Just got back from 13 days in Italy. Flew in to Venice
Did...
Venice 3 days
Florence 3 days
Amalfi Coast 5 days
Rome 2 days
Flew out of Rome

Here are my suggestions:

Pay extra for the economy comfort seats on your way there, the extra space helps a lot when trying to sleep on your way there.

Wine is cheaper than water at most places.

AIR BNB is cheap and great there. you can also do laundry. Also,our hosts at each spot showed us where and where not to go.

Less Venice/Rome - more Florence/Tuscany.

Book your trains 3 months out.

Don't bring over much cash, everyone takes cards. Get a credit card with NO foreign transaction fees- I have the Chase Sapphire.

Don't over pack, we made it work in 2 carry ons - a small roller and a backpack. Getting on/off trains was super easy compared to our other American friends that packed way too much.

If going to amalfi, get a private car to take you to amalfi from Naples train. Its $100 and well worth it. Naples sucks btw.

We stayed in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast at an AirBNB, quiet town between amalfi and positano. very relaxing and isn't as crazy as capri and the others. very easy to get to the others spots via bus and ferries. don't stay in Sorrento - its huge compared to the others, JMO. make sure you stretch - so many stairs..

You can spend an afternoon in pompei on your way back to naples. very cool

I liked Florence a lot and highly suggest it if you've never been. The history, food, and wine there are awesome. Gotta go see Statue of David, all the basilicas, the bridge, etc. We rented a car to go to some vineyards in Tuscany, they have wine tours available too. We went to Panzano, small town famous for Chianti Classico. Very cool spot, make sure you save your data for directions and keep two hands on the wheel, they don't F' around there driving.

Venice is really expensive. We stayed in a neighborhood where the locals live so it wasn't that bad, but it was still pricey. other than the canals, venice didn't do much for me.

Rome is huge, a lot of people, and so much to see. we only did 2 days there and just powered through all the must see's. I could've probably done an extra day there, but it was the end of our trip and we we're exhausted.

This post was edited on 6/20/16 at 2:39 pm