My husband and I are planning a trip next year to Europe. We have never been to Italy and are excited to explore the three areas we have always wanted to visit (saving Florence/Tuscany for a future trip with family.) The reason that we are starting in London is because we got a great fare flying open jaw into London/Rome – plus we are visiting a couple of friends there. We have decided to do the following:

Fly into London
-London (3 nights)

Fly London-Venice
-Venice (3 nights)

Train or Fly Venice – Naples
Private Driver to Positano
-Positano (4 nights)

Private driver back to Naples
Train to Rome
-Rome (3 nights)

Return to US

We are in our late 20’s, active and enjoy traveling. Based on the areas selected above, do we have enough time in each location? Any other recommendations are welcome - especially regarding whether to fly or train it into Naples (4 flights doesn’t exactly sound like fun; but a long train ride could potentially consume a whole day of active exploring!)

Thank you!

Well, it looks like a doable plan, but when you ask if there's enough time in each place, those of us who've been there a lot will say no. All of those places deserve more time. But for this trip, what you have is OK.

What time of year is the trip? There are a few months of the year when I wouldn't recommend a long detour to Positano.

Since you could fly or train from Venice to either/both Rome and Naples, could you fly home from Naples to avoid some backtracking?

Charnees - believe me, I would love to do at least two weeks in each destination! Maybe one day

The trip is for June 2011.

I like it !
Time of year is a factor, but anytime between May and Oct. should be fine. As Jean suggests, flying home from Naples is possible---we did that this past May, but it was via Madrid on Iberia.