Please help with my Italy Itinerary!

Cinque Terre, Genoa, Milan, Verona, Venice. You probably won't need 5 days for Milan. 2 should be enough. Take 3 days and head to the lakes.

I agree that 5 nights in CT is too many. Head toward Lucca for 2 nights and stay 3 in CT.
Lorie

A couple of days is way more than needed for Milan, IMHO, but make your reservations for the Last Supper, if you are going, well in advance or you will miss it. Be sure, traveling over such a long period, not to exceed the 90 days allowable under the Schengen visa waiver scheme.

Laruen, I would do, Cinque Terre 5 nights Genoa 3 Milan 3 Lake Como 4 Verona 3
Venice 6

I wouldn't do five nights in the CT or Milan or Genoa. The CT would be great for 3 nights. Milan would be okay for 3. I would skip Genoa. (Why is it on your list?) Will you have a car during any of these? Do you mind telling us what's on the rest of your itinerary? We might be able to suggest some other places.

Thank you all so much for the feedback so far. I've never planned a trip like this before, and I am feeling slightly overwhelmed. It has been my lifelong dream to visit Italy, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my 30th birthday! Before Siena, I will be visiting in the following order: Sardinia 7 nights (4 nights Alghero + 3 nights Costa Paradiso) Rome 10 nights Sorrento 5 nights Capri 2 nights Positano 3 nights Florence 5 nights
and then on to Siena etc (I have scheduled to be there for Il Palio di Siena, as I thought that could be a fun experience. I am interested in doing as much sight-seeing as possible, but also wish not to be rushed, and want to combine this with many chances to relax, unwind, swim etc and simply experience day to day life in Italy at a slower, relaxed pace. I don't drive so I will be relying on buses & trains to get around.

Wow, 57 nights, 13 stops, what a trip!
It is my dream.

It will be very hot in July and August. I think April, May, June will be much better. Also the hotel rates will be lower. I spent five nights in Sorrento in mid April two year ago. The weather was good, no rain and cool.

So why Genoa? Personally, I would much rather go instead to hilltop towns in Tuscany or Umbria, given your itinerary. If you want a great place to stay in Verona, try Residenza Carducci. We've stayed there twice. The owner has two suites that are basically apartments.

Australians must get a lot of vacation days. Need to move there. If it were my trip I would do in this order (no. of nights at location): Arrive Milano Malpensa or Linate MILANO (1) LAKE COMO - VARENNA or BELLAGIO (3) VERONA (3) with trip to Lago di Garda VENEZIA (4) with trips to Murano, Burano, Padua. SIENA (4) with day trips to Tuscan villages. FIRENZE (3) SORRENTO (3) with day trips to Pompeii and Naples. AMALFI COAST-POSITANO (3) CAPRI (2 or add nights to Positano or Sorrento and day trip to Capri from there) ROMA (5) - Fly to Sardinia SARDINIA (if you go in Summer: 20 nights - I love Sardinia, otherwise distribute the extra days where you'd like) - Fly back to the mainland to Pisa. PISA (0, just visit tower for 2 hrs after landing then proceed to Cinque Terre) CINQUE TERRE (4) GENOA (why are we even stopping here? Just look at it from the train window while you travel to Milan. Or use a day trip from the Cinque Terre. 4 nights there are probably one too many) MILANO (2 nights)
Depart from Milano Malpensa or Linate. I think I also have a total of 57 nights. You can fly from/to Sardinia from/to Pisa and Rome with Alitalia (Air One), Meridiana or Ryanair, non stop. Ryanair uses Alghero (AHO), the others use Olbia (OLB). Sardinia is great everywhere, the best part IMO is the Gallura (northernmost tip) from where you can do boat trips to the Maddalena Archipelago.

I agree with the order of the 3rd poster...that said... Really there is not much redeeming about Genoa. It's a fairly rough port town with few sights for toursits. The CT is beautiful but 5 days is a lot unless you have recently seen "Enchanted April" and are looking to duplicate the experience! :) Also, Milan is thin on sights. You have the beautiful, old covered shopping arcade, the cathedral with the roof you can walk around on, The Last Supper, and the famous opera. Unless you are REALLY into fashion there isn't much else in my opinion. You an easily fill 5 days each in Verona and Venice with both sights and wandering the beautiful streets. In Venice it's worth it to hop on a water taxi and see the islands in the lagoon as well as Venice proper. Your trip sounds AMAZING! Enjoy your 30th!

5 nights in the CT is not too much if you are a hiker. Also, you can go to other nearby towns like Santa Maria Liguria and Portofino or LErici. Get up the hills to hike the high trails. We did this last October and loved the 5 nights we spent there dining on some of our very favorite Italian cuisine, the seafood of Liguria. Do not shortchange Venice, either. She is well worth a week. Again, there are daytrips: Brenta Canal, the lagoon islands. Verona is, to me, a 2-3 night place. See an opera in the arena if you can. Marvelous experience!

Don't shortchange Milano! Several excellent museums, the Castello Sforzesco, Michelangelo's unfinished Pieta, shopping, the duomo... Since you'll be in Sorrento for several days, you might want to visit Paestum, it has a great archeological zone, a small but very good museum, and a beach. If you decide to overnight there, hotels will meet you at the train station and many rent/loan bikes. Sounds like a great trip!

Sounds like an amazing trip. I would work off of Roberto's suggested itinerary. But, personally, 57 days in Italy is alot of time. You can spend 40 days there and still see more than anyone who doesn't live there and still have 17 days to see other parts of Europe. Switzerland is easy to get to from Milan/lake Como, just as an example.

European beaches are not like yours. In the CT they are tiny, most are pebbles, I only saw one sandy beach. After 10 days on the Amalfi Coast, the CT seems almost redundant. I would try to get to Venice as early as possible, even if it means a couple extra hours on a train twice. August will be hot and very humid. Milan is a modern city, there is little charm. 2 days and you've seen most everything, without rushing. Ravenna is an out-of-the-way destination but has the best 5th and 6th century mosaics in the world, outside of Istanbul. It's a charming small town as well. I admire your ability to slow down and smell the pizza.