Rome/Amalfi Coast - 10 day suggestions?

If you eliminate Florence, you could go south on your arrival day and spend at least one more day there and enjoy it at a relaxed pace and then go to Rome at the end and simplify your departure. Also gives you more time to do Rome at a less than a sprint.

I have two suggestions.

1. Upon arrival proceed directly either to Florence or your Amalfi Coast portion, grouping all 4 of your nights in Rome at the end avoiding one hotel change.
2. Instead of Naples, consider staying in Sorrento, a better base for Capri, the coast, and Pompeii. With 3 full days on the ground there, I would spend one day on a day trip to Naples (see Rick's self-guided day trip), one day at Pompeii, and one day to the Amalfi Coast. Doesn't leave you a lot of time actually to see Sorrento, but you can fit it in during the day parts you are not somewhere else.

I would consider seeing Rome me either the Amalfi Coast or Florence.

I failed to answer your question on Florence, but Joe has given you a good idea for a more relaxed trip. I guess it also matters whether you feel you missed something in Florence and want to go back. Rome has plenty to offer and two more days there would not go amiss!

Thanks. I really like the suggestion to immediately take a train out of Rome and save Rome/Vatican until the end of the trip.
We aren't overly concerned with spending more than 3 days in Rome, as long as we see the Vatican. That little change will add a day to the Amalfi/Sorrento portion of the trip.

Believe it or not, that's actually more relaxed than we typically travel. In previous trips, we generally move cities in the morning, spend the afternoon, and all of the next day in that city, and the next morning, moving again. Sounds crazier than it is, but it works for us. That's how we did northern Italy, and I felt like Florence was the only city I could've used one more day in.

I’m kind of with the other posters here in that it feels like Florence can get the axe. Even if you’re aggressive travelers/sightseers, the Bay of Naples/Amalfi Coast kind of begs for extra time. It just takes time to get around between places there (though late October will help) and it could get frustrating. With an extra day in the mix, you could stay a couple nights on Amalfi Coast itself. I really feel like this area is best seen if you can split the stay between each side of the peninsula. Day-tripping back and forth would be a drag, with again, a lot of lost time. There are TONS of things to see in this area, you won’t sit idle if you don’t want to.

Or seriously, Rome with those extra days. I stayed four days in Rome, hit sights aggressively, and feel like I just barely scratched the surface. More time in Rome would not be wasted.

For what it's worth...

Not so much on the Amalfi Coast (and Salerno BTW) but unfortunately for those of us who don't have the time to burn, both Rome and Florence require at least 3-4 days apiece to 'get' it, to experience and understand the vibe for each city.

Rome is can-do. Bustling yet laid-back. Locals doing their jobs, riding the buses and Metros, acknowledging tourists' existences in a friendly, almost bemused fashion. They realize they're walking past gems of world history with every step, but say, 'Si, we know...'. A season would not be enough to find everything, even if that were your avocation.

Firenze is picture-book, in its own way like Carmel, CA or Ogunquit, ME in the States. Like you see in the books, only now it's 3-dimensional & spectacular. During the day, in every season, one can be overwhelmed by the throngs of tourists in the concentrated central area but either late at night or in the early morning is when Florence sings to you. If you wish hard enough, you can transport yourself back to the days of Catherine de Medici. The art takes you back there too.

I've spent a week straight in each, and I love both these classic cities in different ways. Enjoy your planning!

In June we will be arriving in Florence by air, staying in villa for 4 days in Tuscany with car, which we will leave in Orvieto, on to Rome for 6 days by train, then train to Naples where we will be picked up by one of Ricks recommended drivers, Francesco, to tour along coast for day to our villa in Vietre Sul Mare for 3 days. We found a beautiful not as expensive place to stay away from the crowds in Vietre where we can then take the train back to Rome from Salerno for a few more days. This made the most sense to us.

Kathy