Revised itinerary for italy

Old Jan 21st, 2017, 11:38 AM
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Revised itinerary for italy

My revised itinerary for Italy is (3 of us)
Fly into Venice, arrive 9am
2 nights in Venice
2 nights Cinque Terre
2 nights Florence
3 nights Rome

My questions are
the best way to go from Venice to CT. Train or car, times seem similar. If by train is this via Milan as the best option.
any recommendation of where to stay (the area) for 2 nights in CT.

Comments would be much appreciated.
kiwinz is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 11:58 AM
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This would be better:
3 Venice
2 Florence
4 Rome

Your day of arrival is a lost day.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:04 PM
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When are you going? July? November? Makes a huge difference in terms of where to stay, at least in the Cinque Terre. I'd stay in Vernazza or Riomaggiore if location mattered and cost didn't. But in the peak season and even the shoulder season, those places are going to be pretty expensive. I've stayed twice in Levanto, which is one train stop north of Monterosso al Mare. Levanto is still a nice beach town, even if it's not quite the same feeling as one of the five villages, but it is often a bit cheaper too. Easy to get south into the five villages by train, and I think Levanto was (still is?) considered part of the park pass that includes unlimited train travel.

I greatly prefer trains if they are at all an option, especially in Italy, which has a terrific train system. So I'd be taking the train for sure. You probably don't want a car in the Cinque Terre, anyway. It wouldn't matter to me so much which route to take - Milan vs. Florence connection - I'd base it on travel time, connection time, and departure/arrival time. I guess you'll come back through Florence anyway, so if you take the Milan route you might see more from the train.

But your time is so short. Half of the first day from Venice to Cinque Terre will be taken up by the train trip. You might be able to hike some the first day, if that's why you are going to the CT at all. Expect it to be very, very crowded especially in high season, at least on the trails. Venice, Florence, and Rome too in parts.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:07 PM
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My day of arrival usually isn't "lost." Depending on what time I arrive, I usually get a good half a day exploring a new place - I like to do that to keep moving and stay awake until local bedtime the first day, to adjust to the local time and fight jet lag. Some people need the first day to rest and do nothing after an overseas flight, but I don't.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:40 PM
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thanks for the comments, going in late April this year
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:50 PM
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You need to cut back. You're not accounting for travel between places. Two nights = one day in a place.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 01:06 PM
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I did something like this on my first trip to the Italy that included the Cinque Terre - except I had three nights there not two. Honestly, I didn't necessarily need the third night - I got all my hiking done in the first 1.5 days - but the extra day did give me a chance to relax and chill that final day and explore the towns at some leisure, before picking up the pace again heading south the next day. The "breather day" was nice, but I could have lived without it on a tight schedule.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 01:09 PM
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There are five trains stations in the Cinque Terre, and the best route depends on which one is your destination.

Monterosso is at the northern end, and I would prefer to go through Milan in that case, because there is usually only one change of train. If you go through Florence, you have to change trains at least twice. It may be quicker going through Florence, though.

Riomaggiore is at the southern end, and your best route would almost certainly be through Florence, and you would have to change trains at least twice.

The other three towns are between Monterosso and Riomaggiore, and the routing could be either through Milan or Florence, and there might be an additional change of train.

The trip takes from 5 1/2 to almost 7 hours. Once you consider getting the rental car and trying to find a place to leave it in the Cinque Terre, where cars are not used to get around, the travel time for driving would be about the same, and the drive would be quite tiring.

You can see the schedules at http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en . Put in your beginning city (Venezia) and the destination should be the town in the Cinque Terre that you want to visit.

You have a very limited time in Italy, and the trip to the Cinque Terre, and getting to Florence afterwards, would take up more than 9 hours all told. I wouldn't want to spend so much time traveling to a place where I could spend only two nights.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 01:18 PM
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I agree that you have [at least] one too many places where you are staying. At the moment, your trip is heavy on travelling from one place to another, and light on time to do things when you get there. Pace Andrew who hits the ground running, most of us need time to work out the transport options from station [or airport] to hotel/apartment, to check in, unpack, orient ourselves, and eat, and all that before we've actually done any of the things we went there for.

So assuming that you are arriving in Venice by plane sometime around breakfast time, this is what you've got at present:

Day 1 - arrive Venice, say 9am. 45 mins to clear passport, collect luggage and clear customs, 15 mins to buy transport tickets, 30 - 60 mins to get to Venice, 30 mins to get to hotel. if you are lucky, you are checking in at 11am, it might be noon. Afternoon evening in Venice.

Day 2 - Venice.

Day 3 - train to CT, which according to what I'm looking at will take between 6-7 hours :

https://www.lefrecce.it/B2CWeb/search.do parameter=searchOutputViewer&cFID=egdfnr8VCu7P

So the earliest you could get to your accommodation, assuming you get the 7.25 from Venice, is about 2pm. Afternoon and evening in CT

Day 4 - in CT

Day 5 - train to Florence - between 2 ½ and 3 hours, so you should be there by lunchtime. Afternoon and evening in CT

Day 6- Florence

Day 7 - train to Rome - only 90 mins so you should be checked in my noon. You've now got a whole 2 ½ days to see Rome.

See what we mean?
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 02:44 PM
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thanks annhig
points taken.
so would reducing Florence by a day, so we are only there overnight as we only have a couple of items on our must to do list and then putting another day into CT be an improvement or does it mean dropping CT altogether?
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 03:01 PM
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This post may have some useful information for you. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ce-to-pisa.cfm

Take everyone's advice on board and be realistic about what you can achieve, and then set your own priorities for where you want to visit. Just as many people will choose Cinque Terre over Florence and vice versa. Depends on where your interests lie.
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Old Jan 21st, 2017, 03:05 PM
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Some people think you should drop the CT altogether, because they think it's too crowded and highly overrated - and love Florence, which is full of world-class art. Me? I didn't love Florence (not a museum person, though I did go to see the David at the Accademia) and loved the Cinque Terre - though I think unless you plan to hike there I wouldn't plan three nights there. I wonder what it's like in April - trails open? Keep in mind that hiking trails in the CT can close on short notice due to slides. At least there should be fewer tourists there in April...

There is no right or wrong answer. What kind of travel style do you have? That's up to you. I think there is no wrong choice as long as you set your expectations. As long as you know what you want, there's nothing wrong with one night in Florence.

Personally, I would try to be flexible. If it's very rainy, I would prefer more time in Florence and other nearby towns like Siena than being in the CT. Sometimes lodgings allow near-last minute cancellations (e.g. booked on Booking.com) so you might be able to change our plans on the fly depending on weather conditions.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:40 AM
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kiwinz - I think that Andrew makes some good points about the CT. I've never been there so I can't help about whether the trails will be open in April - it may depend on the weather. If it's nice and you can go walking it could be great being there for 3 nights, but if it rains, it might be miserable. You probably need to do some more research about this.

The alternative might be to forget about Florence altogether if it's not a priority for you and to stay in Pisa; from there you could do day trips to Lucca, or the CT, or just explore Pisa which has more to it than the Leaning Tower.

You can also get a train straight to Rome from Pisa Centrale; it runs down the coast and stretches of it are very interesting.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:59 AM
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I've never been to the CT either, but over the years I've seen too many articles about rain in March to see it as an April destination. Good luck either way
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 11:30 PM
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thanks we will be there late April and enjoy hiking.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 06:02 AM
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in that case, kiwinz, I would scrub Florence entirely and take the risk of spending the whole of the middle of your trip in the CT.

As I say you don't need to go to Florence to get to Rome - the railway line from Genoa to Rome goes all the way down the west coast.
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