Rome or Sorrento first for vacation.

I would say Rome all day long...BUT first give me these important parameters--time of year, length of stay in Italy. Then I can advise you better!

I will be going in June 2019.
We are going for 15 days.

Venice 2 nights
Venice to Rome for 5 nights
Rome to Sorrento 5 nights

I always prefer to do big cities earlier on in the itinerary, then end off with a "vacation from my vacation" at a relaxing small town.

OK--15 days, but 12 nights? Into Venice, out of Naples or out of Rome? If you're flying out of Rome, then do Sorrento first. But be advised it's a long-a** day of train travel--5 hours Venice/Naples, then the Circumvesuviana commuter train to Sorrento, which takes about an hour.

Add a night or two to Venice and start there, then long day to Sorrento for your 5 nights and wrap up in Rome. Fly into Venice and out of Rome. Nice pace for 14 nights!

There's nothing wrong with your schedule. Note that the Rome airport is "farther" from Sorrento that you may think it is. Your flight time, as well as the modes of transport you choose, will affect your last night hotel decision.

Another issue is that while Sorrento is not short of hotels, it's much harder to get your first three choices there than it is to find an acceptable room in Rome - especially in high season. It's too early to check 2019 availability, but that might affect which city you sleep in first. If this is your first trip to Italy, I would put Florence ahead of Sorrento. But that's very much a matter of taste and vacation desires. Your tentative choices could be just right for you.

Don't hesitate to investigate connecting flights for the two ends of your trip. It might end up being less effort for you - depending on your home city and your travel experiences. For example, in 2018 I found it surprisingly easy to get a direct flight home to the East Coast from Venice. Our Naples airport experience is limited to discount carriers from England - a huge source of Sorrento visitors. One of the most frequent questions I've seen on the Trip Advisor Sorrento board is "How much is a Pint?"

I would look for an open jaw multi city flight where you land in Venice and you fly back from Rome or Naples (Rome is more likely to have more flight options however). I would also borrow one night from Rome and give to Venice.
So, assuming I find a flight into Venice (VCE) and out of Rome (FCO) I would do:

Fly to VCE
Venice for 3 nights
High speed train to Naples, then commuter train to Sorrento. Or fly from VCE to NAP then shuttle bus to Sorrento.
Sorrento for 5 nights
Train from Sorrento to Rome (change in Naples)
Rome for 4 nights
Fly home from Rome FCO

You could also borrow that one night from Sorrento instead of Rome, but in likely scorching June, I’d rather stay longer near the beaches in the Sorrento peninsula than in a hot city like Rome.

Thanks everyone. We havent book flights just yet.
We can also fly out of Naples but dont know how the flight look like yet.

I was thinking the same thing. Rome is so much to do that we will be so tired from vacation.

but if we should do Sorrento before Rome then this is what we should do. You guys are the experts.

I've visited the Amalfi Coast twice and both times have departed from Napoli Capodichino airport, for a good connection in Munich (with Lufthansa). Not a bad experience, certainly not as huge and chaotic as Roma Fiumicino.

Here's a great line on the bus from Sorrento station direct to the airport in Naples.

http://www.curreriviaggi.it/

This way you can do Venice, Rome, Sorrento in order. A beautiful thing!

Enjoy your planning!

If you can fly out of Naples. I would do Sorrento last*
If you are flying out of Rome. I would do Rome last*

• is because it frankly doesn't make that big a difference and would allow lodging options to dictate. Chances are for this summer Sorrento or anywhere on the Amalfi Coast lodging choices are going to be limited so if a better property were available for only one of my 2 blocks of time I would decide based on that.

Time to book that lodging yesterday BTW.
Rome so many hotels you can always find something.

Thanks! but I am way in advance. This is for June 2019

I like to end in the city I leave from. So if you fly home from Rome then end in Rome. Trying to get to somewhere farther in time for an international flight home can cause timing issues. So in your case if flying home from Rome you might have to leave Sorrento the night before the flight, leaving one kind of useless night near the airport or in Rome (because you had already seen Rome earlier and the switching hotels takes time).

Usually people get better fares and times from Rome, but Naples is an option if you want to end in Sorrento.

I’ll add that I like to end somewhere busy, but take a slower break in the middle. Better pace for me than go-go-go-rest-home. I like go-go-rest-go-home.

Thank you! I didnt know a trip to Italy would have so much planning. LOL
Where do you guys stay when you are in the Almafi Coast?

Do look into the flight options before you decide on an itinerary.

You don't say where you live, so I don't know if you will find good connections home from Naples airport (no nonstops from Naples to the US). Also remember that Sorrento is over an hour from the Naples airport, and many flights from Naples that connect to flights to the US leave very early. This means either spending your last night in Naples instead of Sorrento, or paying for a taxi (about €80-100) from Sorrento to the Naples airport to avoid missing your early plane. A friend was able to find a later departure from Naples that connected in Dublin (Aer Lingus) - but she was headed to Newark. If you're headed further west, this may not work, timing-wise.

From Rome, planes can leave later, but even if you have an early flight, it's a €48 cab ride (fixed fare) and takes about 35 minutes from the center to the airport (at that early hour).

It's definitely easier to start in Venice than to end there. Once again, many flights from Venice leave very early, and getting to the airport early is time consuming and/or very expensive. However, for part of the year there are nonstops to JFK, Newark, and Philadelphia that leave later.

While it's certainly relaxing to end in Sorrento, it's also relaxing not to worry about getting up at ungodly o'clock to make a flight home! So, definitely research this stuff, before you get too attached to an itinerary that won't work with your flight options.

Harold has an excellent point re. early flights out of Naples. Last Oct. after spending 4 nights in Sorrento we had a 6.30 a.m. flight out of Naples-Paris-U.S. so spent the night before in Naples.

I would probably do Sorrento first and end in Rome. Flown out of Rome a number of times and recall getting picked up around 7 a.m. for mid morning flight.

Why stay in Naples the last night?

As I said above we've twice left from Naples airport, both times on the 12:00 flight to Munich, which got us in there at 1:45. That departure time gives you plenty of time to leave Sorrento by 8:30-9:00, either by private driver or the abovementioned Curreri bus--this got us to the airport around 10:00-10:15. Then we scheduled a 3:45 to Chicago, but I'm sure with that airport being a massive (and highly efficient) hub, you can go anywhere.

Jay - it depends on what you mean by "anywhere."

1) The further west in the US you are heading to, the earlier the flight is likely to leave Frankfurt (or Paris, or Zurich).
2) Not all destinations have multiple flight options. Going to New York, I have multiple daily flights from hubs like Frankfurt or Paris. If I were going to Salt Lake City or Cincinnati, there's probably only one flight per day (or not even daily).
3) If you have to make a further connection in the US to get to your final destination, you have to arrive early enough to do that.

So yes, from Naples to Chicago you can get a flight that doesn't require a very early departure. As I said, my friend could find a flight from Naples to Newark with a later departure (this is a non-negotiable for her). But not everyone will have these options.

Hey Harold!

I understand for major eastern/Midwest US cities like NYC or Chicago, we have a distinct advantage, and for a western US final destination, it's going to be a challenge leaving Sorrento and arriving home technically all in the same day, so you're certainly right in that respect. In that case, I'd probably have to route my itinerary around flying from Naples to a western European city like Paris, London or Dublin, staying there a day or two and then home to wherever, to break it up a little.

Even to Chicago it's not a piece of cake. Up at 6AM in Sorrento, breakfast, Curreri bus leaves at 8:30 for the airport, arrive Capodichino at 10:00, flight leaves for Munich at noon, arrive 1:45, go to the correct gate (buy duty-free chocolate in between--priorities!), settle in for the 3:45 flight, a nice 10+ hours nonstop to O'Hare. Arrive at 6:55 PM local time, customs, home around 8:30. That's a long-a** day, my friend. And my internal clock is messed up for three days... :)

That's why I almost cannot fathom a trip to Australia or southeast Asia...

Thanks everyone! We are coming from Miami, FL.