Hi I am planning a trip to Italy in July for about 7-10 days with my husband and two 17 year olds. Never been to Italy so Rome and her sights is a must, and a beach would be a hit after sightseeing in Rome, but other than that we have no plans. Any suggestions, ideas about inexpensive places to stay, hotel v apartment, hostels, how to get around, places to eat, safety etc would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to all who respond

Those are absolutely basic questions that can best be answered by reading a few guidebooks and trolling the internet. This site alone has countless threads on travel to Italy. Spend some time doing some research and come back when you have more specific questions and more specific plans. You might start by answering the question of why you chose to travel to Italy in the first place. That should help you frame your plans.

We are going to Italy this spring and part of our trip will be 4 nights in Rome and 4 nights in Positano on the amalfi coast. Our two sons (20 and 25) will be with us. We are renting an apartment in Rome and an apartment in Positano that is part of a bed and breakfast. Your trip could also include a visit to Pompeii. Stayng in apartments with 4 people really makes sense--so much more room than a hotel and usually cheaper.

There are lots of apartments available. Just search in rome apartments on this site. We are staying in Rome at--

http://www.residenzagiubbonari.com/home.html

and in Positano-
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Campania.html

You said that you have 7 - 10 days (including arriving and departing day ??) and want to know what more to visit after Rome and the beaches.
In my opinion , you will not have time to visit more than these places.

We need to know a lot more before people can try to help you. What are your interests? Why did you pick Italy instead of somewhere else? What is your budget? There's quite a difference between 7 days including travel days, and 10 days not including travel days, so more information is needed on your actual time frame.

Use the "Search the Forums" function (on the right side of the screen near the top) to search for topics that have already been discussed that will help you. There was a topic recently about a google map that includes places to eat and many other interesting places.

A guidebook would help you firm up some ideas on what you want to see, ideas for places to eat and safety. My main advice for safety is to pay attention to what's going on around you. Also, please learn some very basic Italian - please, thank you, where is the bathroom, how much, etc. ITunes has free Italian podcasts from Survival Phrases.

When I plan, I tend to read trip reports and look at itineraries that other people have planned. Does what they did sound interesting to me? I use google images to search for pictures of sites or areas. The pictures that catch my eye and make me think "I wanna go there" are a large part of how I plan my trip.

People on the forums are happy to help you, but we can't plan your vacation for you. If you ask more specific questions then you'll get a lot better responses.