Italy - Itinerary Suggestions
 

This will be my first time visiting Italy. I'm planning on visiting four areas (Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi Coast (area, positano, pariano etc). With maybe:

Rome: 5 nights
Florence: 2 Nights
Venice: 3 Nights
Amalfi: 3 Nights

Totaling 2 weeks. I need suggestions on the ideal route and order I should be visiting these areas in.

Thanks,

Great plan. Definitely visit Rome and the Amalfi Coast in the same portion of the trip. They are close together, and easy to get between via a train from Rome to/from Naples. From there you can work your way up to Florence and then to Venice. If you can get a flight into Rome and out of Venice, you won't have to retrace your steps at the end.

Have you looked at a map? These places are basically directly south of each other. Venice - Florence - Rome - Amalfi.

Thanks everyone. This is impromptu trip. So I figured getting some advice during this time crunch would be helpful :) And I have looked at various maps

Where are you flying from, and what time of year.
The ideal scenario is to fly into Venice and home from Naples. If that is not feasible, then make Rome your last destination and fly home from there. I would do:
Venice-3
Train to Florence--2
Train to Naples--transfer to Positano[Sorrento?]--4
Train to Rome---last 4 nites---fly home

Nice trip---have fun !

I'll be flying from YYZ into Rome mid July.

So you're flying into and out of Rome? Well, mid-July is probably too imminent to change your ticket.

Next best thing is to go immediately to Venice upon your arrival. What time does your plane arrive? You can either fly on to Venice or take the train. This latter means catching the train from the airport into Rome, and changing in Rome's Stazione Termini to another train for Venice. You can buy your tickets in the airport train station for this whole trip -- but wait until you arrive to buy these tickets as you can't be sure your plane will arrive on time. Plus getting through immigration in Rome can take a while.

Then why did you ask---your routing is set--next time ask sooner and save a day of travel.
So, start on the AC and end in Rome.

Does the days listed include arrival/departure day and inter-city transportation days? If so, you need to substract the equivalent of one day to each city for the transportation logistics (getting in/out, finding the hotel, etc....). When you do that, you will realize that you are trying to do too much and/or shortchanging some cities.

In addition, it appears you are all set as far as in/out of Rome, so at this point it is an exercise in futility to try to work much logic with the order. I would go Rome-Florence-Venice-Rome (Go to Pompeii and Sorrent as day trips from Rome; skip the stay at the Amalfi Coast till next trip). After 7-8 days of this itinerary, in JULY no less, you will be glad to slow the pace towards the end.

Whatever you do, get AC in every hotel you stay, pay extra; it will be worth it.

thanks for all the suggestions. I realize that we maybe trying to fitting to much into a tight schedule.