Recommendations for 14 Nights in Italy!

Venice 2 nights Sat Sunday
Train to Milan
Milan 2 nights Monday Tuesday
Train to Florence
Florence 4 nights Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Train to Monterosso/Cinque Terre
Monterosso/Cinque Terre 2 nights Sunday Monday
Train to Rome
Rome 4 nights Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Saturday Fly back
Just add or subtract from the nights each city I listed as you do your own research in a guide book to determine how you want to spend your time and money based on your interests and on not what people say.
Consider you might want to skip a destination as you may not like moving around trying do and see so much.

Hi and welcome to the forums!

The not-so-good news first? You have too many places on your wish list for 13 days of sightseeing so you're going to have to pare down. Every time you make a move you're going to kill about a 1/2 a day in the re-location process, and you're looking at 5 moves: that's 2.5 days you'd lose to trains/stations, packing/unpacking, checking in and out... all that eats TIME.

OK, now that we've gotten THAT out of the way, it's great that you're flying in and out of two different cities! If you are flying into Venice, the two locations I'd scratch are the outliers: Milan and Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi needs more time that you can give it and would involve backtracking to Rome. Milan? I'm OK with it but think your time is better off in some of the other cities. I'd consider:

Sat 25: late arrival in Venice - this does not count as a sightseeing day
Sun 26 - Venice
Monday 27 - Venice
Tuesday 28 - Venice
Wed 29 - Florence (partial Day)
Thursday 30 - Florence
Friday 31 - Florence - day trip to Siena or Lucca
Sat 1 - Florence
Sun 2 - Cinque Terre (partial day)
Monday 3 - Cinque Terre
Tuesday 4 - Rome (partial day)
Friday 5 - Rome
Sat 6 - Rome
Sunday 7 - Rome
Monday 8 - fly home from Rome

This could be shuffled a bit to take a day from one city, like Florence, to add to another you might prefer to spend more time in. I consider 4 nights the minimum for Rome, and art lovers can find a LOT to see in Florence. That one also makes a good base for a day trip or two, time allowing. Some of our posters are passionate about Venice and you could still be a little foggy on your first full day so I gave you 3 of those to get on your feet and explore maybe one of the smaller islands as well as Venice itself.

Just a suggestion?

Editing to add: TRAINS are the way to go, no question. They'll get you from one place to another the fastest, and you do not want or need a car in Italian cities; you will be exploring them on your feet (lots of pedestrianized areas) and sometimes with public transit.

Based on your arrival and departure times (if I counted correctly) you will have thirteen full days. That being the case, consider limiting yourselves to three (or four) places at the most. Why? Because it always takes longer to change locations than on would think. It addition to the actual travel time, there is the time lost checking out, getting to the train station, finding the new hotel, checking in, and etc. Generally you will lose at least three quarters of a day each time you relocate. You now have at least four changes of location which is a lot of time to lose.

Do Venice first and you can do Milan as a day trip from Venice (albeit a long day). Then Florence with some day trips, and then on to Rome. Skip the Amalfi Coast as it is south of Rome and will require back tracking.

With regard to transportation stick to the trains. Renting a car and driving in Italy is, in my opinion, just too much hassle. Trains are quick, fairly inexpensive, reliable, and might be a new experience.

Don't mean to rain on your parade, it sounds like it will be a great trip. But you want memories of people, places, doing thing, food, wine, and etc. -- not just blurred memories of train stations.

Although Milan's Duomo is quite something, there are lots of magnificent churches in Italy, so on a trip of this length I would not go to Milan unless The Last Supper is an absolute must for you. If it is, you need to check on the ticket situation right away. It sells out very, very early, and then you might have to take a ($$$) tour that includes it.

If you can find a place to leave your luggage, you might be able to fit The Last Supper and the Duomo into a quick stop in Milan on your way from Venice to either Cinque Terre or Florence. You can fiddle around with the train schedules on the Deutsche Bahn website. Use "Monterosso" to see schedules to the CT. When you're interested in fares, go to Trenitalia. Note that buying shortly after tickets for your dates go on sale will yield significant savings on travel legs involving fast trains (Frecce). Trenitalia insists on the Italian spellings of city names (Venezia, Milano, Firenze, Roma).

I agree with the others that the Amalfi Coast is one place too many.

It is likely to be very hot in Italy in August, which may slow you down a bit. I'd place a premium on conveniently-located hotels so it will be easy to take a mid-day break in an air-conditioned environment if you need one.

Flying into Venice is itself part of your vacation! Flying over the Alps then seeing the Venetian islands is really exciting. So, sit on the left side of the plane for the best views. 14 nights is a good start but I'm warning you right up front that each change of city will take lots of time away from your vacation. Would you consider 3 or 4 nights in Venice? Churches, museums, architecture, romantic varporetto rides are just a beginning of the wonders found here. Venice is not a picture you look at, it's a picture you walk around in. No museum can do that. In Venice I stay at Hotel Ala. It's right where you want to be. Florence is a few hours by train (I don't ever rent a car when in Italy and I'm there 15 years in a row), so figure at least a half day lost before you're at your next hotel. Plan it right and you travel through the riposo (required afternoon nap - proof that life is beautiful) when most places are closed for several hours. I've never stayed in a hotel in Florence (or Rome), I always rent an apartment. The markets are wonderful and I love cooking with the fresh products. From Florence you can do an easy day trip to Siena (1 1/2 hours by bus - don't bother with the train, it isn't worth it). Lucca is beautiful too so that could be another day trip from Florence. Florence itself has at least 3 or 4 nights with plenty to see and do that will keep both of you happy. Cinque Terre is possible as a day trip but I made the mistake of taking the last train back to Florence. It was late, missed the connection in Pisa and was stuck at the trainstation there until 4 am. But Cinque Terre are beautiful and well worth a visit. From Florence you can be in Rome in a couple of hours by train (aim for riposo timing again). There is never enough time in Rome! Full stop. The Amalfi Coast is beautiful but again you have to get there. Figure another 2 hour train ride to Naples (go as early as you can). From there you can get to Sorrento for the bus along the Coast. Getting to Sorrento can be part of the vacation - if you take the boat. The views from the water of the coastline and Capri are relaxing. The Circumvesuviana train is just plain ugly and not always safe. Once you get to the southern side of the Bay of Naples you probably want to stay overnight (at least). Sorrento is a great place. My favorite and annual hotel is il Nido. If you like, there is a great boat trip from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi Town. The views are beautiful. I usually take the boat going and the bus returning (just sit on the left side for the views down the cliffs). Oh by the way, at this point you are way past 14 nights. Maybe think about your return trip to Italy - you can bet you'll want to return very soon! Here's good news: if you are willing to commit to a schedule you can buy your train tickets early (probably by early June) and save a bunch of euro. You also get the schedule you want - a schedule that helps you travel during the riposo hours so you can maximize your vacation hours. I wouldn't schedule dinners too tightly - you have the table to yourselves for the entire evening if you want. So many of my memories and stories with friends begin with "remember dinner in . . .".

Terrific advice from Kathy. I would only reinforce all the wisdom she offered. In Italy less is more: visit fewer places and have more of an experience and memories. Trains are happy places, too. Cars are not.

It was wonderful that you booked into Venice and out of Rome, by the way. Good choice!

As to "food places," read Rick Steves (I hope you have his Italy guidebook for this trip) and also search (see the large bar up at the top?) this Forum as "Dining in ______" has been addressed over-and-over.

Trains are happy places, too.

Haha, Laurel! Yes they are! 😊

I would limit your trip to Venice and Rome since you have flights in and out of there. Maybe you could squeeze in Florence. The problem is that each of these places, esecially Florence and Rome, require 6-7 days to barely get a little taste of the wonders that await you. Try to remember that you can always go back. If you cram in Milan, Amalfi and CT, you really won't experience anything, much less remember it.

Thank you everybody for all the replies. So many tips and suggestions that I will definitely consider when start planning out my trip.

@ Jazz+Travels: is there a guide book that you recommend?
@ Kathy and Laurel: thank you for being so honest. I know what you girls meant. We have jumped cities to cities back to back in the past and it was super exhausting. Definitely less moving this time.

Thank you, Susan. We have never taken a trip to a country for this long so we thought 2 weeks is plenty for 1 country, since we are very efficient travelers I would say. I'll ask my husband to slow down this time for memorable memories and not just blurs :)

Where do you guys recommend me to go to look for lodging? Is there a website? I know Robert recommended apartment.

Where do you guys recommend me to go to look for lodging?

A fair amount of us like www.booking.com. You can search by budget and desired amenities, and the website is easy to use. Just be careful about where accommodations are actually located, as in check their locations on the map provided? It's not unusual for hotel sites to list, say, a property as "Rome" when it may be much further out than you want to be. It's still "Rome" but not the historic center where most of the tourist attractions are.

Hotels versus apartments: either are fine but first-timers often feel more comfortable in a hotel with 24/7 desk service. They like having someone right there for questions or for help should they find themselves in an emergency situation far from home. Others enjoy cooking for themselves (that would NOT be me) so a kitchen is must for them. Whatever works for you!

You can also to a search the forums for hotels/apartments people have suggested in your chosen cites. The search box is at the top of the page with a magnifying glass; sort of hard to see. Type in, say, "Rome, Hotels" and hit "Go". Then you can narrow down to just mentions in the forums, and within the past year. Let us know if you need more help there?

Guidebooks: go to the library and check out a few, and go to the bookstore and take a browse through the offerings. My notes are complied from many different sources - including those online - so again, it's what ever works for you. Of course, as you're on his site , Rick Steves guidebooks are going to be top of list with a lot of folks here. :O)

I agree with other posters that it would be advisable to skip Milan. Three stops is about right for a 14 day trip to Italy.

Re: Lodging

On recent trips, we have been on RS tours with some time on our own before and after. We start with the RS tour book recommendations and do some additional checking at Tripadvisor. It is better to deal directly with the hotel rather than through a booking site.