I was thinking 5 days in venice, 4 in florence and 5 in rome. do you think that is too long in any one place? i want to enjoy the city and not feel rushed... could i go south to the amalif coast for a day or 2 and then fly home from naples; or another trip?

thanks

I think that sounds lovely. You could have a little taste of the Amalfi coast if you fly into Venice, then train to Florence, then train to Rome and then train to Amalfi and fly home from Naples. You could take a day off Venice and a day off Rome without doing too much damage to your plans. Rome is only 1 1/2 hours by train from Florence and an easy trip. Venice to Florence is about 4 hours by train, so you'll lose 1/2 day getting from one to the other by the time you check out/check in to hotels.

Good plan – you are spending more time in Venice than most.

One day needed to find how the place works, a couple of days to see the big sights, and then you have a couple of days to see the curious, the unusual, the frankly odd things that makes Venice like no other city you have ever been to.

It sounds most relaxed and sensible. Try to fly into Venice and out from Rome – arriving in Venice is magic.

I like it--just about right.
Day trip to Siena from Florence by bus.

Plus if you're arriving in Venice after a long overnight flight, that gives you lots of lovely time there to get over jet lag. Wandering around Venice in a stupified daze, getting lost, is appropriate sight-seeing there. I find just the experience of Venice stunning.

I'd trade a day in venice for one in Florence that can be used to explore the surrounding towns like Lucca, Pisa or San Gemignano.

I think your itinerary is just right the way it is. Have a great trip!

personally alane, I woudl find that itinerary rather heavy on cities, and as i like florence the least, I would substitute for Florence a stay in the countryside so that I could recover from all the art and culture I'd seen in venice, and have a chance of remembering what I had seen in Rome when I got there.

to get the most out of it, you'd need to hire a car for that part of the trip.

otherwise, I would stay somewhere like siena to give me a bit of a contrast.