Supposed itinerary mistakes?

Its never a serious mistake to plan a trip and do the exact things you want to do. After all, you are the one one paying for it, (I assume), so you get to choose.

Are you making a "mistake" skipping Venice? Of course not. I loved Venice and think it is a unique, one-of-a-kind city, but not everyone does or has it as their highest priority. (It's also extremely touristy and crowded in parts, and that puts a lot of people off.) I am not that interested in museums, so my itinerary would look very different from yours. Do an itinerary that works best for you, not one that works best for me.

None of your proposed mistakes are mistake -- simply personal choice. I, personally, not big of a fan of Venice. I think you should see it but it OK on a later trip. In our planning we always leave the fourth or fifth day totally blank. May be catch a nap - touring can be exhausting -- see something that we may have skipped earlier because of weather or another reason, do some laundry, just spend the afternoon at a sidewalk cafe, etc.

On your Mondays you may find many site closed especially if open on the weekend. You need to check your hours.

In the future you might consider open jaw tickets so that you are not spending time and money back tracking.

The Naples Archaeological Museum & Capodimonte Museum are both great museums. I don't think you can enjoy both in one day. Same with Pompeii & Herculaneum.

I really liked the Duomo & Baptistry in Pisa; but, maybe skip it this trip & add a day to Naples?

The Duomo museum in Florence is fantastic. Try not to skip it.

In Rome, consider walking by the Victor Emanuel monument when you go to Capitoline Museum. Also near the Capitoline Museum is the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli with impressive mosaics.

Have you prepaid your museum tickets? Or, do you still have some flexibility ?

You don't have time for Venice -- you are not spending lots of time anywhere else. The plan gives you a reasonable few days in major places before moving on -- squeezing anymore in would make it rushed. I like that you are going to Florence first and finishing where you fly home from -- you get an extra day of vacation this way by not wasting the second to last day rushing to Rome.

I agree with the others. You have the luxury of building an itinerary that suits your interests, not someone else's. And it looks like you've done just that. For the most part I don't think you've tried to cram too many things into any given day. If you have any idle time, so much the better. If you don't want to sit at an outdoor cafe and indulging in some dolce far niente, you can spend your free time just wandering and exploring.

Trying to include Venice would mean carving time from both Florence and Rome. While doable, it would make your trip much more hectic. I'd recommend saving Venice for another time.

Just a tactical question -- you have the Jewish Ghetto Tour scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday. Are you sure it's running then? Any reason you didn't plan it for Wednesday when you will already be in the area?

Looks like you'll have a great trip!

The tours I listed have a time of day next to them because I reserved a spot in the tours.

Everything that says (reservation [a time]) is because I made a reservation for that time - there is no flexiblility now, so this discussion is not rational ; my museum reservations take away my ability to change my hostel reservations now; the Jewish ghetto tour is obviously not that Jewish, because the Jewish sabbath is Friday night at sunset to Saturday night at sunset, but I quit observing the religion in 2009, so don't mind; it costs 30 Euros.

I was not asking if I am cramming too much into any days; instead, I wondered if some days are under-planned.

I did not plan enough time in Naples. But I already made reservations for Hostels.

You may be right about how I shouldn't try to see both museum in Naples in one day; my only other choice is to see one the same day I arrive and the other one the next day and just randomly fit in walking in Naples on my way to or from the two museums.

Originally, I wanted to do a so-called open jaws trip, but the only airplanes that fly from Italy to Detroit, leave from Rome, and the amount of time it would take me to ride an airplane from Naples or Florence or one of the other smaller airports, to Detroit, with the one or two or more layovers at other airports, would have negated the supposed time you imagine I would save on an open jaws trip.

I think it looks good.

You can see both museums in Napoli in one day; Her ulaneum and Pompeii might be a long day, but you can do it.

As for the Jewish Ghetto tour on Friday, sunset isn't until about 9pm in July. (Look for the "stumbling blocks" in the pavement).

I think you should relax and just enjoy looking forward to your trip. Some things will not work out the way you plan - it's like Murphy's Law. Take it all in stride and remember to enjoy every minute of Italy, no matter what happens. Omitting a good museum means more time to people-watch or explore back alleys. Keep in mind that this isn't your first visit to Italy, not your only one. I'm sure you'll be back to see more sooner than you think.

It looks like a great trip to me! We also did Rome, Florence and Naples (sort of-really just Pompeii). I also debated Venice and sometimes wished we had added it, but we did Cinque Terre instead which was a nice change of pace from the cities. I will try to see Venice on another trip, it is pretty far north especially since you are also doing Naples.
I like the idea of having 'unscheduled' time, because you will want some downtime to sit in a piazza and have a gelato/wine/slice of pizza, or whatnot, so I do not think you have any days that are too light/underscheduled. The hardest day on my trip was the day we had 2 museums reserved. In the future, I will likely limit it to 1 per day because I learned that I like more flexibility and I really enjoy wandering (especially Florence and Rome). Have fun!!

Just to repeat the two comments that match my views exactly:

Its never a serious mistake to plan a trip and do the exact things you want to do.

Yes - sounds like a great trip!

Some things will not work out the way you plan - it's like Murphy's Law.

The way I heard this put once is, "something you desperately want to see will be closed or inaccessible during your visit. Prepare now to avoid disappointment."

And now that you've done all the planning - have a great trip!

My two cents is JULY is HOT...I would see Herculaneum over Pompeii ( a hot spread out field of dust) and see Naples Archeological Museum in the afternoon. I speak from over 12 years of visiting the Campania region...Pompeii is what everyone hears about...but Herculaneum was a wealthier city, better homes, and was not destroyed in the way that Pompeii was, it is also by the sea, very shaded, and can be seen in 1.5-2 hours then go to Naples for the artifacts taken from both places to gain a better understanding.

Check out this blog...
http://sedimentality.com/pompeii-or-herculaneum-how-to-choose-for-a-day-trip-from-naples-or-sorrento/

You only need one night in Naples See 1 archeological site and the museum have a great meal sleep see other sights and other museums in Naples the next day have lunch and take late afternoon train to Rome.

Remember...it is ITALY in July...things will be HOT and slower than you think...with hiccups so just go with it...Enjoy!