Naples or Florence

Pompeii isn't very far from Naples, and if you go there go to Herculaneum as well, better preserved. Naples offers islands to visit that you won't find up north. That might provide more fun for the teenagers.

It seems like Florence is the best choice so you aren't moving long distances. From Florence you can day trip Siena and other Tuscan and Umbrian towns. Save Naples for the next trip.

If by 2 days you mean 2 nights, that is only one full day -- Venice needs at least 3 nights. I would choose Florence over Naples -- there is just so much to do there and consider a day trip to Siena from Florence. The kids would get a kick out of climbing the Torre Mangia
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/siena/
And the town is manageable and impressive. The Cathedral is jaw dropping inside.

Count nights, not days. A night is always a night, a day could be a few hours for sightseeing (if you have a long travel day). And your departure day for your next destination will take time.

Firenze would be my recommendation for your time frame. Add a night to Venezia.

Your path is in the correct order for what you wish to see, but you simply do not have enough time to see it all.

To do this and enjoy yourselves. You need at least 3 more nites.

1. Travel.

2. Arrive Venice. 3N.

3. Venice.

4. Venice.

5. Train-Monterosso. 5H29m 3N.

6. Monterosso.

7. Monterosso.

8. Train-Rome. 4H29m 3N.

9. Rome.

10. Rome.

11. Train-Naples. 1H20m
    Naples-Sorrento 1H29m 4N

12. Sorrento-Pompei Scavi 40m
    Allow 3 hours.

13. Sorrento-Herculaneum 30m
    Allow 2-3 Hrs.

14. Train to Naples 1h29m
    Metro to Baia 45m (Pozzuoli)
    Metro to Cuma. Sybil cave.
    (You can't actually explore the cave anymore, but the rest of the site is interesting archeologicaly)

15. Bus or ferry to explore AC.

16. Train to Naples. 1N. You need to be near the airport for your flight the next day.

17. Fly home

So you really need to decide what to cut. If you need to keep it at 14 days, 12Nites then do away with the Conque Terre and add 1 nite to Rome and 1 to AC.

Frankly, Venice 3N-Florence-3N-CT 2N-Rome 4N makes more sense for the time you have.

We did 2N in Venice and 2N in Cinque Terra and we don't regret not spending more. My vote would be for Naples: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Underground Naples, the Nat'l Archaeolgical Museum and of course pizza! I loved the atmosphere of Naples.

The key word is " summer". Florence is another city...beautiful but very art oriented and the kids will have a ton of art and architecture in Rome...if you want a totally different experience from CT.. I seriously would cut Rome to 4 nights unless you plan on visiting the Vatican on two separate days...I know you can see Rome for your whole life and still discover more, but it is a very hot very intense place for 5 nights..you can also cut the side trip to Pompeii from Rome if you try this...

I recommend taking the family to Ischia...which is one hour by ferry from Naples...for 3 nights.. this is where Italians and other Europeans go for family fun...it has everything..really easily accessible SANDY beaches, castles, sea ports, amazing churchs, gardens, spas ( think 6 flags with 25 different pools and a beach) and more...for a short stay I recommend staying in or near Ischia Porto ( main port town) you can take a boat tour one morning that goes to all four major towns around the island..Castle Aragonese /Saracen fortress is a great place for the whole family to visit...sweeping views..then spend the rest of the day at the beach...and for dinner I recommend Ischia Ponte as more quaint and less of a rip off than the places in the main port.

on the way back from here you can lock your luggage in the Napoli Centrale station and go to Herculaneum...in summer it is much better viewing than Pompeii...it is smaller, think one city neighborhood instead of an entire large town..it is well preserved, there is shade, and you can see it in 1.5 hours get back to Naples and still have time to see the archeological museum which houses all the goods salvaged from Herculaneum & Pompeii...and have the pizza the kids want...Neopolitan style!

I have always either started or ended every trip to Italy in Ischia for the last 12 years...you will love it!

I am so grateful to all of you. The insightful comments and amount of time you spend providing advice is heartwarming. You are right I should be counting by nights and not days. I will go back to the drawing board and look up Torre Mangia, Firenze, Venezia. Still on the fence about Naples vs Florence but have read it is doable to get a day trip to Pompeii from Rome if we opted for Florence. I think my family would do better away from the big city since they will get that in Venice and Rome. My kids are country kids and too many cities may not be the right call for them. This is why I put Cinque Terra on the itinerary. Thanks again for weighing in with your recommendations.

Don't forget Ostia Antica...outside of Rome for ruins...this could keep you above Rome so to speak but still entertain the whole family and get out of the cities a bit.

I will add a "second" to the 4-28 posting by "gerri" [ Venice 3N-Florence-3N-CT 2N-Rome 4N makes more sense for the time you have]. and recommend Ostia Antica as a day trip from Rome, rather than the spread yourself too thin by trying to add Naples to your limited time

As many have said, every time you move, you lose at least half a day on the packing/unpacking, travel etc.with no real sightseeing while in transit. Give yourself the time to enjoy what you can do, not exhaust yourself trying to do "everything"

I will add a "second" to the 4-28 posting by "gerri" [ Venice
3N > Florence-3N >CT 2N > Rome 4N makes more sense for the time you have].
and recommend Ostia Antica as a day trip from Rome, rather than the
spread yourself too thin by trying to add Naples to your limited time.

Another vote for this one as I'm also thinking it makes the most sense from a linear perspective. I think you'll appreciate that extra night in Venice very much, and a day-trip from Florence to Siena or Lucca would be easy enough, if desired.

As far as "getting away from big cities", understand that of the three on this list, only Rome is really "big", and you're only going to be covering a piece of it. In all three cases you'll be exploring very old historic centers which do not feel anything like what we think of as a "big city" in the U.S.: no forest of towering steel-and-glass high-rises and whatnot. Busy with people? Yes, but Venice is almost completely pedestrianized, and Florence has large sections which are car-free as well.

Ostia Antica will be a much easier day trip from Rome than Pompeii. Really, I'd save that one for a future trip when you can give Campania more time than you'd be able to on this one.

I agree with Kathy about crowds.

By the way, the Torre Mangia is the tower in Siena's main piazza. It is quite a climb gut great views from the top.

Thanks again everyone for weighing in. What I have realized is whatever I end up doing, we will see wonderful sites and have a great trip. I have personally been to Venice and Florence but my family have not and it was many years ago. I look forward to seeing Rome though. If there are any suggestions on places to stay in these 3 cities I am now going to start looking. Thanks again!

Carol,
My RS 7 Days in Rome tour stayed at the Lancelot Hotel a few blocks behind the Colosseum, a perfect location for access to the Metro, Termini train station and the Forum/Colosseum/Vittorio Emmanuel Monument/Capitoline Museums. It is on Via Capo d'Africa. It is 3 stars run by a hands-on family with great breakfasts and lovely staff. It seems they replace the flowers every other day. Very pleasant place to stay.
Judy B