Suggestion for Best Itin for Italy!??

I'd look at a map of Italy and then decide if your itinerary could be made more efficient by eliminating the back-tracking that is in items 3, 4, 5, & 6 of your current itinerary.
Right now, you're zigzagging all over.
IMO, Sorrento, not Salerno.
It's likely to be really hot in July, so have that expectation and bring appropriate clothing. But both of you will need to have your knees and shoulders covered to get into some of the more famous duomos.

After the CT, I would go to Florence, THEN to Venice. Otherwise your are really back tracking. Then take the day train from Venice to Rome before your flight to Croatia.

As an example this is our itinerary for May four nights in rome, three nights in Florence, three nights in Cinque Terre, two nights in Orvieto and one more night in Rome and then fly home. Sorrento is way south of where you are going to be. You need to check how long it will take you to get from city to city, if you are traveling by train or car? And Venice is up North. The rest of the cities are in central part of Italy.

I usually suggest people pick either the Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast, not to do both in the same trip. 3 nights would be fine for CT, but if you are going to the Amalfi Coast (of which I agree with the other poster that Sorrento is the place to stay), that 2 nights is not nearly enough. I stayed there for 4 nights and that seemed just about right.

Siena can easily be done as a day trip from Florence, saving you one hotel change. The rule should be to avoid one-nighters. If you cant stay more than 1 night, then it is usually better to do it as a day trip. If you are going to instist one staying in Siena, then better plan for 2 nights and take one away from Florence.

I also agree with the poster who said you needed to re-arrange the order so that you aren't zipping back and forth. Something like Rome -1 night, Sorrento - 4 nights, Florence - 4 nights, Venice - 3 nights, Rome - 5 nights

Thanks everyone :)
I indeed tracked it all on a map first and am using the website: routeperfect.com to help map out the travel times between cities. The reason for the jumping/ backtracking all over was to avoid, toooo long of train / car rides between destinations etc.
I really had my heart set on the Amalfi Coast but then had heard amazing things about Venice too, therefore we were trying to fit it all in. We definitely don't want to feel like we are rushing around Italy though... therefore we might skip Siena and do a day trip there from Florence later. Do you think we should skip the Amalfi Coast this time and just stay North of Rome? Is Cinque Terre better than Sorrento area?
It will definitely be hot. ;) we are expecting to be all sweaty, all the time. haha.
Any ideas of staying in a villa near Florence? Or best to just day trip from Florence to wineries etc?
Thank you!

I prefer the Amalfi coast to CT and think 5 or 6 days to do Sorrento, Amalfi, Napoli, Ischia, Capri, Ercolano is not too much.
By the way, Croatia is not so fa rfrom Venice, if you go there why not take the train or car via Trieste and travel to Croatia,?

A few thoughts:

• Trains from Trieste to Croatia may be more time consuming than your plan to come to Rome to fly out. Do check that carefully. You are probably sailing out of Split? Rome2Rio.com says that is a 10 hour trip by bus and train.

• Consider saving Rome for last. Upon arrival head for your first destination: EITHER the Cinque Terre or Sorrento (not both in one trip). Which to pick depends on what you like to do

• Cinque Terre: Hiking, scenic boat rides, great seafood. Sorrento: Pompeii, Amalfi Coast bus ride, maybe Paestum for the Greek ruins, Naples for art, good seafood. Both have great scenery. We like the CT more and go there a lot. PM me if you want more ideas for this area.

• Venice (Venezia on Italian train schedules) needs more than 1 day/2 nights. It is fabulous! Nothing like it in the world! You can take a nice day trip on the vaporetto to Murano, Burano and Torcello.

Personally what I would do is

• Arrive Rome and go immediately to Venezia. If you arrive in the AM as most people do, you have time to get to Venezia. Take a nap on the nice train ride. 3 nights Venezia.

• Venezia to Firenze by train. Daytrip to Siena, perhaps a nice Chianti Tour another day or a day trip to Lucca. 5 nights Firenze

• Firenze to Cinque Terre. 3 nights Cinque Terre

• Cinque Terre to Roma 5 nights Roma

IF you decide you prefer the Amalfi Coast, go there from Firenze, change Roma to 4 nights and spend 4 in Sorrento.

Thank you everyone!
I have decided to take your advice and we will be flying from Vancouver BC,CAN to Venice. Starting our trip in Venice and working our way down. We still think we can fit in the Almalfi Coast!

Semi-Final Itin! is as follows:
1. Venice (considering the 1st day we will be landing/tired) -- 3 nights
then driving by car to:
2. Cinque Terre -- 3 nights (train or car, to Florence)
3. Florence -- 4 nights ( w/ winery tours, day trip to Siena and/or a possible Villa stay in countryside Tuscany) by Car.
4. Stop over in: Orvieto & Civita di Bagnoregio -- (Day trip on our way from Florence to Sorrento to break up the longer drive)
5. *Sorrento** -- 3 nights (day trip to Pompeii and drive the Almalfi Coast to Positano)
6. Rome -- 3 nights
(Then FLYING to Split, Croatia w/ EasyJet -- cheap and quick!)

Meeting friends and sailing out of Split (7 days). Back to Split to dock.
Then deciding where to tour for our last 8 days before we head home to Vancouver! Stay in Croatia? or fly to another country instead? Not sure.

Looking forward to it all so much!
thx :)

Kristy, your fine-tuning is making your trip better and better. If I could add a suggestion, and this comes from somebody who really likes driving in Italy, consider picking up your car when you're ready to day trip out of Florence. The 2 hour fast train from Venice to Florence is so easy, and the scenery is just not that spectacular. The trains from Florence to CT aren't so streamlined but they are certainly better than the hair-raising drive and the almost non-existent parking for the CT. Italo is my new favorite Italian train for connecting the major cities.
Coming from Vancouver, southern Italy's mid-summer heat may be startling. With days in the CT and beautiful Croatia already planned, I might replace the Amalfi coast with some more leisurely days in Tuscan or Umbrian hill towns. But I'm an Atlantan who thinks a vacation day is anywhere away from our heat! Enjoy your trip!

Thanks so much Ruth for the train travel tips :) The 'fast train' looks best from Venice to Florence for sure, then a connection to CT. (Instead of driving). We definitely prefer trains if we can. Thinking about renting a car in Florence to drive out to wineries in Tuscany etc.

Yes, we are also thinking we might need a break from the heat ! haha. We prefer to be cool, not hot. But we know what we are getting ourselves into and will suck it up. ha.
We are used to +1c to +15c in the winter and +15c to +25c ..(rarely)+ 30c in the summer in Vancouver. The rest of Canada is a huge swing of temperatures.

Might take a look at heading North out of Venice first to the Dolomites then back down? I know we need to book soon though! Some of the hotels/ BBs etc I fell in love with online weren't available on the dates we need. eeeeek! Will book ASAP. I imagine, July is not a time to just see where the wind takes you... due to being high peak.
Thanks again!
-Kristy