Italy trip - Florence or Tuscany countryside
 

Hi all my husband and I are travelling from Italy for the first time for our one year anniversary. End of August to start of September - 14 days. We are flying into Venice - staying there 2 nights then doing either Florence/tuscan country side for 3 nights and then 6 nights in Sorrento exploring Amalfi coast and finally 2 nights in Rome where we fly out of. We are going back and forth on whether we should stay in Florence and day trip to the countryside. My choice would be to stay the 3 nights at a vineyard type hotel and then just spend one day going into Florence and exploring/shopping. We want to do cooking classes/winery tours, and just have some relaxing time. Thoughts? Any recommendations on where to stay - which hotels 4-5 stars that are maybe in more accessible areas or at least have some nearby places for dinners etc. I recognize this also means we may need a car. Any advice is appreciated - thanks!

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary! You will have a wonderful time!

Is this trip for this year? Leaving this month? If so, availability at hotels in some of these locations could be an issue. In August, heat will be a consideration. At first glance, I thought you are giving Sorrento too much time, but if beach time and relaxing is a priority, that is fine. It doesn't seem like you want to give Venice and Rome too much time? I would give Venice 3 nights, though, since the first day will be a blur. And stay in Tuscany instead of Florence. Find a place with a pool there, and everywhere, make sure you have AC. Enjoy!

Tuscany
Availabilty
Heat
Pool
Countryside
Do it now!

Amalfi in August are you nuts? Replan, go visit Urbino, Orvieto anywhere but Amalfi

https://www.villabordoni.com/
This is a lovely property on a hill above Greve in Chianti. You would need a car but there are lots of good restaurants in the area that the hotel will recommend or the hotel itself has a good restaurant. They offer a cooking class and could arrange a wine tour for you. You could drive into Florence easily from here and the hotel will advise you on where to park etc, you need to be careful not to drive into a ZTL zone- you can Google that. The hotel used to offer a car and driver to take you into Florence, probably a bit pricey but might be worth it.
If this trip is this August and you have nothing booked you may want to get on that right away. And be aware it will be stinking hot everywhere you go.

I agree with giving Venice 3 nights, that gives you 2 full days. And I would give the Tuscany property 4 nights if you want a day in Florence, 4 nights gives you 3 days, one for Florence and 2 for relaxing by the pool and the wine tour.
If you choose to have some nights in Sorrento which is a lovely spot I would book a tour of the Amalfi instead of trying to do it all by myself at this time of year with the crowds. There are small van tours which take you to the different towns, or you could do it by ferry but you will be battling crowds. Some tour companies offer boat tours which would be lovely.
A beautiful property we have stayed at in Sorrento is hotel mediterraneo, which is just on the outskirts in Sant'Agnello, an easy 20 minute walk to the centre or they have a shuttle. Beautiful property and they have a large pool plus access down the cliff to a seaside swim deck.

Happy Anniversary!

IMO, this would be a better trip a month later. Oh well. Most days will have a hole in the middle when you'll do anything to get out of the heat/sun, and this will definitely influence your sightseeing plans. If Pompeii is on the agenda, it will be oven. If beach time is the priority for the second week, I'd go to Sardinia rather than the Naples/Sorrento/AC area.

I agree that if you haven't already booked your hotels, you may be in for a surprise with both availability and rates.

I agree with the above. If you have not already booked AC lodging (though Sorrento is not on the AC), do so now. That may determine how much you really can spend in any point. Venice deserves 3 nights. One for logistics of arriving and jet lag and 2 full days to see the sights.

Other than the Tuscany countryside, you really don't need a car. Trains (or busses) are really so efficient, plus cars can be a hindrance in towns especially with the ZTL Also, the AC has instituted restrictions on non-locals driving on the AC. This probably does not apply to Sorrento itself, but if you planned on driving to the AC, it may not be possible.

I'd give Rome more time, too. But if you have already been and/or is not your focus, it's your trip. If you plan on any of the major attractions, pre-book them now. You dont have time to stand in lines.

I agree that the only place for a car would be the Tuscany country side. It is delightful to be able to check out some of the other charming villages and driving there is easy. A car in the Sorrento/AC area is a nightmare, in the some of the AC, they even have restrictions on driving only every other day, based on if your license plate number is an even or odd number.

I also agree that pushing this trip back a month would be better and also give you more time to plan.

It’s hard to give advice here as you wish to relax in the AC for an extended time but to do so you have to shortchange much of your other destinations. I agree that Venice deserves 3 nights. I Think Florence deserves 3 nights and Rome 4/5 nights. I personally would not go near the AC in August. I would skip the AC and do Venice/ Florence/ some other place in Tuscany and Rome. We generally stay in apartments when we visit Italy so hard to give you suggestions for hotels. The last 4-5 star hotel we stayed at in Italy is the Portrait Firenze that I can highly recommend but it’s really gotten pricey.

You've already gotten some great advice! What I hope to add are some thoughts that might help you re-think your itinerary, especially if you can't find suitable lodging at this late date.

I agree that 3 nights would be a minimum for Venice. You could, I think, easily spend more time there.

Sorrento is a good base for exploring the Amalfi Coast, but if finding a hotel is difficult, you might look anywhere along the Amalfi Coast, including Salerno (which I consider underrated). And if your goal is simply to relax in that area, look at Ischia. (Ischia wouldn't be a good base for exploring the region.)

I wonder what your priorities are for Rome. You will certainly need to be there the night before your flight, but I can only imagine that one full day there would mean endless lines in heat and sun, only to see just a very few sites. It might make sense to skip Rome on this trip and add that day to one of your other destinations.

I take it that art and architecture are not among your high priorities. If that's a mistaken assumption, say so! I suspect I would not be alone in suggesting other changes to your itinerary if they are priorities.

Happy Anniversary!