Six adults are landing in Venice in early September 2019. Our flight gets in in the morning and we plan on three nights in Venice. Our other destinations include Florence (Tuscany region) , Cinque Terre and Rome. In researching it seems that going from Venice to Florence and then from there to Cinque Terre is the best way. We fly home from Rome. We will use public transportation and private tours. How should we break up the remaining eleven nights? Our interests include nature, wine, architecture, museums, food...Thank you!

Tuscany can take a life time but I'd put 5 days into it, 2 days into CT and 4 into Rome. it might be better to look at it in nights, so 4 2 4

book long-distance trains well in advance to get cheapest rates over just showing up - www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.com - two competing rail systems using same tracks and stations.

You will have no time for other cities.
3 nights Venice: OK
Venice - 5Terre: 5-6 hrs by train
2 nights 5Terre: means 1 full day there
5Terrre - Florence: 3 hrs by train, more with stopover at Pisa
5 nights Florence: means 3 full days for Florence and 2 days for sidetrips (Siena or so)
4 nights for Rome: means 3 1/2 days for Rome

Thank you! That’s exactly what I was thinking. We would go Venice-Florence-CT-Rome. So, now breaking up 4 full days in Tuscany? But is one full day and two nights enough for CT? We were thinking of getting an AirBnb in Florence and doing day trips. Because we won’t be driving, we’ll be doing tours or getting drivers. Any recommendations for daily outings? One full day doing a castle and some wine tasting might be nice. Maybe Lucca or Siena for another day trip. One day in Florence seeing the museums...

CT will be mobbed of course and most folks come to hike between the villages - that could be done in one day or two days and there are other trails higher up. But, if not into hiking I'd say 2 nights - one full day would be fine.

You can never do Florence (main sites and most important museums) in 1 day only. But it's up to you.

There are 3 different itineraries from Venice to 5Terre:
via Milan (traditional route)
via Bologna - Parma (cheapest and most scenic route)
via Florence (about 30-60 min faster and most expensive route)

via Bologna - Parma (cheapest and most scenic route)>

Yes the way to go - and you could easily break your journey at say Bologna for a few hours and bop around one of the nicest cities in Italy - said to have the most listed historical buildings of any outside of Rome. City centre a warren of neat streets with porticoes over many sidewalks.

The route via Milan/Genoa goes largely by the seaside after Genoa, going thru a string of old seaside towns on the Italian Rivieria di Levante. (sp?)

via Florence is mainly blah scenery - especially on the high-speed rail lines with lots of tunnels and windbreaks, etc blocking views at times. And changing trains at Florence,

I'D HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING THE TRAIN NECKERVD NOTES AS BEING MOST SCENIC THAT GOES VENICE-BOLOGNA-PARMA-CINQUE TERRE.

The ideas provided so far could work, but how to allocate your time really depends on what, exactly, you want to see and experience. For just one specific example, I would say that my interests include architecture and museums (which you list), and with my interests, 5.5 exceedingly busy days were NOT sufficient for Florence itself (not counting anything else in Tuscany). Similarly, I felt hard-pressed to see what I wanted in Venice with 4 days (long after recovering from jet lag, which you might have upon your arrival there) or Rome in 6 days. I would encourage you to consult some good guidebooks to determine what, exactly, you want to do and THEN plan your allocation of time.

After the crowds in Italy, I suggest moving to Bologna as a base for several day-trips. Lots of medieval charm, moderate prices and great food. And much more comfortable than Florence.

PS: I have travelled solo to many places but in advancing years have also made excursions with a group of friends. My serious tip is to prepare in advance so no-one's feelings are hurt.
Agree that you will go off on your own during the day, if desired. Trying to satisfy everyone will guarantee some dissatisfaction sometimes. We get together for a communal dinner, with group cooking, and share the adventures of the day.

Thank you so much! So much to think about. You all are amazing. I’ll reread all of these and some online articles, as well.

What do you think about doing Venice to Florence and then CT and Rome?

The sequence works for your needs. Whether you can include all four locations in a satisfying trip of 2 weeks is the question.

" What do you think about doing Venice to Florence and then CT and Rome? "

Why not?
There are 6 daily direct trains from La Spezia via Grosseto to Rome

though Venice to CTerre via the scenic route via Parma would be sweet then Florence. Otherwise yes Florence then CT and coastal rail route to Rome (slower than going via Florence and high-speed lines however) and this route hugs the coast so nicer scenery than boring high-speed train Florence to Rome.

It seems reasonable for your group and transportation needs. You could, as others suggest, come up with endless variations, but you have your group and public transportation to consider. I agree with those who say "why not?"

florence day trips:

Siena by bus
Pisa by train
Bologna - one of finest large cities in Italy 1 hr by train
Assisi, Perugia, Cortona all neat large hill towns
Lucca - old walled town known for its many towers

and many more

CT could be a day trip from CT to if just want to see the old towns.

Happy New Year and many thanks for all your wisdom and insight. We decided on this: Land in Venice in the monrning and then 3 nights. Travel by train to Florence and 5 nights(4 full days). Travel by train to CT and 2 nights(1 full day). Travel by train to Rome and 4 nights (3 full days)

After much research we decided to go for top rated and very large AirBnb’s. It was so much better as far as the budget goes. Booking so early we had great choices. And, since we are already a crowd, we probably didn’t need the charm of meeting other travelers in a hotel setting. We can do that on tours, cafes, etc.

So, without starting a whole new thread, I’ve decided to ask you on this one for some further advice. We arrive in Florence on a Sunday and leave on a Friday. Our AirBnb is right by the Duomo. I know that the couple top museums that we want to see are closed on Monday. However the Food Tour we were looking at is on a Monday and Wednesday. We also want a day tour featuring wine and San Gimignano. And perhaps a half day trip to Siena or Lucca. How would you divide up the 4 full days? Any tour guide suggestions? Thank you and again Happy New Year!

Just to clarify...the food tour is a an early evening (5:30) tour.

It's unfortunate your days in Florence involve Sunday/Monday. You should prioritize what you want to see, investigate all the open days/hours and then create a day-by-day plan that covers as much of your list as possible.

I think a half-day trip to Siena would almost be a waste of effort. No matter how you travel, it's at least an hour each way, and there is a lot to explore in the town. Florence to Lucca by train is close to 90 minutes each way, although there is much less to see/do in Lucca.

You might look into an organized all-day tour or hiring a driver that would take you to San Gim and Siena with perhaps a winery tour included.