Suggestions on my itinerary - first time in Italy

To me, it's too much travel. One full day in Venice and Siena is not enough time to do anything. Two days in Rome and Florence will allow you to barely scratch the surface. I would cut out at least one stop and add time to others. You're wasting a lot of time by changing locations so often.

Donna

At this time of year I would probably spend more time in cities and less in Salerno. You will not have to fight the crowds or long lines for museums, cathedrals, etc. so its a great time to do those. Also, being on the coast when things are out of season is sometimes a bit boring. I would still go there, because it is beautiful any time of the year, but just cut a day or two.
Are you going to have a car to visit villages in Tuscany? I would add a day to Venice.

Too much time Salerno versus other locations,but if you really want to go to that area I have to ask why Salerno and not Sorrento or somewhere more picturesque? What exactly are you going to do for that long on the A.C. that would have you spending a disproportionate amount of time there? Be aware even the A.C. will be cool.

We love the off season months in Venice and Florence, and leading up to Christmas is beautiful in Rome. Skip Siena, add time to Rome and examine your A.C. time/location.

I also have to question the time in Salerno, even though the city is beautiful at this time of year.

This is how I would allot the time...

Days 1,2,3 Venice

Day 4 Venice-Florence

Day 5 Florence

Day 6 Florence

Day 7 Day trip to Siena by bus.

Day 9 Florence-Rome

Day 10 Rome

Day 11 Rome

Day 12 Rome-Sorrento...Better transportation hub. But the ferries will not be running.

Day 13 Sorrento

Day 14 Day trip to Salerno

Day 15 Travel..I'm assuming you are flying to Nice. Easyjet flys this route.

The curreri viaggi bus will take you directly to the naples airport from Sorrento.

Two nights in Siena is not at all unusual or inadvisable, especially since the bus from Florence only takes 1.25 hours. You can't see as much in 1.5 days there as you could with more time, but you can see quite a bit. If you take a day from the south coast, I'd give it to Venice first, especially since that's the most jet-lagged part of the trip.

Thankyou for all the constructive responses.

I won't be hiring a car for Italy so I will be relying on the train/bus system.

Regarding Salerno, I wanted a quieter town and from what I had read it seemed to be a good base to see the amalfi coast from. I tossed up between Positano, Salerno, Ravello, Sorento etc. Gerri, why do you advise Sorrento over the rest. What is it that would make it ideal or does it have something the others are lacking? I think I agree in that I had allocated too much time to AC and I will look at removing a day and adding it back to Venice.

I had the thought that given the travel time between each stop was so minimal (even including a check-in), if we were up early in the morning and in the next stop by 9am, then you really would be getting closer to a whole day rather than half a day. I will consider doing Siena as a day trip, however I really wanted to stay in the town as it seemed really great.

Thanks again. Its so hard to do this without input.

I would go 3-4-4-3 ...
Venice (3 nights)
Florence (4 nights) with day trip to Siena
Rome (4 nights)
Salerno (3 nights)
December is not the ideal time to be on the Amalfi Coast - Naples may be good for a night pre Xmas.

Thanks djp. I think you commented on my other post also.

A lot of friends i have spoken with have all said 3 nights in Venice is overkill and we will be wanting to leave after 2 nights?

They are all single so maybe their experience is somewhat different. What's your experience of Venice?

To note, I have given Rome the extra day.

Does anyone have preferences on a base in the Amalfi coast. I know a lot of people say Sorrento as well as Positano or Amalfi, but many people also don't particularly like Sorrento. I found Salerno would be the easiest place to get in and out of via train and is easy to visit the rest of the coast from there.

Adam, take note of the mention above that ferries do not service the Amalfi Coast in winter. This may not be a big deal for you but for many tourists, those figure into the 'ease' factor during the warmer months. Bus will be your only transport option between the AC towns. Again, maybe not a deal-breaker but a consideration.

Ferries - unless the weather is very bad - do run to Capri from Sorrento all year long, if that one is on your itinerary. Many restaurants and whatnot will be closed for winter there but some travelers go anyway just to do some hiking and otherwise explore without the summer hordes.

We (an older married couple) have been to Venice and the outlying islands a number of times and have never found it to be dull or boring. It is truly one of the unique cities of the world. I remember being young and single and it is understandable that some young singles might not find Venice to be their cup of tea. There isn't a right or wrong answer. It just depends on the individual. I would urge you to do a lot of independent research, weight what you find against your own interest, and then make a decision about the length of your stay.

Adam--I think your itinerary looks great. Early December is probably similar weather-wise & tourist-wise to our trip in early March, when we visited--besides Paris & Lucerne--Florence & Salerno, five nights in each of those places.

Never been to Venice, but I would make sure you don't give Florence short shrift. Easy to tweak, you're traveling north to south, very efficient itinerary. If you're like me, you will really enjoy having a low volume of tourists, although you may get a little spike on the weekends for the Christmas stuff.

Absolutely loved Salerno. It is a real Italian small city, good intracity transportation, fantastic food & shops in the charming Old Town, and as you said it's a great base for daytrips to the Amalfi Coast, Paestum, Naples, Pompei, Herculaneum. All within an hour by train or bus. We stayed at Salerno Centro B&B--only 3 rooms and you are like family to these people. Centrally located as well. I'm assuming you are flying to Nice from Napoli Capodochino airport, and from Salerno it's a 45 minute drive. If you stay at the B&B, they will even take you there, for a fairly nominal charge.

Maybe the highlight of your trip will be your daytrip to Pompei. It may be chilly in December but with few tourists you will have the run of the place. Do your homework because almost nothing is marked, pick a dry day because the stones are slippery in rain, and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For us, it was that good.

For the Amalfi Coast, you will have to research to see what's open. A lot of the high season restaurants and so forth will be closed down for the season. We still loved it--scenery is breathtaking. From Salerno--no ferries as stated upthread--by bus it's 1 hour to Amalfi, 2 hours to Positano.

RE: your number of stops, here's my take on it. If you stay relatively close to the respective train stations, what's the problem? You're not backtracking, you're seeing a lot of stuff, and with the fast trains none of your trips should take more than 2-2.5 hours.

Enjoy your planning!

Everyone has different feelings on Venice - I've been there a total of 10 nights over 4 trips since 2008 and would (and will) go back for more in a heartbeat...

You really need 2 full days (3 nights) in Venice, especially if you want to 'get lost' in areas away from St Marks Square, or to absorb the art in the many churches.
For Sorrento/Amalfi Coast you really need some advice from someone who has been in December. I am thinking most of the great crits you are getting are from people who have been in summer. As others have said ferries won't be operating and a lot of restaurants and shops will be closed. In that respect your thinking for Salerno may be spot on as its not a seasonal centre.

Again, thanks for all the information.

Its been a great help.

Below is where I think I've landed on places. If i add a night to Venice i have to take it away from somewhere and I don't think i want to spend less time in other places.

30/11/2015 1 Melbourne Melbourne
1/12/2015 Italy Venice
2/12/2015 Italy Venice
3/12/2015 Italy Florence
4/12/2015 Italy Florence
5/12/2015 Italy Florence
6/12/2015 Italy Siena
7/12/2015 2 Italy Siena
8/12/2015 Italy Rome
9/12/2015 Italy Rome
10/12/2015 Italy Rome
11/12/2015 Italy Rome
12/12/2015 Italy Salerno
13/12/2015 Italy Salerno
14/12/2015 3 Italy Salerno
15/12/2015 France Nice
16/12/2015 France Nice
17/12/2015 France Avignon
18/12/2015 France Avignon
19/12/2015 France Avignon
20/12/2015 France Avignon
21/12/2015 4 France Paris
22/12/2015 France Paris
23/12/2015 France Paris
24/12/2015 Scotland

25/12/2015 Scotland

26/12/2015 Scotland

27/12/2015 Scotland

28/12/2015 5 Scotland

29/12/2015 Scotland

30/12/2015 Scotland

31/12/2015 Ireland
1/01/2016 Ireland
2/01/2016 Ireland
3/01/2016 Ireland
4/01/2016 6 London

5/01/2016 London

6/01/2016 London

7/01/2016 Netherlands Amsterdam
8/01/2016 Netherlands Amsterdam
9/01/2016 Netherlands Amsterdam
10/01/2016 Germany Berlin
11/01/2016 7 Germany Berlin
12/01/2016 Germany Berlin
13/01/2016 Germany Berlin
14/01/2016 Czech Republic Prague
15/01/2016 Czech Republic Prague
16/01/2016 Czech Republic Prague
17/01/2016 Austria Vienna
18/01/2016 8 Austria Vienna
19/01/2016 Austria Vienna
20/01/2016 Slovenia Lubjlana
21/01/2016 Slovenia Lubjlana
22/01/2016 Slovenia Lubjlana
23/01/2016 Venice Fly home

Any further input on other locations is also needed if you have any to give.

Thanks

You may have reasons for not wanting to but I would ...
--take a night from Siena and add it to Venice (you will be jet lagged coming from Melbourne)
--take a night from Avignon and add it to Paris (Provence is another place best enjoyed in summer)
--take a night from Ljubljana and add it to London

Glad to see Siena back on the list of night stays, it's completely different after the day trippers leave. If one day in Siena turns out to be enough, go to Montalcino for a day and go back to Siena that night.

Salerno is good, not as picturesque as towns along the Amalfi Coast. Paestum is easy to get to from Salerno.

We recently stayed at Salerno Centro B and B and can attest to how special it is. While we were there, we were told that the whole city decorates with lights in the month of Dec. for the holidays. I would imagine that it would be another reason to consider Salerno. If you stay there, be sure to walk the narrow streets of the Old city in the evening when everyone gets all dolled up and strolls! Also, the Lungomare (seaside walk) is lovely!

Thanks again for all the information and advice.

Its been a great help.

This was my first time on here, so really happy with the response.