Sardinia and Southern Italy in Late May, Early June

That is entirely up to you. Rome is a large city with a lot to see (I recommend at least 4 nights). If you plan to fly back from Rome (FCO) it is probably best to do Rome at the end of your trip, before coming home (basically the last 4 nights).

Delta will start a seasonal non stop flight from JFK to Olbia (OLB), Sardinia on May 21, 2026. If Delta via JFK is in your plans you could do JFK-FCO-OLB-JFK, or the reverse.

You will need a rental car to visit Sardinia. Book one at the OLB airport.

I was thinking Rome first, then fly direct out of Sardinia. Makes much more sense to me.

Sure. Whatever works for you. Plenty of flights from FCO to OLB with with both Aeroitalia and Volotea.
You can also fly from Rome to Alghero (AHO) or Cagliari (CAG), the largest airport. But of course if you want to fly back non stop to JFK with Delta the only option is to fly out of Olbia.

I was in Sardinia last May and hope to return this May. First, determine how many days you want in Rome, as three would be a minimum t many folks, and seven is the absolute minimum I’d want in Sardinia. It “works” as they say, but it’s a bit tight. Next, determine which part of Sardinia you want to focus on. It’s a big island with a lot of variety.

Hear mixed reviews from many people on Rome

Hmmm. Can you be more specific about your concerns based on the "mixed reviews" you've heard of Rome? Also worth mentioning your travel tastes/priorities/expectations here, it would help others answer your questions.

Sounds like you have 10 days to spend in Italy, and you are hoping to split those days between Rome and Sardinia?

Count your available days carefully: is that 10 full days, not counting arrival or departure days? Because on such a short trip to Europe, with so few days, one needs to be honest with oneself right up front about how much usable time you really have. Remember, anytime you move from one place to another, you burn a day in transit - so a "10 day" trip to Italy probably gives you 9 usable days if you're changing locations. And that's not a lot of days.

We spent 3 weeks in Sardinia and loved all of it. We drove all the way around the island, but even with 3 weeks we had to skip past or blow through large sections that looked appealing. I left wishing we had another week to spend there. With just 10 days (or less) you'll need to pick a corner. Sardinia is surprisingly diverse, and has good stuff inconveniently scattered all around. You'll definitely need a car there...and some time to get to and appreciate things.

I think many Americans, knowing virtually nothing about Sardinia, try to squeeze in a few days there as a minor side-trip destination from a trip to Italy. I think that's a mistake, and would suggest that Sardinia deserves more time than that. Personally, I think Sardinia is the kind of place that makes a great destination for a dedicated, longer trip (think of it as a separate country, which it kinda sorta is in many ways, rather than just a little Italian island off the coast, which is isn't).

Bottom line: If your trip just gives you 10 days on the ground in greater Italy, I'd focus on one region or the other, and spend all of you time there: either Sardinia (one part of it, you won't get to all of it) – or somewhere on the Italian mainland (could be just Rome or Rome plus another city or two) – but not both. Either one could give you a nice (though short) trip. By splitting your time between them, you lose a full day from an already-short trip, and limit what you would get out of either/both destinations.

Initial post was to make sure I was thinking logically in regards to location. Greater details on time spent when and where were to follow once I could confirm that these two locations make sense. Sounds like in theory they do.

Let me provide a bit more detail as to what we are looking for. Ideally, 12 days total inclusive of flights and movement around. My wife struggles as does my child to move around a lot, and as most seasoned travelers will agree, that is more beneficial than not.

My feedback from friends that have gone to Rome are crowds, grungy city, not always friendly (not so worried about this as it could be situational). For me personally, travel is about history, food, culture, local experiences, architecture, beauty, etc. Rome surely has so much history and that is a big part of why we would want to go.

The typical sites in Rome are to be expected; What about off the beaten path or special experiences anyone has had there?

Vatican would be extremely important to us and I understand private tour is the way to go here. Would love recommendations on guides. We stay in higher end places, love great meals (does not have to be high end to be great) but love a fine dining experience a few times on the trip.

Regarding Sardinia, I have not spent much time researching but know it is a vast island with various sites and activities. Would want to get close to the food scene, beaches, boating, any history, local towns worth seeing.

There is never enough time on any of these trips and If I could spend weeks at a time away, would love to do so. I think the best strategy for us would be 3 nights in Rome and 8-9 nights in Sardinia. Not going to see everything but makes you want to return back if you fall in love.

Rome
With only 3 nights in Rome (basically 2 full days) you don’t even have enough time to cover the most famous sites, let alone the less famous ones off the beaten path (assuming there are places in Rome that are off the beaten path). Which ones you want to see depends on your personal wants and interests. Some care about the Roman Empire history, some prefer the Baroque architecture of Rome, others prefer the religious sites like the ones in the Vatican. Do some research and then zero in the ones that are important to you. Food and history is something that is ubiquitous in Italy. Use the search function above to find past posts. There are thousands on Rome.

Sardinia
You can also find plenty of past posts about Sardinia by using the search function above. See example below:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/sardinia-a4b6bf34-12f0-4f41-aa46-cc7c08ab1f7f
I’ve been a few times but always on the north half, which is probably the best. Since you plan to fly home from Olbia that is the side you should probably concentrate on.

Below

Also add your child’s age, as that could inspire some suggestions.

OK, so 12 days total, "door-to-door", including flights. So 10 days on the ground, being there. You need to be in (or at least near) your departure airport on your last day (evening). If you throw in a flight between any two places (eg Rome and Olbia), that's at best 9 full days to spend (setting aside concerns about the day following arrival, which for many of us, is not a day we are at 100%, due to jetlag and travel displacement trauma). Finally, remember that any group only travels as fast (or as happy) as the least tired, least grouchy, least enthusiastic member.

Rome's alleged shortcomings:

• Crowds. Yep. Unless you have a time machine, all one can do is try to mitigate them, to some degree.
• Grungy city. Around the edges, sure. It's a big, old city. There will be garbage, dog poop, people, more. Comes with the territory. Yet people keep coming, for reasons which are probably obvious.
  
• Not always friendly. Maybe. But like most other cities.

These shortcomings are also true of most big cities in the world, and plenty of smaller places, too, certainly places that are popular with tourists. They're (usually) popular for good reasons though, so you either go and live with the crowds, or you skip these cities, your choice.

Rome versus Sardinia

In Rome, your biggest challenge will be prioritizing and deciding on how to spend your limited time. Many people would go and spend 10 days in Rome happily, not going elsewhere, it's overflowing with 5-star attractions, like few other places. And lots of other wonderful places are just a short train ride away, so plenty of us will combine Rome with other beautiful Italian places. You just have to choose. In Rome, you do NOT want a car, period.

In Sardinia, there's little public transportation that's useful for casual (short-trip) tourists. You will either need to rent a car (easy) or just stay at a resort (a waste of a trip to Sardinia IMHO, but I know, folks want their beach time).

In Sardinia, things are spread out. But you only have time for one base (in/near Olbia). With that base in the northeast, and a car, you could get around to many interesting places on the north coast: the La Maddalena archipelago (involves ferry travel, so costs time), Santa Teresa Gallura, Sassari or Alghero, the peninsula around Stintino. South of Olbia, the landscapes are spectacular, along the Gulf of Orosei and beyond. There are cool little towns and great cities further south. But all of these places require some travel time, and you only have a tiny bit of that to spend.

Splitting one's time comes with compromises. I have learned the lesson (and keep re-learning it) to focus more time on a smaller target. I'd rather spend more time exploring more of one region in greater depth, and defer a trip to another region for a later time, rather than trying to spread myself across many regions and ending up with just a few small tastes of different places. I still struggle with it, as we all do. It always comes down to trade-offs.

Both Rome and Sardinia are wonderful destinations. I'm sure you will enjoy your time in either/both. Good luck with your prioritization..

If you decide you want to spend the time on the mainland, but do things similar to what you would do on Sardinia, that’s not too difficult a stretch. Sardinia is a recent favorite for me, but my previous favorite was the Maremma in Southern Tuscany, a stones throw from Rome. While there are obvious differences, there are some spectacular nature areas and archaeological sites that would mimic a typical Sardinian itinerary, if that might interest you. Anyway, when there are so many great places, I prioritize time as much as anything when choosing among them all!

Good morning. I took some time to do some research on Sardinia and logsitics around doing so. Based on everyone's feedback, a 12 night trip to do Rome and Sardinia may be a stretch. Further research took me to Siciliy and possibly Ischia, but the latter seems to be geared more towards adults than a family with a 12 year old.

Would this be a better option given the travel time?

Ischia is great with children. Where are you getting the idea that it is not?

General Online research points it more towards a wellness island for couples.

I don’t think ischia with a kids is a factor—there are castles, beaches—but time still is because you are still trying to pair a mainland destination (referring to Ischia since you access it from Naples) with a very large island, so the time lost in transit would be an argument against pairing these two.

If Rome interests you, I reiterate my suggestion to spend 4 nights there out of your total 12. If you now plan to return from Rome, then it is best to leave those 4 nights to the tail end, before flying home. For sure you must spend the last night in the city where you depart from because flights to North America depart in the morning, and if you plan to fly to North America from another European hub, your flight out of Rome will be super early. Because of that you might as well spend all your nights in Rome at the end.

Sicily is even larger than Sardinia, so 9-10 nights there is probably the minimum I would go for, but some people simply decide to concentrate on a small portion of the island (like near Palermo or the Eastern Ionian coast), and spend 5 or 6 nights only in that portion.

The gulf of Naples area (Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento peninsula, Amalfi coast, the islands of Capri, Ischia, Procida) is a good option that can easily keep you busy for over a week. Sorrento would be a good base for day trips to all of the above. Maybe your 12 y.o. would be interested. There are opportunities for swimming or snorkeling at the beach (not sandy beaches, but very pebbly and rocky cliffs, and rather deep waters) and Pompeii is interesting to a kid too. Just be aware that the area is hugely popular with tourists from all over the world, therefore crowded and expensive. The o plus is that, unlike Sardinia or Sicily, that option requires no rental car (actually I suggest you don’t even think of driving in that area, due to the congestion), so you can do your trip entirely by train (and buses and ferries).