Hi,
My husband and I are going to Italy in October. It's my 2nd time, his first. We'll be traveling by train, taking overnighters for the long ones.
Any FB on this itinerary is much appreciated!!
Fly in to Rome 3 days train to Naples, ferry to Capri for 1 day, ferry to Sorrento for 2 days, night train to Florence 1 day early train to Siena 1 day then night train to Venice 2 days then to Milan to spend the day/night and flight out.
Thanks!!

OK, I'll readily admit to not being too computer savy, but what in the world does FB mean??? Surely not feedback?

Patrick - I believe you're right - FB for feedback.

To bsd - 8 places in 11 days? Did I get the math right? It's a lot of moving around. Why not stay in either Capri or Sorrento and day trip to the other.

Siena isn't far from Florence. An hour perhaps. Stay in Florence for 2 nights and take a day trip to Siena. If using public transportation the bus is easier since it leaves you off nearer the old town. You'd need a cab from the train station.

I would go from Naples to Sorrento via Pompeii and spend the day there. It was so fascinating.

Spend an extra day in Venice and save Milan for another time.

It sounds like you have roughly a ten day trip in mind. Not to be rude, but I'd recommend that you re-think this itinerary. It's got you hopscotching all over Italy with barely a chance to put down your suitcase and enjoy a limoncello. I'd recommend two possible itineraries: Rome-Florence-Venice,(fly home from Venice) OR Rome-Sorrento-Capri (fly home from Rome). I definitely think you'll find the trip more enjoyable if you have some real time to spend in each place.

Good luck!

Thanks for all of the feedback thus far. We'll actually be in Italy about 13 days and are flying into Rome and out of Milan. It does sound like a lot of moving around (and really the impetus of the question), so we were trying to figure out if it would be better to take more day trips (to capri and siena--from sorrento and florence) or just go and spend a few nights in those cities. Thus far, it sounds like the consensus is to stay put?!

I don't understand the night train to Venice from Florence.

Usually when one says night train ,they mean a sleeper and avoiding a hotel room for a night. Or did you just mean a train in the evening? Those cities are only about 3 hours apart by train

I agree that your plans don't leave much time to enjoy yourself in any of the places you have chosen. If your airline tickets are set, you have no choice but to fly home from Milan, but I think Weadles gave you good advice, except that I would want to fly home from Naples and eliminate backtracking to Rome.

Last year we flew into Rome and stayed a couple of days, drove to Florence for a couple more days (had been to both cities before), then drove to Venice (where we dropped off the car) stayed for three days and took the train to Milan where we spent two nights before flying home. I enjoyed the trip, but felt we had crammed in too much for the time we were in Italy. Too much packing and unpacking, and lots of time in transit. Only you can decide, but that's my take on your plans.

Since you need to fly out of Milan, I'd recommend Rome-Venice-Milan. You can easily train between Venice-Milan. We did it last year and it takes about three hours on the Eurostar. Rather than basing in Milan, I'd suggest spending a few days at the lakes, either Maggiore or Como, both of which are not that far from Milan. It should be absolutely beautiful there in October!

Good luck with your planning, and have a great trip!

It sounds like you've been there before and chances are you'll be there again. My 2 cents is to slow down. Seeing the inside of a train is not why you're going to Italy is it? La dolce vita is the sweet life, not the rushed and hurried, let's cross another destination off of our list life.

What if you and your husband sat down and decided what you REALLY want to see on this trip. Decide what you feel can be crossed off the list allowing to relax and savor some spots.

The bottom line is that it's your trip. You may decide the full fledged itinerary is what suits the two of you best. Most of the experienced travellers here seem to have a different opinion however. To each his own.

Cheers, the turnip