Which three cities?

Where are you flying in and out of?

What is your reason for going to Sorrento?

HI. Chose Sorrento because of beauty and our love of the water. I realize we won't be swimming at this time of year. But the trip from Sorrento to Florencee seems like a slog...most likely five hours. But we're also really keen to see Pompeii.

In Sorrento, the ferries will be shutting down around then, and the weather iffy. We found out how limited indoor activities are in the area. We had unseasonal heavy rains May, 2023, when we were in Sorrento/AC. There were no views, no blue skies nor blue water. Without the vistas, the area is not so much fun.
However, VFR trip offers several indoor activities, if you have some rainy days, so I vote for the latter. Have a great trip!

That’s taking a whole day for travel out of your ten days. It’s difficult because there’s so much to see in Italy. I guess you need to decide what you want to see the most.

For that time of year I would skip Sorrento. It’s a wonderful place but would likely be more enjoyable in guaranteed better weather. Can’t speak for if/when things start to shut down for the season either - others can probably chime in on that.

For 10 days (9 nights) in end of October, I would definitely do Rome 4 nights, Florence 3 nights, and Venice 2 nights, fly into Rome and out of Venice. Or depending on your flights, reverse the whole trip and fly into Venice and out of Rome. I would imagine the foliage in Tuscany is BEAUTIFUL during that time of year! Maybe plan for a winery tour in Chianti or some other guided tour around Tuscany while staying in Florence

I think Venice, Florence Rome would be better. For an idea of what to see & do look at Rick's tour of this itinerary.

If your flights are already set to fly in and out of Rome, I suggest once you land in Rome (likely in the early-to-mid-morning?) go ahead and take the train to Venice. You can find a number of discussions on this board on how to do this. I've done it several times, taking the Leonardo Express train from Rome airport (FCO) to Roma Termini train station (the main big station in the center of the city). These trains run every 20" or so from the train station at the Rome airport. Follow the signs; it's about a 10" walk from where you exit the arrivals area to the trains. From Termini, take an express train (Freccia) direct to Venice. You can see train schedules on trenitalia.com. (There's another train company too; trenitalia schedule has always worked better for me.) Pick up some lunch in Termini (there are lots of restaurants and takeaway food vendors) and take it on the train with you. The journey will take approx. 3.5-4 hours. You will then arrive in Venice in early-to-mid afternoon. Spend 2-3 nights in Venice; 2 hour train ride to Florence; 3-4 nights in Florence; 2.5-3 hour train ride from Florence to Rome. Going ahead and traveling to Venice on arrival day means that the day when you are already jet lagged will be used to get to your farthest destination, then you will be working your way back to Rome. If you get a room in Rome upon arrival, you will have one more hotel change during your short trip.

That is a dilemma. Both Sorrento (with Pompeii) and Venice are great places to visit. But, as you noted, it's a long train ride from Sorrento to Florence. It's only a little shorter from Rome to Venice. I think the biggest factor is the unpredictability of the weather for Sorrento. There's just not that much to do in Sorrento if it's inclement. OTOH, there are plenty of indoor activities in Venice, Florence and Rome.

If,by chance, you haven't booked flights yet, or have a changeable ticket, you could consider a multicity ticket into Venice and home from Rome if you decide to switch out Sorrento.

We did Rome, Florence, Venice on our first trip to Italy because it just seemed to make sense to see the big three first but we also included a day trip from Rome to Pompeii as we weren’t really sure if/when we would be back. We took the high speed train from Rome to Naples (took just over an hour and Naples was the first stop so easy peasy) and picked up a tour that included transportation to and a guide in Pompeii. We were back in Rome for dinner. Maybe an option? I’ve since been back to Italy several times and do love Sorrento but I was there in June.

It's much easier to fly into Venice than out of, due to many very early morning connecting flights out of Venice. Getting to the Venice airport in the wee hours is a challenge. Have a great trip.

First trip to Italy? That’s a lot of ground and major cities/sites for ten days. You said 10 full days, so to me that means 11 nights. (10 nights is just 9 full days).

Maybe consider just two of those. With perhaps a convenient day trip or even a day with an overnight stop to a smaller city to get a bit of a “back door” view. For example, just Rome and Florence, with a stopover in Orvieto. Or, Venice & Rome with a nice day trip to Padova (Padua)? Sorrento, Naples and Rome, perhaps and you could work in an excursion to Capri or Ischia in the Gulf of Naples area?

Or, consider bumping up 10 days in Italy to 12. You could leave on a Saturday, arrive Sunday, then have 12 full days that does NOT include your arrival day (13 nights) in Italy, get home Saturday night and then have Sunday to recover before returning to work Monday.

That would allow you a bit more time to cover as much as you are suggesting with three big stops that include both Florence and Rome.

*Further thoughts *

Since Sorrento, Pompei and the beauty of that area may be big on your mind, let me suggest the type of “less is more” itinerary that you might consider …

• Arrival day. Settle into Sorrento
• Day 1 - Amalfi coast excursion
• Day 2 - excursion to Capri … or Ischia
• Day 3 - excursion to Paestum … before Rome, Greece actually dominated southern Italy. Rome then further settled Paestum and the ruins at Paestum are well preserved. There is a nice little museum on the site with ancient art and historical context.
• Day 4 - Transfer to Naples. See its archaeological museum. Have pizza for dinner and enjoy the passegiatta
• Day 5 - Pompeii. Without rushing. Perhaps Herculaneum on the way back to Naples. Or time in the late afternoon to see more sights in Naples.
• Day 6 - Train to Rome and time to just explore.
• Day 7 - The Roman forum and Capitoline Hill Museum. your time in Paestum, Pompeii and Naples has set this up beautifully.
• Days 8, 9 and 10. More Rome and a possible day trip elsewhere
• One day (Day 8) to focus on the Vatican museum and St Peter’s and perhaps other sights such as the Pantheon and Piazza Navona and one or more churches with great art by Michelangelo or Caravaggio or Bellini. (CORRECTION: Bernini)
• Another day (Day 9) for an excursion, perhaps to Orvieto, or to Tivoli and Hadrian’s Villa
• and your last day (#10) for more of Rome’s neighborhoods like Trastevere, Piazza dei Popolo, the Spanish Steps and sights like the Trevi Fountain and the Villa Borghese. A final passegiatta along the Corso on your way to the Trevi fountain.

Go to Florence, Venice and other great areas and sights in northern Italy on a separate trip.

Buon Viagge

Because you mentioned water and Pompeii, how about 2 or 3 nights in Naples? It's on the Bay of Naples. You can ferry to either Ischia or Capri for an island day. Pompeii is a local train/metro ride away and goes well with a visit to the superb National Archaeology Museum in Naples. Naples is just over an hour by train from Rome, 3 hours from Florence. Go straight to Florence on landing in Rome, then Naples, and end in Rome.

Venice is a lot farther from Rome, but a great choice.

I would have to agree with Fred. Go to two of the big 3 cities and spend time in a smaller town. Orvieto is spectacular and easy to get to from the train. The archeological museum in Naples is great as is the pizza. We visited Sorrento in November and a great time. Isle of Capri was iffy but we made it. I love all the major cities but you will miss out on small town Italy if you just go to Venice, Firenze, and Rome.

Thank you to everyone for your advice. Fred, really appreciate your thorough and thoughtful reply! Lots of fantastic ideas and advice. We are considering eliminating Florence and instead visiting a Tuscan town for a few days. From Florence, we planned to visit wineries. We really like wine ;). I should have mentioned that a visit to Pompeii is important, and we hope to climb Vesuvius. Driving isn't an option so choosing a town mostly accessible by transportation is important.

I call Venice, Florence and Rome the big three in Italy. There is a great fast train that connects those cities.
Do 2 nights in Venice, 3 or 4 in Florence and 4 or 5 in Rome.

With 10 full days, how many nights do you have? I tend to plan with nights vs days.

We have had the same situation with flying in and out of Rome and preferring public transport. Based on your most recent post
( drop Florence, stay in Tuscan town) and Pompeii is a must, I think this makes the most use of your time:
Land in Rome- either train to Orvieto ( cheating slightly as it is Umbria not Tuscany, but is a lovely hill town, with wineries close by and great transport links. It is also a quiet spot to get over jet lag ) 3 nights
Train to Naples, and then Circumvesuvia to Sorrento- see Pompeii, Amalfi etc. 3- 4 nights
Train back to Rome - rest of your stay.

If you really want to see more of Tuscany, then I would probably try to take the bus from the airport to Siena and use that as a base. But it will add to your travel time ( I think). If you did that, I might add an extra night to Siena and take off of Rome or Sorrento.

Lots of fantastic ideas and advice. We are considering eliminating
Florence and instead visiting a Tuscan town for a few days. From
Florence, we planned to visit wineries. We really like wine ;). I
should have mentioned that a visit to Pompeii is important, and we
hope to climb Vesuvius. Driving isn't an option so choosing a town
mostly accessible by transportation is important.

Dennice--

With these new wrinkles in your plan--all good--let's figure out what's best for you logistically. Trying to find a way for you to not have to book two stays in Rome, and still do Tuscany and Pompei, maybe Vesuvius.

First, l am assuming you will arrive at Roma Fiumicino earlier in the day after an overnight flight from the States.

So, we ditch Florence?! I love Florence--if you wanted, you could fly into Roma Fiumicino, immediately take a 90 minute train from Termini station to Florence. Tons of vino opportunities in Florence itself, and to see the countryside, one day get out of Dodge & take a daytrip into Chianti or Tuscany to a winery, or take a wineries tour. Maybe a total of 3 nights staying in Florence, then backtrack to Rome for the duration of your trip.

The alternative to Florence would be to take a train/bus combination after arriving by plane--adding to a long day of travel--from Rome Termini station to a southern Tuscan town like Montepulciano (where my favorite Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made), about 3+ hours. Stay there for 3 nights and come back to Rome, where you'd base for the final 6-7 nights.

You can do a daytrip from Roma Termini station to Pompei, but it does make for a pretty long day. You'd have to leave by 9 or 10 in the morning. Train to Naples is a little over an hour and quick, but then you'd go downstairs at the station and take the Circumvesuviana train another 45 minutes to the Pompei Scavi entrance. The ruins are massive & fantastic, and you'll want to spend at least 3-4 hours there. Then reverse your trip, and you could be back in Rome by dinnertime. But the dogs will be tired! And...unless you want to stay down in the Naples/Amalfi Coast/Salerno area, which you really don't have the time for...I'd pass on hiking Vesuvius.

So then you have a few days to explore Rome, my favorite city on the planet. I could spend a month there, easily. Plenty to do, pick your neighborhood and have a blast. Another daytrip that could be really interesting is to the hilltown of Orvieto in Umbria, which is the province adjacent to Tuscany. About 75 minutes each way from Termini. Phenomenal food, views, and my favorite cathedral in Italy. A really, really neat little town.

Enjoy your planning!

Will be in Italy for ten full days

So you have 11 nights in Italy, correct?

With Pompeii and Venice being 'musts', I would suggest going to Naples on arrival day and visiting Pompeii the next day. Spend 2 nights in Naples. ( Avoids the time consuming logistics of getting to/from Sorrento) Then off to Venice for 'x' number of nights. How many depends on what you plan to see/do.
How many nights do you plan for Rome?

Now you just have the arithmetic to solve for how many nights you have left for the 'between Venice and Rome' stop.

Staying in a countryside town and not having a rental car presents a not insignificant challenge. Perhaps stay in Florence and take day trips to the "Tuscan town(s)'?

Have you looked at Orvieto as your smaller town experience?

Happy travels