Help: 2 week Italian itinerary
 

First time to Europe. We have almost 3 weeks to spend travelling through Italy and Greece. (April 29- May 20) I have an idea of the route I want to take through Italy but was wondering if I could get an honest critique and helpful advice. This is what I have so far.

4.30 - Arrive in Venice at 10 am (2 days)
5.2 - Cinque Terre (2 days)
5.4 - Florence (3 days)
5.7 - Rome (3 days)
5.11 - Sorrento/Amalfi Coast (3 days)
5.14- 5.20 - Greece
5.20 - Leave from Athens at 2 pm

Questions:
1. We will be taking trains through Italy. I'm not sure how long these journeys take. How do you plan travel time into your itinerary? When is it a good time to take a Night train? I imagine some of the train rides would be beautiful and not to be missed during daylight.

2. Does the proposed itinerary need editing? Is it too ambitious? I'm willing to make changes even if it means eliminating one of our Italian stops or shaving off a day or two from Greece.

3.How far ahead should lodging be reserved?

4.Any advice on a one week Island hopping route through Greece ending up in Athens?

Sorry this is so long but I need help on this so I can set up our lodging for the trip. I can't figure that out until I know where we will be each day. Thank you so much:)

It's ambitious but doable. It sounds like a great trip. I haven't done train travel in Italy but the drives between the cities you mention are not that bad (all under 3 hours), so I would think the train trips would be even less.

Could we eliminate reserving seperate lodging in Cinque Terre by taking day trips there from Florence, or is that too far for day trips?

soulseven-

You can find out train times/schedules at Trenitalia's website. I don't think any of the train trips are long enough for a night train.
www.trenitalia.com/en

How are you getting to Greece from Amalfi Coast?

We were going to take a train from the Amalfi Coast over to Bari or Brindisi to ferry over to Greece. Do have a recommendation?

You COULD do cinque terre as a day trip, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's about three hours by train, and you'll likely have to change trains in Pisa. Plus, you'll want to see as many of the five towns as you can, and if you are spending six hours of the day traveling, you won't have much time to hike between the towns, or take the train between the towns and really appreciate them. Cinque Terre is amazing and shouldn't be rushed. Two days is perfect.