This sounds like a very doable itinerary with the right amount of time in each place. If you're driving from Tuscany to the CT, we stayed in Lerici, where you can take a boat for a day trip to the CT. It was easy to drive in/out of. We also drove the Amalfi Coast and it wasn't that bad, but the parking was very expensive for the 3 days we stayed in Positano. May is also a wonderful time to go!

I would suggest an open jaw ticket, flying straight into Venice and out of Naples or Rome depending on where you end your stay. You do not have to book a "round-trip" ticket.

Also, I suggest that you visit Pisa on your way from south/central Tuscany to Cinque Terre.

I wouldn't take a day from Cinque Terre, I would prefer to borrow one from the 6 nights in amalfi instead. You need at least 1 full day ( 2 nights) in the Cinque Terre.

You have 5 cities listed for your 6 nights in Amalfi, I'd reduce that by one. (I'd probably skip Sorrento - its a good base but not the ideal destination)

where's lerici?

Lerici is across the Gulf from Portovenere, which may be a better option.

Sounds like a heavenly trip! Pisa is only one hour from Florence, so I would try to combine those two if possible- perhaps with an overnight in between (though I know you just debated this!) Going up to the same area twice from Montepulciano seems like a waste of precious Tuscany time!

You'll love Montepulciano. We spent a week of our honeymoon at the Politian apartments (www.politian.com) and fell in love with the town. I would recommend Pienza as another nice side trip. We actually hiked there, following the itinerary in "Walking and Eating in Tuscany," but it would be an easy drive.

One other small note- we were there at basically the same time last year (June 4-11) and there was a cold spell for a few days that we weren't prepared for. So just keep in mind that you might want a pair of nicer closed-toed shoes, and a sweater or light jacket.

Enjoy! :)

Great suggestions guys.
I'm thinking of hitting florence on the way from Venice before getting to Montepulciano and spending time there (leave Venice super early)and hitting pisa on the way to cinq terre to minimize travel time.
We can always do one day trip to Florence in addition if we feel the need to spend more time there.

Check out inflorencehotels.com They have at least 4 apartment rentals that go day to day. There is a beautiful one next to the duomo for 200.00 a nightfor a 1 bedroom, Palazzo Gamba. I just booked a 3 bedroom apartment for 6 adults and 2 children for 250 euro at Palazzo dei Ciampo. They have great rates and a good review on venere.com.

There are also day to day rental apartments in Rome. Just do a google search for apartments in rome. I found several companies that rent day to day. Good Luck!

Ok so this is the current itinerary / Status. Thanks everyone for the great advice

Leave toronto May16th evening. Fly into Venice and Leave out of Rome on June 11th (just booked an aircanada flight)
1. Venice arrive Wednesday May17 –leave early Saturday (3 days 3 nights)
pick up a car and drive to Tuscany
Saturday visit some towns on the way from Venice (Verona? Padua? Ferrara? Bologna? these are the options, any advice?) We're staying at Ca'Formenta in Venice
2 Tuscany arrive late Saturday- leave early Saturday (6 days 7 nights) Booked an apartment at Sant'Antonio. We haven't put together the schedule for Tuscany yet but we're hoping to do some driving tours of Chianti and hit maybe Elba and Saturnia and maybe Pisa.
Drive to Florence and drop off the car there.

3. Florence arrive Saturday morning-leave Tuesday morning (3 days/ 3 nights) No hotel booked here yet. Any advice would be great. We like to stay in busy happening areas, close to nightlife. We would probably want to keep this close to 100 euros for a double if possible. What areas are good? bad?

Take the train from Florence to Naples.

4. AC arrive Tuesday-Leave Monday (6.5 days/6 nights)
We're hoping to do Naples+pompeii/mt.vesuvius
maybe hire a driver to do down the Almafi coast and hit Positano or Ravello
Go to capri for maybe 3 nights
We're really not sure how to divide up the time here. We're very good at browsing small towns in very short time. We do want to make the most out of beautiful views and swimming as well as the archeological aspect of this region.
Since Naples can be dangerous, any suggestions on good/bad areas to stay in? How about the rest? Where's good to stay in Capri? should be do
2 nights naples
1 night positano
3 nights capri?


5 Rome arrive Monday- leave Sunday (5.5 days/6 nights) check in june5th, check out june11th We booked the farneseII apartment with Comfortitalia at Campo dei Fiori.


We're very excited at this point with the flights and most hotels/apartments booked :) I'm also taking an italian course starting on Feb1, it's a 10 week course. :)

topping

Reverse Florence and Tuscany--train to Florence & get your car as you depart. Keep the car after Tuscany and drive to Sorrento to drop it--saving a big hassle on a train. The rest looks good. Have fun !

thanks bob. Unfortunately the tuscany rentals only go saturday to saturday so they're not reversible at this point.
Our main open items are
Where to stay in Florence (close to 100 euros)
and the AC itinerary (how much time to spend where at the AC)
thanks everyone

tt

On your trip from Venice to Tuscany: On our most recent trip to Italy, we also started in Venice, which BTW is a magical way to start a trip to Italy! We then spent several days in Ferrara, visiting Bologna as a day trip, before heading to Tuscany.

Ferrara is a cute little town and quite un-touristy, but you might want to save it for another trip, given your other options. Bologna is great for food, has a great food market, but is a bit difficult to get in and out of with a car. I haven't been to Verona or Padua, so I can't offer any advice re those towns. Consider stopping in Ravenna, however. It has a number of buildings decorated with very old mosaics, dating from the very beginning of Christianity. I would put those mosaics on the "top 10" of beautiful sights I have ever seen. On our trip, we left Ferrara after breakfast, drove about 45 min. to Ravenna, spent at least several hours viewing the various buildings and ate lunch, then made the 3 1/2-hour drive from Ravenna to southern Tuscany, arriving in the early evening. That drive really allows you to see the change in terrain from Emilia-Romagna to hilly Tuscany.

Thanks! that sounds really good.