibly another town in beautifulTuscany or Chianti to get a taste of something smaller and less busy. Easy to do from Florence. Then finish your trip in Rome; take a train to Pompeii for a day and back to Rome.
Have a wonderful, memorable trip with your daughters. I have two daughters and we have done some special vacations together also. Nothing better!!
Jody

Given how little time you have I would just do Venice and Rome with a sidetrip to Ostia Antica while in Rome. If Pompeii is a must it can be done as a very long day trip from Rome. It isn't a good time of year for Capri or Sorrento and I would not try to squeeze that in. Milan is a non starter when you have so little time.

I would train to Venice upon arrival in Rome; you need to be in Rome the day before departure and to start there means you essentially waste a day on travel at the end of your trip. Take advantage of jet lag day on arrival to get to the furthest destination. You can get tickets cheaper 3 mos out but if you do so, you run the risk of a late plane. You might do that leaving at least 4 hours between arrival and train departure or you could just pay more for the tickets and get them at the airport on arrival. The clerk at the FCO train station will sell you tickets to termini and the ongoing tickets to Venice for a train you can comfortably make.

I'd spend 3 nights in Venice and then head back to Rome for the final nights. You could arrange a trip to Pompeii within that frame or else make do with Ostia Antica a similar experience available on the public transport in Rome.

No matter what you choose to do, Rome should come last.

thanks again for everyones help, took everyones advice into consideration and made the decision to head to Venice the day we arrive and stay there 4 nights, and do day trips as suggested so just booked the hotel there now to pick a place in Rome! Thanks again for everyones advice!!

I think you could also do Florence on the way back from Venice to Rome.

You could do 3 nights in each city in this order: Venice, Florence, Rome, adjusting plus or minus one night depending on your preference of location.

Whatever you do, I don't recommend you stay fewer than two nights in any city, so that you have at least one full day available for sightseeing. One nighters are time wasters because of the time involved in the checking in and out of hotels.

I would definitely skip Milan. It is really just a big city and not as wonderful as the rest. Just my opinion.

I would also suggest skipping Milan. While it does have some interesting sights, you simply don't have time with such a limited time frame.