Here goes...My youngest son (sophomore in college) will be doing a month of school in Barcelona from May 24-June 22. My wife's family is from Genoa and she has never been so I decided to plan a trip to visit Italy before dropping off the boy in BCN. Traveling with us will be our older son (23) as well so there will be 4 of us. We dont have much time as the older son can only be gone from work for 2 total weeks. I dont want to try and hit too many places and be moving daily so I decided that we would focus on northern Italy this go around and hit Rome and the south next trip.

Itinerary:
We land in Rome on May 12th at 7AM. We are planning on taking the train from FCO to Florence.
We can do 4 or 5 nights in Florence. We dont want to rush it and would be open to side trips including wine tasting. Any suggestions for us?

Next stop...take the train from Florence to SML on May 16th or 17th. We can do 4 or 5 nights in SML. Idea is to see Porto, CT, Genoa, beach day, etc. Any suggestions?
On May 21, we will fly from Genoa to BCN.

I have a few questions....1) how long will it take to get through customs in FCO and be ready for a train if we land at 7AM?
2) There is a direct train from FCO to Florence that leaves at 11AM. Is it worth waiting for the direct or should we go earlier and transfer 1 time in Rome?
3) Do we pay extra for the upgraded ticket on the train and should we buy the tickets for both trips before arriving in Italy? I assume so but just checking.
4) Which area should we do 5 nights and which one 4 nights?
5) Thoughts on the Hotel Continental in SML?

Any additional insights, suggestions, recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Time to clear on arrival will depend on your luck. If you're checking baggage that will take longer than carry on.

They are increasing the number of train runs in the coming month. They still aren't on the website but it's way too early to buy for May so you have to wait anyways.

Buying in advance will be cheaper IF you can make the train. But if you're delayed and miss it no saving.

No real point upgrading to first class.

So, you will go from FCO to FI, then to SML with side trips to GE and CT and finally fly from GOA to BCN?

To your questions:
ad 1) se above. If your plane lands in time, you may be able to catch the 8.27 or 8.53 train.
ad 2) It's up to you. IMO, it's more interesting to spend 2 hrs at Florence than at Fiumicino airport.
ad 3) upgrade from what to what? Firenze SMN - Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino: if you travel by regional train (journey time 3 3/4 hrs), it doesn't make any sense to book ahead; by Intercity or Frecciabianca (journey time 3 1/4 to 3 3/4 hrs), the ticket may be cheaper if you book ahead. A stop over at Pisa (luggage lockers in the station) would be highly recommended.
ad 4) It's up to you. You can easily spend a whole week in and around Florence. In Liguria, you may need a full day for Genova (art and culture, museo del mare, big aquarium) and the remaining days for nature (Camogli - SanFruttuoso - Portofino - Sta. Margherita thing, 5Terre, Lerici - San Marcello - Bocche di Magra, sandy beaches of Sestri Levante (although the seawater wil be rather cold in May).
ad 5) luxury hotel close to the railway station, directly above the sea which can be reached over the rocks (stairs and ladders).

It has never taken us more than an hour (usually less) to clear customs, etc., in Rome but your arrival obviously can vary. And, we only have carry-ons. We normally purchase our regional tickets in advance (keep them on our phone) and don’t have to worry about lines, figuring out ticket machines and validating tickets. For the regional trains, you have a four-hour window to use them in case you miss one.

This past fall, we based in Rapallo (very close to SML) and Florence (but much preferred Bologna). Our two trip reports are below:

Florence or Bologna? 7 nights early October

Rapallo/Cinque Terre/20 Places/8 Nights Sept/Oct

If you don’t have an unlimited data plan while traveling, don’t forget to download some offline maps (like Google); they were an enormous blessing to us, even walking around cities and towns.

Re: how to allocate your time. It really depends on what you want to see and experience! I'm a great fan of guidebooks, so my recommendation would be to consult some to identify how you want to spend your time. And remember to give yourselves a bit of extra time at the start to recover from jet lag if you will be traveling any distance.

I'd wait for the 11 am direct train from airport - is not high-speed train but figuring in time to go to Termini station and change trains should be about s quick and the beauty is you could just buy your tickets at airport train station and and not pay a fortune. For lots on trains and booking tickets check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

ll means IMO wait for the direct 11 am train to Florence - and book discounted tickets with that much time between landing and train - discounted tickets non-refundable non-changeable from specific train - for lots on trains check www.seat61.com - great on help booking tickets online; www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts. Not having to change trains is priceless. And Rome Termini can be a rather chaotic station.

The new trains from the airport to Florence SMN and Venice are high speed trains. But they're still rolling things out fully. No reason to commit to anything just yet. The OP won't need to buy a ticket for months by than the new schedule from FCO to Florence SMN should be fully available. Just make sure it's the run to SMN. The older train which now will head all the way to Genoa stops at a different station.

The older train which now will head all the way to Genoa stops at a different station.>

But for some Florence's Campo di Marte station which I assume you mean could be closer or as close to a hotel and small relaxed station too.

Getting your luggage is the main delay at rome airport. Plan on min 1 hr but it may be more.

Seat61.com for train advice

Not planning any any time in Rome????

Yes but I think there will only be two runs on the line going to Campo di Marte,Pisa and Genoa. One early morning one in the evening/late afternoon. There are supposed to be a much higher number of trains on the other run that will end up in Venice or I think Milan. Can't remember about Milan

Most Rome - Florence trains continue to Milan. There are furthermore some Rome - Florence - Venice trains (every hr or so).
All 7 daily direct trains from Roma Termini to Genova (Freccie and IC) run via Grosseto.
Most Roma Termini - Firenze Campo di Marte trains continue to Verona - Bolzano/Bozen

I'm not talking about the trains from Termini or Tiburtina. If I was we could include Italo.

This month they announced an increase of the trains from FCO to various cities. Florence and Venice but also all the way to Genoa via Florence and Pisa.

They had a soft launch first week of December but the full schedule is supposed to roll out next month.

Everywhere in Europe, the timetable change took place 2 1/2 weeks ago.
So, once again, Italy seems to be a bit different.

It's not the normal schedule change. They've increased the number of runs. Changed the train type. I think the Genoa run is totally new.

Why are flying to Rome and not Florence

How about the 10 AM flight from FCO to Florence with Alitalia. Looks like about $95 each one way.
Arrives in Florence @ 10:55 AM

Up to Florence city center, it will not be faster, but may be more risky.

BTW: the OP never came back (since more than a week).

Re: Santa Margarita Ligure, Hotel Continental. We chose this hotel as it's grounds were directly on the sea with no road between the hotel and water like many of the hotels in this town. We were pleased with our stay. As Americans, we were in the minority as most guests were Italian which we liked. The food at breakfast was wonderful, elegant room. The rooms had balconies or terraces facing the sea. The room decor and furniture needed some work but we would happily stay there again. There is also a more modern annex building on the property.