Thinking of adjusting itinerary - 1 less day in Venice?

...I've heard from a few people that 2 nights in Venice is enough...

I will suggest that 2 nights in Vencice is not enough. If you change to only 2 nights, you will only have part of the arrival day, one full day, and some of the departure day. One full day and parts of two others is not, in my opinion, enough time to do justice to one of the most unique places on earth. Even if you spend three nights (the bare minimum I think), you will only scratch the surface and miss many of the things that make it a great city. Others may disagre, and that's ok, but I think you should keep with what you have planned, and consider adding another night to Venice. If there is such a thing as a "Venicephile" I plead guilty. Just my two cents worth.

I'm with TC-2 nights in Venice is not enough. You have 1.5 days there. Most who don't spend enough time come away hating it. You would not have time to visit the outer islands.
Your journey to CT on departure from Venice is a longish one so I imagine you'll want to get going early?

What I am wondering is can you consolidate all your Rome stays at end of your trip to eliminate 3 hotel stays there? Checking in/out unpacking/getting oriented takes a good half day, You lose so much time with too many location changes. Can you travel onward on arrival to Venice? Venice is a great place to get over jet lag. You'll be tired from your flight anyway- a 4 hour train ride that day allows you to nap, have lunch and rest before you get to Venice.

12 nights- correct?

Fly to Rome- train to Venice--
Venice 3 nights
CT 2 nights- unless you plan on doing a lot of hiking this is enough here
Salerno 3 nights- this is a long haul- give it 3 nights no matter how your itinerary ends up
Rome 4 nights
Fly home

That is just 4 hotels/3 changes opposed to the 6 hotels/5 changes you have now

Two nights is definitely not enough time in Venice. Sept 27 you loose 1/2 day on the train. By the time you buy your vaporetto pass and get to your hotel (assuming it's closer to San Marco than the train station) you have used another hour. So that's night one. You'll see maybe one museum/church/whatever. Sept 28 you have a full day of sight seeing. That's night two. You're giving up your second full day of sightseeing. So no Burano, no Murano, probably no walking the neighborhoods to see the essence of Venice. Scratch every thing off your list except the tourist spots around San Marco and Rialto Bridge.
I am heading back to Venice for my third visit in five years; 12 nights total in Venice and I still won't see everything. Keep your itinerary as is. If you want more days for elsewhere, I'd cut Cinque Terre because of the long train rides to and from; it's like spending a full day on a train.

Venice ALWAYS needs MORE time. Personally, I'd skip CT and do Florence since it's on the way to Rome. CT is SO crazy crowded now.

I'd cut Cinque Terre because of the long train rides to and from; it's
like spending a full day on a train.

Agree.

Christine H posted exactly what I was going to suggest. Consolidating your Rome stays to just one block at the end of your trip will be both time saving and much more efficient logistically.

Have you bought your plane tickets yet? If not, fly in and out of Venice and Rome (multi-city). If yes, can you make changes?
I agree with Christine that you need to spend your first night in Venice not Rome. I also agree that Venice deserves three nights and that does not include a day trip to Murano/Burano. On day one you want to follow the crowd and on day two you want to get lost. When you’re ready to get back on the beaten path join the crowd.
On your second night in Venice ride a vaporetto (water bus) at dusk between the train station and San Marco Square. This way you won’t see the decay on the palaces that line the Grand Canal. Instead, you’ll see the palaces illuminated foyers. The experience took me back in time.
As already said, the Cinque Terre needs a minimum of two nights. If you take a hike(s), add a night per hike.
From the Cinque Terre take a train to the Naples central station (Napoli Centrale) that will use up an entire day. You then need to go to the basement and hop on the Circumvesuviana (commuter) train to Sorrento which is the end of line: https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule. Sleep in Sorrento for two nights and use Sorrento as your springboard to tour the Amalfi Coast. I recommend catching a very early bus and sitting on right when facing the driver (passenger side of the car). Wear motion sickness bracelets on each wrist because the Amalfi Coast Road is hilly with lots of curves. Ride the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. When you get to Amalfi find out what the ferry schedule is and take a ferry from Amalfi back to Sorrento.
If you pack light, you can visit Pompeii on your way to Rome: https://pompeiisites.org/en/visiting-info/visitor-services/. No bag can exceed 30x30x15cm. Afterwards take the fast train from Naples central station to Rome’s Termini station (1h 15m). You need a minimum of three nights for Rome. However, if you add a day trip to Vatican City make it four.

I read your previous posts and you sure have drafted a number of itineraries and received useful feedback. I feel that you have too many destinations and you're spending too much time on trains. I'd eliminate the CT, as you have the Amalfi Coast, and there are similarities. (Also, why go to two extremely crowded places, for which there is no shoulder season anymore?) You also need another day in the AC, because of the poor infrastructure and the difficulty of moving about.
I love Venice, and I'd add time to Venice. If your incoming flight is delayed / canceled, you could effectively lose your first day. It's has happened to me my last two out of four international trips.
Don't stay in Rome that first day- get to Venice as soon as you can. We did that once, and it works out, justnap a little on the train.
I read that you're stuck with flying into and out of Rome, so won't suggest that change.
Hope your trip is magical. Safe travels!

My first visit was technically 2 nights but we arrived near midnight so we really just had one full day. Actually we did everything we planned in that one day. Last trip we had 3 nights and that was o.k. I am planning another trip with my son and DIL. I’d like to do 4 nights but it looks like we will only do 3. I would try to stick to the 3 nights.

If possible, purchase a multi-city flight to fly into Venice and out of Rome. That will give you an extra day by not needing to take the train to Venice the next morning. We love Venice! Definitely don’t take a day away from it.

I would choose one water location between Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast instead of both. If you skip CT, take the train from Venice to Salerno. Then finish with your days in Rome.

It’s painful for me to see that all of your chosen locations are the busiest cities and locations. Any chance you’re open to one stop at a less touristy location that could give you more of an Italian atmosphere vs. being with lots of tourists?

Do you want to immerse yourself in Venice, or is it a “check the box?” We were there just over 24 hours, and felt like we got a good feel for it. We heard the big bands on St. Mark’s square, toured the Doge’s palace, the Grand canal, toured the Bridge of Sighs, took a gondola ride, walked the Rialto Bridge to dinner on the other side of the canal, and wandered the streets, bridges, canals and squares. For us, there was so much Italy calling, it was a check the box for us.
I agree, with others - put all your Rome stays together at the end of your trip since you have to go there anyway to fly home. We flew in to Milan and immediately took the train to Lake Como for 2 nights (a lovely place to get over jet lag!) and then went to Venice for just 1 night. Then on to Florence. Venice lovers don’t hate me - I had a great time in Venice, so glad we went, but wouldn’t have wanted to give up anything else in our trip to spend more time there.

Just thought I’d mention:
To everyone who’s suggesting temp_bb fly open jaw, they have bought round trip tickets to/from Rome. I understand his thinking since I saved $400 doing the same and that’s after buying a business class train ticket to Venice.

To temp_bb: Since you like hiking (from your first post), use the CT days for more days around Amalfi/Capri. There are hiking trails there. You’ll save travel time.

Don't cut Venice, cut Cinque Terre

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We've decided to skip CT and add the days somewhere else. Much appreciated.

I was all about the AC when I breezed past your itinerary, and yes you absolutely need to do either one or the other with AC or CT.....I don't see how you have any time to enjoy Campania and the coast if you have only one full day in the area and are trying to do Pompeii AND go on a ferry. I wouldn't be back to Salerno until at least 3 or 4 if I were going to do Pompeii from there and that wouldn't allow any time on the coast. You need at LEAST 3 nights (to give you 2 sightseeing days) to do Pompeii and the coast (if you were coming from a closer destination you COULD do Pompeii on the way in), one per day. And yes, you absolutely shouldn't be in Rome 3 times, you land and take your train IMMEDIATELY to Venice. No need to waste 3 (or 4ish) days traveling to and from Rome (arrival day, then into Rome from the north, leaving Rome to the south, and coming BACK to Rome before you leave) when you could use only ONE and do it at the end.

I'd been hearing from people for years that they hate Venice. When I started to use the forum, I was surprised at the number of people, experienced travelers, that loved Venice and had taken multiple trips. I started to realize that folks that had been telling me they didn't like Venice had stayed for only a couple days, had done few if any visits to museums and churches and hung around the Rialto bridge and St. Mark's square. I think Venice takes a little more effort to visit and enjoy than other cities might.

We'll be in Venice in September for 5 nights. I've planned my itinerary so I can get advance tickets for a few places. I've already realized I do not have enough time in Venice to do everything I want AND to soak in the atmosphere.

Maybe Venice is not your thing, and in that case two or three nights is enough to do the big ticket things, Basilica, Piazza, Rialto, gondola.

And if Venice IS your thing, then a few nights will leave you wanting more, much more. That was the case for us.