Seeking Itinerary Advice - Rome Florence Venice Cinq Terre

Rome to Cinque Terre (stay in Monterosso al mare it has the most space) to Florence to Venice back to Rome.

Buy high speed trains in advance (for example Rome to La Spezia the gateway to the Cinque Terre)
in advance for the best price.

or try
Rome directly to Venice (the same day you arrive in Italy) and then to Florence to Cinque Terre to Rome

These are the sites for buying long distance high speed trains
http://www.italotreno.it/en

Use the Italian spelling for city names for this site (e.g. Roma Firenze etc.)
http://www.trenitalia.com/

Happy Anniversary! Looks like you have a wonderfu and romantic trip planned. If you can commit to a schedule then buying your high speed train tickets in advance is a great deal. I just bought mine for July and saved probably 40% at least. It's all in the planning. Getting from Rome to Florence or Venice is easy - the Freccia trains on trenitalia are frequent, comfortable, clean. First stop from Rome is Florence. Florence in July can be very hot and humid and extremely crowded. Make sure you have reservations and specific entry times for the Accademia and Uffizi and the Brancacci Chapel. The other major sites tend to have smaller lines and last minute reservations are a bit easier to get. 4 nights? Honestly, I'd give the extra night to Venice.

The Cinque Terre are beautiful and very relaxing - unless you decide to walk from one town to the others. That's a bit of a challenge. The boat will take you to each of them and let you get off to walk around. Do you research and decide where you want to stay based on what the town has to offer in the cool of the evening. Do you want to do stuff or just relax. Also, the Cinque Terre trip from Florence is long and the trains are not all that frequent (or comfortable). Just saying. 3 nights? Personal choice.

Venice is amazing. Here in the States we go to museums and look at organized layouts of art. In Venice it's very different. As you walk out of the train station you walk INTO art. For the rest of your time you a part of the art. I really can't think of any other city where this is so breathtakingly powerful. That's why I'd add the 4th night. Do you planning to allow a romantic late night ride on the Grand Canal. The other islands are great each in their own way and so very different from each other. Torcello (best gotten to from Burano which is best gotten to from Murano) is my favorite, least crowded and a very quiet getaway. Sorry, Lido is on my 'been there, done that' list. The 3 islands (Murano, Burano and Torcello) are a good one full day trip.

Rome will also be hot and humid. Love the Italian tradition of the afternoon 'riposo'. Have a nice lunch, a glass or two of wine and a couple hour nap. Rome in the late evening is a completely different city! I'm there for two weeks each year. My favorite path: Pantheon, Campo dei Fiori, Trastevere, St. Peter's Square, Piazza Navona (for a big gelato and art of questionable quality). Along the way you'll know where to eat dinner - loud, crowded, filled with locals.

Pompeii is a well known historical site. It's huge too. Herculaneum (a couple train stops sooner) is quite different. Ostia Antica (just outside of Rome) is also very different. It is hard to compare them. If you do Pompeii or Herculaneum go early in the morning. The train ride each way will take up a good part of your day. You have to change to the Circumvesuviana line in Naples (sorry, can be a favorite of pickpockets) for Herculaneum and Pompeii.

Have a wonderful trip! Here's to at least 25 more years together!

mm,

First of all, congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! That's a wonderful milestone.

Some thoughts on your travel plans......

• As this is your first trip to Italy, it would be a good idea to do some research on the country. I'd suggest buying a copy of the Rick Steves Italy guidebook and packing that along on the trip. The guidebook also provides good suggestions for hotels, restaurants and sightseeing. For example, some Museums and other sights are closed one day a week. It's helpful to know what day that is in each case.
• There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy, and you need to be aware of those.
• An easier solution for buying rail tickets in Italy for both rail networks is to use www.trainline.eu which sells at the same price as the rail networks. That provides "one stop shopping".
• The only advantage to buying advance tickets is to get discounted tickets on the fast trains. However you MUST be sure of your details as the tickets on those come with compulsory seat reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time. Therefore the tickets can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train by mistake, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Also note that the cheapest discounted tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased. Once you have an Itinerary sorted, it will be easier to provide suggestions on trains.
• For travel in July, you need to get an Itinerary locked down NOW and get some hotel bookings in place!
• Your profile doesn't indicate where you're flying from, but be sure to allow your two flight days in the planning. You'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you leave home.
• As another reply suggested, Monterosso is the best choice of locations to stay in the Cinque Terre, especially given the short time until your trip. It's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other amenities.
• The "walk" between towns in the Cinque Terre is more of a hike, and some parts are steep and narrow. In addition to that, two of the four "Blue Path" trails are closed due to damage. Unless you're really set on doing some hiking, I'd suggest sticking to the trains and boats to get around.

July is likely going to be hot and crowded, so you'll have to deal with that. Be sure that all your hotels have A/C. I assume you've already booked your flights so you might consider something like this....

• Flight inbound Rome - take train or flight to Venice immediately (3 nights)
• Train to Florence (4 nights)
• Train to Cinque Terre (3 nights) - you'll need to decide which of the five towns you're staying in
• Train to Rome (5 nights?)

Good luck with your planning!

Congratulations from me as well!

To echo Ken:

For travel in July, you need to get an Itinerary locked down NOW and
get some hotel bookings in place!

Emphasis on "NOW". You are late in the game for July and especially so for accommodations in the Cinque Terre. That's a "hot" destination which tends to book up months in advance of high season. I'll second his vote for Monterosso as well.

I'm not sure exactly how many nights you've allocated for Rome? Please don't scrimp on that one as there's a ton of things to see and do there! Pompeii would be a long, hot trip in July: there are alternatives that wouldn't eat up as much time and energy. The heat (and the summer crowds) can definitely be a factor when trying to cram in too much into too little time!

You should make reservations/buy advance tickets for some of the top attractions in Florence and Rome which will have very long ticket lines: Uffizi; Accademia, duomo cupola (Florence) and Vatican, Colosseum and Galleria Borghese (Rome). Let us know if you don't have the official websites for those? Some of these - such as the Borghese -should be ordered sooner rather than later.

July
04 Arrive Rome. Train directly to Florence (5N)
•with day trips to Siena & Lucca
O9 Train via Pisa to Cinque Terre (3N)
12 Train via Milan to Venice (3N)
15 Train to Rome (5N)
•with a day trip to Pompeii
20 Depart Rome

Congratulations on your anniversary! I'm assuming you have bought your plane tickets already but on the off chance you have not, consider flying in to Venice and out of Rome (or vice versa.) This will save you an extra train trip not to mention time on the ground.
Like many other posters recommended, start in Venice then work your way down. We will also be visiting Italy in July and will start in Venice then work our way down to Rome. Your time in each city sounds about right for your length of trip. You won't get to see everything but you will get to see the highlights each has to offer.
Hotels: Agreed with staying in Monterosso al Mare. If you find hotels are booked at this late date consider renting a flat through VRBO or AirBnB. We've used both on various trips and have always been happy. It is important to note that if you do decide to book your lodging through these sites please, please make sure to read all reviews AND make sure the unit you're choosing to rent has at least 25+ reviews.
Activities: There is still time to book tickets for even the most popular attractions in July. But I encourage you to purchase tickets in advanced, online. This will guarantee you get to see the attraction, you won't have to wait in the long lines and you might save some money. Here are some links to check out:
Doge's Palace Venice - http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/tickets/
St. Marc's Basilica (skip the line price) - http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/informazioni-per-i-turisti/prenotazioni/?lang=en
Vatican Tickets - https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceTipoVisita=74&step=2
Colosseum - http://www.il-colosseo.it/en/informazioni-colosseo.php

If you are looking to maximize your time with day trip tours, a good company (one I found through Rick Steve's site) is Walks of Italy. There are still various tours available for July so I'd check them out ASAP if you are interested. https://www.walksofitaly.com/ We will be using them for three different tours during our visit.

You will have a wonderful time on your trip! Enjoy!

If you need further information on hotels in Monterosso, post another note here on the forum and I'll try to offer a few suggestions.