Thoughts on this itinerary? Thank you! :)

I would go straight to Venice upon arrival in Rome. You can take the train or fly. This will save you from one hotel change and will give you two full days in Venice rather than 1.5 days. If you want to visit Florence for a day trip, consider taking an early morning train from Venice to Florence and spend the day there (Florence is on the high speed rail line between Rome and Venice). You can leave your luggage at the train station and take a late afternoon/early evening train back to Rome.

Thank you Stephen!

The only reason we thought of staying the night in Rome on Monday was since we arrive at 4:30 pm, I'm not sure how long getting our luggage/immigration will take and was wondering if it would end up being too late to arrive in Venice?

If you want to work in Florence, spend a night there on your travels between Rome and Venice. Adding it as a day trip from Rome is a lot of useless backtracking.

Excluding your first night (which doesn't count, time for meal+jetlag only), you have 2 nights Venice + 7 nights Rome.
Florence is between Venice and Rome, the trains all go via Florence. So logically, take 1-2 nights off Rome, and stop at Florence after Venice, then on to Rome for the remaining time.

I assume you have done your research, and know all about Trenitalia to buy tickets from ( http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en ), the price advantage of buying early, the rules for rail tickets (if bought in advance, no changes or refunds) and the correct Italian names of the stations ("Roma Termini", "Venezia S. Lucia" and "Firenze S. M. Novella").

What about going directly to Florence on arrival day: about 2 hours, 30 minutes from Fiumicino with one change in Rome? I wouldn't recommend backtracking it as a daytrip from Rome either, and it really deserves a full day.

Monday 10/29: arrive in Rome/train to Florence
Tuesday 10/30: Florence
Wed 10/31: morning train to Venice
Thursday 11/1 - Venice
Friday 11/2 - morning train to Rome
Sat 11/3 - Wed 11/7 - Rome
Friday 11/8: fly home

This would still give you 5 full days plus part of another in Rome. But if that doesn't do it for you, spend Monday night in Rome, get a Tuesday morning train to Florence and stay in Florence that evening. Then on to Venice.

Hi Kathy - is the arrival at 4:30 pm on Monday a concern for being able to get a train to Florence? that same afternoon/evening?

Trains leave Rome for Florence about every 15 minutes for most of the evening, until 8:50. Then there are longer gaps but still more trains that evening. Last train is just after midnight. It’s not a problem at all, and I’m also firmly in the camp of get moving out of Rome to maximize your time sightseeing and minimize time wasted in hotel changes. You’ll be tired but might as well move on a little longer to have a better next day. You should be able to find a nice enough hotel near the Florence train station and just crash. Good luck, hope you have a wonderful trip.

You've booked your tickets so the train has left the station.....is it too late to change?
You might find that Venice is a place where you would like to spend more time. My wife loved it there. What appealed to her was the absence of cars and traffic. The spirit of walking and boating everywhere really was enjoyable. We were there for 4 nights and could have stayed longer. We also loved Rome and spent even longer there.
We flew to Venice and flew out from Rome....we also spent a few nights in Florence.
For the short time you are there, I'd skip Florence and focus on Venice and Rome....and if it's not too late, consider flying into Rome and out of Venice or visa versa..that would cut your train time down.
Enjoy your holiday...

I don't think you'd have any problem getting a train. I just looked at a random Wed. (schedules for October probably aren't out yet but they don't change much) and there is a train leaving Fiumicino Aeroporto as late as 19:57 (7:57 PM) plus one at 19:53, 19:23, 18:57, 18:53, 18:42, 18:38, 18:23, etc. All of these have one change in Rome and will get you to Firenze S.M. Novella in approx. 2.5 hours. The only caution would be a seriously delayed or cancelled flight. For that reason I wouldn't pre-purchase tickets but most of us don't recommend pre-purchasing train tickets for arrival days anyway.

I'm a big fan of Florence so it's hard for me to tell someone to skip it unless they REALLY don't care for the things it has to offer or they REALLY don't have time for it. If you weren't willing to rob a day from Rome to do it, I'd say give it a skip or trade out Venice. We all have our faves so there's no wrong choice unless it's wrong for you. :O)

Do you know what you'd like to see/do in Florence? We haven't chatted about your interests yet.

Or...just be ruthless. If Rome is your main focus, just stay in Rome the entire time. You’ll never run out of things to do. I spent 8 nights there on my last trip and was not ready to move on. SHORT day trips such as to Orvieto or Tivoli would give you a change of scene without a hotel change if needed (but it won’t be.) The triple city tour is popular, but staying put and exploring in more depth is very rewarding.

I think the idea of catching the train to Florence on your arrival day has merit. The day is shot as far as sightseeing anyway, and going right to Florence eliminates one hotel change. Going all the way to Venice would mean arriving very, very late in the evening, and who wants to be stumbling around exhausted in the dark trying to find their hotel?

When leaving Venice to return to Rome, you might want to consider a late afternoon train, allowing another half day to explore Venice.

The day is shot as far as sightseeing anyway, and going right to
Florence eliminates one hotel change. Going all the way to Venice
would mean arriving very, very late in the evening

That was my rationale as well, CJean and Nelly.

When leaving Venice to return to Rome, you might want to consider a
late afternoon train, allowing another half day to explore Venice.

Yep, another option that would work.

Thank you all for the great ideas and advice! Thankfully we have not booked any of our train tickets so I definitely think we'll be changing up our plan - definitely leaning toward heading to Florence on arrival day.

I'm going to throw you another train option from Rome.

Italotreno (private rail line that largely serves just Italy's major cities) has mutiple trains leaving Roma Termini for Firenze S.M. Novella, and one which departs at late as 20:45. You'd take the Leonardo Express train to Termini to connect with these...which is fine as you'll be connecting in Rome for Trenitalia routes as well. Italo usually has competitive rates and nice trains so you have a couple of options here.

https://www.italotreno.it/en

Sorry, one more note..

Thankfully we have not booked any of our train tickets

It's too early to do that as schedules/booking ability isn't fully loaded for that late in the year (they'll fully load on June 10th, I believe). Italo currently only shows through July. I was using random dates next month as schedules don't usually change much.

Again, I wouldn't pre-purchase tickets for arrival day (Rome>Florence) unless you can land discounted fares SO cheap that that you're willing to eat the cost should your flight be delayed, there's a long backup at immigration at Fiumicino, etc. and you miss your train. It will probably mean buying base-fare tickets but it's the safest way to go.

That said, Italo offers a Flex ticket that allows you to change your departure time/date up to 3 minutes before departure for no cost, and is usually available in multiple class tiers. They're priced higher but when figuring the fees incurred if needing to change a low-cost or economy ticket, could be a wash.

https://www.italotreno.it/en/support-contacts/faq?faqID={F8F504B7-2910-43BD-9150-7A7B5D5AF7D1}

Also, 2nd class/economy tiers are fine: there's not a big enough difference in comfort, IMHO, to warrant the price difference between those seats and 1st class/prima class should that difference be considerable.

What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary! If I'm reading right, you fly in October 29 and fly out November 8.

I suggest you check for harvest festivals the weekend you are there. I know Greve and Volterra have events around then. Check here and other sites for ideas. This would be a super way to spend the weekend!

Which anniversary is this? We celebrate number 48 this August. Our first kiss was 52 years ago this August. I happened in Florence!

@Kathy - Yes, thank you! I noticed when I went on the site and for the dates it said it couldn't be purchased. I love the idea of the flex ticket! It would be great to know we have something in place but can be changed day of.

@DougMac - I would love to be able to attend a festival! Thank you - I'll check in to it. It's our 5 year wedding anniversary. 48 years - congratulations! Maybe back to Florence for 50? :)

Venice is my 2nd favorite city in the world, but I would not spend all that train time for one day there. I would either choose a place closer to Rome for 2 nights or I would spend at least 3 nights in Venice.

Maybe back to Florence for 50? :)

Absolutely! We were back in Florence for the 50th anniversary of the first kiss (went a few months earlier). We spent the week in an Agriturismo in December. Except for one night, we were the only guests that week. We were spoiled by the staff.