Italy in 12 days

Jennifer, how many NIGHTS do will you have on the ground in Italy (it's a more accurate way to count than days) and what time of year? Your interests and those of your traveling companions (will you have any of those, and what are approx. ages) can make a difference how long to stay in one place versus another.

That said, and assuming you have 12 nights:

Venice- 3 nights/2.5 days. Your arrival .5 day may be a jet-lagged fog
Florence - 3 nights/2.5 days. You know that this is the capital of Tuscany, right?
CT - 2 nights/1.5 days
Rome - 4 nights/3.5 days. This is the minimum for exploring the Eternal City, IMHO as there's lots of ground to cover.

I've left out "Tuscany" as you really don't have time for it, and the Amalfi Coast, as the CT is a better fit geographically with your other locations. You could do a day tour of the Tuscan countryside from Florence but that would leave you little time for Florence itself. Again, your interests come into play here. Make sense?

Assuming you have 12 nights try something like this to get a taste of Italy :

Fly into Venice stay 3 nights
Train to Florence stay 3 nights (day trips in Tuscany)
Train to Cinque Terre stay 2 nights
Train to Rome stay 4 nights
Fly back home from Rome

You don't have enough time for Amalfi Coast in this case.

or

Fly into Naples train to Amalfi Coast stay 3 nights
Train Amalfi Coast to Rome stay 3 nights
Train to Florence stay 4 nights (day trips in Tuscany)
Train to Venice stay 2 nights
Fly back home from Venice

You don't have enough time for Cinque Terre in this case

Above are great itinerary suggestions. Tuscany (small villages) would eat up a lot of your limited time. Another thought might be to shave one of the three nights from Venice, add to Florence and do a day trip to one of the Tuscan towns reachable by train for a day trip from Florence.

Thank you all! I did update my post. It will be just 2 of us for 12nights with a focus on Art, Food and Wine. Also would you give me insight on booking with a hotel vs air bnb. Is one better than the other for a 1st timer?

We have done both. In CT you may have difficulty in finding a good AirBnB. You should have no trouble elsewhere. Our month in Italy this fall is 100% AirBnB. We prefer separate bedrooms and it is not so easy to do via hotel. Costs are generally less than hotels and you have the experience of your local hosts to make recommendations that are not necessarily based on where the tourists typically will go. You can choose your location if you want to be off the beaten path as well. Our Venice location is a short walk from St. Mark's Square but tucked into a quiet neighborhood. Same with Florence, Bologna and Parma - all quiet neighborhoods yet close to transit and the center of town.

If your focus is on art, I would skip CT. You should consider a food tour in either Florence or Rome. Or 2 nights in Siena-instead of CT. You could do a tour of Tuscany by Tours of Roberto from Siena. People on this forum say that Siena is an easy busy ride to/from Florence.

Highly recommend a food tour in Rome
Eating Europe Trastevere or Testaccio tours both get high praise here.

When is this trip?
12 nights is just enough for Venice, Florence, Rome with a day trip or 2 outside of Florence
Otherwise Tuscany countryside/hilltowns needs a car

Fly into Venice 3 nights- perfect place to get over jet lag
Train to Florence 3 nights minimum for art, add a night for each day trip so let’s say 5 nights there or 3 Florence then 2 Siena ( easy by bus or train)
Train to Rome
Rome 4 nights barely scratches the surface
Fly home from Rome

Each time you change locations you lose a half a day or more

For a first-timer, hotels are a much better choice. Air BnB rentals are full of potential pitfalls for inexperienced travelers. With a hotel, you know the exact address and location, there is someone there to meet you and give you the key when you check in, and support and advice on sightseeing, local transport, etc.if you need it. And you are likely to get good recommendations for hotels from people here.

Ditto: as a first timer stay in big hotel chain type so you have 24 security and someone that you can just go to a desk anytime to talk to if you need something.

Agree with above
We are experienced travelers but still always stay in a hotel, especially for stays less than 5-6 days
Just not worth the bother/time getting into an apartment, figuring out how everything works, finding groceries, etc.

Hotels will hold your luggage if you arrive before check in - most Airbnb type rentals have a specific check in time, no option to drop your bags early so you are stuck with them til later in day.

A 24 hour desk is really nice to have and as first timers you’ll appreciate the assistance they can offer.

How Exciting! We did a similar trip in 2015 with Paris added in and our trip was 16 days with 9 in Italy. Cinque Terre or Amalfi, I would 100% do Amalfi, there is just more to see and do. I Love Cinque Terre but have no plans to return, whereas Amalfi , I would go back.
This is what we did:
4 Nights Rome- We saw The Colosseum (Forum & Palatine Hill) & Vatican with Tour Company Walks of Italy, Borghese Gallery (on our own) and a walking food Tour with Eating Europe (a Must!) . Plus all the usual, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona- all just walking around
2 nights Cinque Terre- by train from Rome
3 Night Florence- We took a day trip to other Tuscan Towns (including Pisa) with Walks of Italy, I highly recommend their tours. Ours included lunch at an organic winery, We did a Walks of Italy Tour which was 1/2 day included David, and just walked around and visited The Mercado, Ponte Vecchio, had some great meals etc.
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With 12 nights you could totally do Amalfi Coast. This is a fast pace and will leave you wanting to go back, but you will cover some ground and meet your Art, food, culture agenda.

For our first

Or and on the Hotel/Apartment we only stay in an Apartment for stays over 3 nights. The nice thing with a Hotel is finding one with breakfast included, always such a great value and a great way to start the day and not waste time trying to find breakfast, plus Italians don't really eat a high protein breakfast, but a hotel will offer some protein sources like meats, cheese, hard boiled egg.

a focus on Art, Food and Wine....

Holy Hannah, Jennifer! If art is top of your list, I'd skip the CT altogether and give that time to Florence. The amount of fabulous art in that city is just ridiculous!!! Really. 5 nights/ 4.5 days would also allow you a day trip out of the city; something you really don't have time for with just 3 nights in Florence if you want to give that city quality time.

Thank you all for the great advice! I'm now steering more towards Rome, Florence with a day trip to a winery (Tuscany) maybe and Venice. What is there to do in Venice other than the canals?

Jennifer, have you purchased a guide book yet? If not, I highly recommend that you get one ASAP and spend some quality time with it. Some fella named Rick is rumored to have a dandy one. 😉

While I don't recommend using them for stuff like hours and entry fees - best to go directly to the official websites for the attractions themselves for most current visiting info - guidebooks are going to help you figure out what you want to spend your time and euros on. Oh, and there is much more than canals to see on the historic island of Venice and some of her sister islands!

I definitely need it. Is it best to book a package with a site like expedia, priceline etc or book hotel and flight directly with them separately?

We've always booked our flights and accommodations separately, and we book our flights directly with the airlines. Many hotels have their own websites so you can book directly with them as well, although I've also used booking.com.

While I recommend buying a guidebook of your own. your public library might have assortment of them you could check out and browse to see which ones you like best.

When are you planning on taking this trip?

Hi Jennifer,
It is much safer to book flights directly with airlines in these days of uncertainty.
It's so much easier to cancel, change or get refunded if there's a problem.
Do not book through a third party such as Expedia, etc.

For hotels, I like booking.com.
You can see a lot of detail such as location on the maps on the site, and also verified reviews.
Also, most of them can be cancelled right up to the day before in some cases.
You want to keep all your options open for your first trip.

After you've done your first trip, you can then start planning your next one....and stay in apartments then.
Happy planning!

Jennifer- Great question. I would book flights directly with the airline but you can find multiple flights at one time on websites such as Google Flights, to see airlines, prices routes etc. Then once you find one you like then just go to the airlines website to book.

For lodging you can use the search function on this website for recommendation, then use Trip advisor to read the reviews and see pictures. Once you make your final decision you can check the hotel website for availability and price. I always have a few choices in each city in case one is sold out. My decision is usually based on location, price and if breakfast is included. For short stays in each city you want to try to stay city center, even if you pay a little more. The last thing you want is to spend an hour of your day on the subway/ bus just getting into the city. Also city center will allow you to walk everywhere, have ample food choices and just be in the center of it all.