My boyfriend and I are planning an Italy trip over New Years, and it includes Venice, Rome and Amalfi coast for 2 weeks+. Any suggestions for traveling to and from, weather, etc..?

You can check weather from the past several years on specific dates at www.weatherundergound.com. Click on "Travel Planner" and then type in destination. It is a very handy site.

I would hesitate about the Amalfi Coast in December/January. It's very much a resort area, and while some things are open, many will be closed in winter. Also, since most activities take place outdoors, it can be difficult to find a comfortable indoor activity if it's raining and/or cold.

Amalfi Coast over New Years is likely to be chilly and possibly rainy - and many hotels and restaurants will be closed and ferry service limited.

Visiting cities then makes sense, although the shorter daylight hours kind of slow things down. But why go to a beach resort in the middle of winter?

On the other hand, we drove the Amalfi coast on a beautiful early January day. It was sunny, just light sweater weather. Traffic was light and no problem finding parking in Amalfi where we had lunch. Yes, there were plenty of things that were open and we picked up some very nice ceramics.

I recommend spending new year's eve in Venice. Piazza San Marco is magical that night!