Itinerary
 

Fellow travelers, would you please review and critique my itinerary below:

Day 1: JFK-VCE
Day 2: Venice (1)
Day 3: Venice (2)
Day 4: Fly from Venice to Naples, transfer to Sorrento (1)
Day 5: Sorrento (2)
Day 6: Sorrento (3)
Day 7: To Ravello (1)
Day 8: Ravello (2)
Day 9: Ravello (3)
Day 10: To Naples, train to Florence (1)
Day 11: Florence (2)
Day 12: Florence (3)
Day 13: PSA-JFK

Given the highly volatile Italian temperament - which can be wonderful or hell - you might decide to travel by train between Venice and Naples/Sorrento if you want to see more of the countryside ...

This probably implies a 'nip and tuck' in your itinerary, with perhaps one day less in Ravello and one day later stay in Sorrento.

You may have jetlag issues with your flight to Europe, and miss the best bits of Venice. If there is no big deal about the time spent in Sorrento and Rapallo, perhaps take a day less there, and one day more in Venice.

There used to be a deal called the Kilometrico ticket which was valid for up to 6 persons and 3,000 km. Worth investigating!! To get the best out of your time in Florence enquire ahead and book tickets if you want to visit the Uffizi gallery because I believe that there are limited tickets and they are timed blocks.

I don't know when you intend to travel, but rooms can be very hard to get in Venice and both in Florence and Venice the prices can be high. Make sure that you have the most comfortable of city walking shoes, take some moleskin for blisters and drink plenty of CLEAN water!

Alsacienne, thank you! It takes 6 hours from VCE to NAP by train and another 1 hour to Sorrento. Do you really think that's worth the time spent as opposed to flying?

We want to spend at least 6 nights in Amalfi Coast because ideally I'd like a day trip to Capri.

Let's say your staying in Piazza San Marco and your flight leaves at 1:00 pm, you have to be at airport by about 11:30, and if you take public transportation that means leaving PSM by about 10:00 am. *If* the flight leaves on time, the you'll land in Naples by about 2:30 pm. You'll have to wait for your bags (another 30 minutes), then get to the center of town to transfer to the Sorrento train so best case you'll be on a 4:00 pm train to Sorrento.

I recommend the Hotel Bellevue Syrene in Sorrento. Get a suite if you can .

Itinerary
 

I recommend subtracting a day in Ravello and adding it to Venice. Ravello is beautiful, quite small and geared toward relaxation. You can day trip to Capri from Sorrento. There is no boat service in Ravello. We took the ferry to Almalfi and then bused to Ravello.