Help with Italy itinerary
 

I think we need a little help with itinerary. We plan on traveling in and out of Rome from there we plan on going to Capri as soon as we land to spend 4 nights, then Florence 4 nights to Venice 4 nights then back to Rome for 4 nights. Is this possible? Any suggestions I would greatly appreciate.

your itinerary is definitely possible, as it is relatively easy to travel within Italy. Since you are going in and out of Rome you will have to backtrack on your itinerary no matter what you do - it's just up to you to decide when you want the longer/shorter travel days.
The only major change I would suggest is shortening your time in Venice in favor of a bit longer in Florence or Rome. Venice is definitely a place to visit, but 4 days may be more than necessary. When I was in Venice, I found it to be more like Disney world than anything; it is always overcrowded with tourists and nearly no one else, and I traveled there off-season. If this is your cup of tea, then go and enjoy it, but be warned - it is not the most authentic travel experience.
I would suggest staying maybe only 2 days and add the extra 2 to the Florence area. This would allow you to take some day trips out of Florence into the nearby Tuscan countryside, which is something NOT TO MISS in Italy.
Enjoy your trip - I will be returning to Rome in March and am certainly looking forward to it. :)

In your other thread you mentioned you have not purchased "tickets," meaning plane tickets?

You are back tracking to Rome twice. Do you have to? From wherever you are flying from, is flying into Venice and flying out of Napoli not an option to eliminate all the back trackings?

When are you going? Capri is a so so destination in winter. Also Capri is not a good base to visit destinations other than Capri itself.

Why not fly into Venice and out of Rome, so you don't have to spend time backtracking?

When are you going? For me, the time in Capri would depend on the weather and what else you want to do on the AC.

With travel time, you are spending only three days in Venice, not four as Jackie indicated, so that is a hard call. I love Venice and could spend weeks there, but Rome could certainly use an extra day.

Personally I wouldn't spend 4 days on Capri, I'd stay on the mainland, maybe Sorrento, and go to Capri for the day. Also I disagree with the poster above about Venice, we had 6 days there in March and loved it. That was my 3rd trip there and I could easily go back for longer.

Definitely try and fly into one airport and out of another to save backtracking. It will also take you a while to reach Capri from Rome, you say you plan to travel there as soon as you arrive but unless you arrive early morning that may prove difficult. Even then you could be jetlagged and it will add on quite a few more hours of travel.

Kay

Easy seat61.com/italy

Train Rome Sorrento do Capri personally would base in Sorrento
Backtrack to Rome then Florence then Venice then all the way back to Rome. booking.com eurocheapo.com hotels budget tips. Fast Trains best slow trains cheapest.

Might also consider Rome Florence Venice www.lucca.info cinqueterre.com Pisa Siena Orvieto Roma so no backtracking.

Capri hot chock a block small touristic and underwhelming.

I would look into flying into Venice first - it's a magical place to start with, also 'easier' to do if you are jet lagged. The main thing to do there is just wander aimlessly soaking up the atmosphere and you can do that jet lagged. If your flight is one that gets in early in the day then I think you could have a good experience with just three nights. Of course you could spend much more but given the other places you want to see.... And yes Venice is very touristy in Piazza San Marco and around the Rialto but walk a 'block' or two away from that main route and it can be very peaceful. Also better early and late in the day when the cruise ship people are back on their boat.

Train to Florence for four nights which will really only be three full days. Take at least one day trip. Siena seems to be the favorite and for good reason.

If you are able to get tickets to fly home from Naples then I'd do Rome next and end with the Amalfi Coast/Capri. But I think it's harder finding flights from Naples than Rome so if you decide to fly home from Rome then after Florence I'd go straight through Rome down to Sorrento. I agree with the person who said stay in Sorrento and do Capri as a day trip. Then with your other days you can see Amalfi, Positano, etc. And then finish up with Rome since that's where you'll need to be for the flight home. Otherwise you may not be able to work out the timing to get all the way from Sorrento (and certainly not Capri)to the airport with out spending an extra night in Rome.

Can anyone give feedback on whether or not visiting the south of Italy is better than visiting the Amalfi Coast? Or is that even a good idea to add a Southern City in the same trip as Northern Italy? For instance fly into Sicaly, visit the black sand beaches in Palermo then head up North to Venice, Florence, and end in Rome? (16 total days including travel?)

Jnunno - you will get more responses if you start your own thread.

thank you everyone.. we are going to try to fly into and out of the different cities. Also with suggestions will be goign to Sorrento instead of Capri. If we stay in Sorrento what is the best way to see the Amalfi Coast without renting a car?

We have stayed twice in Sorrento and easily visited other towns like Positano, Amalfi and Ravello by local bus. When we were there we bought bus tickets in the local tabacchi, that may have changed but just ask a local. The buses did get very crowded with lots of people standing.

For Capri, we walked down the steps to the port at Sorrento and bought tickets for the next boat to Capri. Once on the island there are buses etc.

For Pompeii you can get the train from Sorrento. If you take public transport from Rome to Sorrento, there is a fast train from Rome to Naples (about 2 hrs), then change to a commuter (local) train to Sorrento, which takes an hour. The fast train and the local train at Naples are all in the one station, one is downstairs from the other. Watch your luggage and keep your wits about you at Naples.

Kay

Kay, curious as to what months you were on the AC when it was so crowded.

Also in addition to the regular ferry to Capri there are excursions. Our hotel ran one for only 2€ more than the round trip ferry and it included pick up and drop off at the hotel plus a two hour boat ride around Capri and to the blue grotto in addition to over five hours on our own on the island.

isabel, we were in Sorrento in early March when we were catching buses quite a bit along the Amalfi coast. From memory there were always people standing. We also got off twice at the wrong stop, it would be a good idea to ask passengers or the driver, 'is this Positano' or wherever. It wasn't a big deal, makes us laugh now.

Kay