We are a family group of 8 traveling through Italy in July 2006.

We are working out the order of cities:
one proposal given in a previous post is

fly LAX into Venice-stay 4 days
overnight train to Sorrento-stay 4 days
train to Rome-stay 4 days
fly Rome - Lax

I am thinking I might want to leave from Venice, for a more relaxed end of the trip
so....

how about fly LAX - Rome - stay 4 days
train to Sorrento - stay 4 days
fly or train to Venice-stay 4 days
fly Venice - LAX

what do you think? this is our first trip to europe...so we really need your experience to guide us.
thanks!

We just returned from Italy and I must say Rome is very intense, Venice less intense. You will need some time to decompress and I think Venice would be the better place to start. They are both amazing cities, but Rome has traffic, noise and MANY sites to see. Winding down in Venice and getting a feel for Italy in general, might be the better place to start, than move on to Sorrento and Rome.

I think it just depends on how you like to travel. I would do the opposite of Jill and start with the more exciting / difficult place first and then end my trip on a leisurely note. For me this works better.

But I would let the flights times and prices also play a big role.

I assume you are from the LA area so big to small might work well for you as well. I live in NYC and like to see the places that require the most alertness first while I am still in my NY mindset, then I can be leisurely in the smaller places. I think my parents or sister would probably take the opposite approach as they live in small towns and they would rather get accostomed to smaller places first before plunging in to a big city.

Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong!

Sally

One thing about flying out of Venice to the U.S. is everyone seems to have to take incredibly early flights. So leaving the hotel at 4am is common from what I see posted here.

Rome is a great town to push you through your jet lag, plus it should get a littler cooler for you as you move north through your trip. Definately start in Rome. We were glad we did. I would not have had the energy!

We started in Rome, ended in Venice for the same reason you cite: It let us end on a relaxing note.

I get pretty revved up for my vacations, so big first works for me.

About the early flights from Venice: Although many are very early, ours was about 10 a.m., so there are other possibilities.

Have a great trip!

Good to know about other Venice flight options (I've been twice but mid-trip and arrive/depart by train). I maybe have that impression because it's the early-birds who post here most often trying to figure out how to handle their airport departures.

I'm one of those who usually likes to start in a big, lively city as well, since I am wound up and want to walk around and dive right into the new place. And I love Venice so much that my first reaction is "save it for last."

But on my last trip in May/June we hit Venice first and it was a GREAT way to get in the mood of the trip and to also get in sync with each other as a group. No transportation hassles, no real worries about getting lost, just a fabulous gorgeous city to wander around in. Rome is awesome but packed with "must-see" attractions, traffic and just general big city intensity. We were ready for Rome and ready as a "group" (5 of us) by the time we got there.

Hi J,

One more vote for starting in Venice.

I would want to start my trip in the "gentler" of the cities, that would be Venice. Then work up to Rome, once I was more used to being in Italy.

I would land in Nice, France- 25 minutes to Monte Carlo- stay one night.
Drive 2 1/4 hours to Italian Riviera, Santa Marguarita Ligure, stay for two nights, see Portofino, Camogli, Rapallo and then drive 2 hours to Pisa see the leaning tower, then drive to Florence 1 1/2 hours, stay in Florence for two nights to see the sights. Leave about 9:00Am and you'll arrive in Sorrento at 3:30PM stay three nights in Sorrento and see the Amalfi coast. Take a boat to Capri for the day. Then take the train to Rome for the rest of your trip.
Drive a little first, see everything and then walk through Rome. If you can stay five nights in Rome.
Ciao,
Alberto

One more vote. I definitely prefer starting in Rome when my energy is the highest, and ending in Venice, the most "relaxing" place on earth.

I hate Sorrento. It is the Clevland of Italy.

Alternatively, arrive in Venice, train to Rome, relax on Amalfi coast, then stay last night back in Rome.

I like Venice the best of all your chosen spots, but Rick Steves makes a good point, travel in the order of increasing intensity.

How about doing neither?

Why not fly LAX to Naples, start in Sorrento, and work your way north? Nothing puts me more into an Italian frame of mind that pizza, "Torna a Surriento", and "O Sole Mio." Some limoncello doesn't hurt either.

Sorrento is infinitely more relaxing to me than Venice is. I say to start in Sorrento, then go to Rome, and then finish in Venice, flying home from there.

Wow, so many things to consider. Thank you so much!
The one thing I know is we will need to start in Rome or Venice....
this is because our family group...is going to split up in the middle.

After reading everything(and looking at departing flight times from Venice...wow...never thought of that...but thankfully they depart at 8:55,10:55, or 11:25, I plan start in Rome while we are wired for experiences....
then my husband and I will go to Sorrento/Naples/Capri
while the rest of the group goes to Flourance/Tuscany
then we will re-unite for the restful end in Venice.

So again,
thank you very much for your flight assistance!

I will post lodging questions on a new post.