Is this Italy Itinerary good for 7 nights/8 days
 

Hi,
I am planning to visit Italy in Mid May. I stay in Edinburgh and was never been to Europe and would like your advice/suggestions for the itinerary I have made.
Day1 - Edinburgh to Pisa--> see Leaning tower of Pisa in afternoon/evening-->Stay at Pisa
Day 2- Leave for Venice by morning train-->See places-->Stay at Venice
Day 3 - See places--> Leave for Naples by night train (Overnight Journey)
Day 4- Go to Capri--> Visit Grotto caves -->Stay at Capri
Day 5- See Amalfi coast-->Stay at Naples
Day 6 - Leave for Rome--> Visit Colosseum/Forum
Day 7 - Visit places around Rome (Vatical City)
Day 8 - Leave for Edinburgh in the morning

Few people were insisting to cover Florence & Cinque Terre as well but we like beaches/coastal region and not that much interested into historical places. Kindly suggest if this plan looks good and what places should I visit in Pisa, Venice, Rome & Capri. Thanks a lot for your help.

There is an Easy Jet flight from Edinburgh to Naples. Can you use it?

So then your trip would be:

Edinburgh>Naples
Naples>Capri
Capri>Naples
Naples>Rome
Rome>Venice
Venice>Pisa

But what might be even better is:

Edinburgh>Pisa and go straight to le Cinque Terre same day
Le Cinque Terre>Pisa for half-day, go the same day to Venice
Venice>Rome

With trip #2, you don't need to rush around so much but you still get to go to the sea.

For what places YOU want to visit you really should have a look at a couple of good guide books for Italy. Also - check carefully what days you will be where since some sights are closed one day per week - and you don't want it to be the only day you are there. (For instance, Vatican Museums are closed Sundays except for the last Sunday of the month.)

Also, there are a number of sights for which you can get advance tickets in order to avoid long waiting lines.

I would drop the days in the south, and save Naples for another trip.

Stay on the Ligurian coast, at Santa Margherita Ligure.

People who want to see Cinque Terre can do an easy day-trip from there, by train or ferry (if ferries are running). Others could take a bus or ferry to Portofino.

The ferry also goes from Portofino to a very small beach to dock the boat, to visit the monastery at San Fruttuoso.

We liked the little B&B, Nuova Riviera, which is a short walk from the SML harbor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...a_Liguria.html

There are many hotels in SML, too.

You are trying to see too much in a short space of time. You need at least 2 nights in Venice. Capri can be done in a day trip from Amalfi or Naples - you don't need to stay over night. From Venice you could also take the day train to Bologna and then on to Salerno. From Salerno the buses run every hour along the Amalfi coast. Stay in Atrani or Amalfi and then onto Naples for your train trip to Rome. Best thing to do in Rome if time is limited is the hop on hop off bus. It will take you to all the best sights.

I also suggest you leave Naples, Capri and Amalfi Coast for another trip.

You may have noticed, but the so-called (over)night train from Venice to Naples involves two changes at Verona (1 hour connecting time, just before midnight) and Rome (30 minutes at 6:00a). The Verona-Rome train doesn't originate in Verona, and there's always the slim chance it won't be on time at Verona or arriving at Rome. If for some reason, you missed the connection in Rome, the next departures are an hour later or a faster train departing 10 minutes after that. Then, you plan to head immediately to Capri which would require a taxi to the dock and a ferry to the island. This journey from Venice to Capri would take, overall, upwards of 14-15 hours. If the water is choppy or it's a cloudy day, your plan to see the Blue Grotto after you arrive could be cancelled or just not worth the cost. And what would you do with your luggage on Day 5 when you want to "see the Amalfi Coast -- stay at Naples"???

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. It helped me to plan my travel better. Cheers!