9 days in Italy - beginning in Venice
Apr 4th, 2014, 02:21 PM
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9 days in Italy - beginning in Venice
We are traveling to Italy and could use some advice on where to go within Tuscany and how to best experience the scenery and wineries/vineyards.
Our plan is to start in Venice, head to Cinque Terre, then somewhere within Tuscany, and back to Venice to fly out and complete the trip. We are thinking of doing 2 nights in each spot.
We also toyed with the idea of going to Munich after Venice and before Cinque Terre.
Does anyone have any advice on where to stay and visit in Tuscany that fits our goal of scenery and wineries? Also what's the best way to travel between these locations, train or car? Any other suggestions for this quick trip would be great.
Thank you!
Our plan is to start in Venice, head to Cinque Terre, then somewhere within Tuscany, and back to Venice to fly out and complete the trip. We are thinking of doing 2 nights in each spot.
We also toyed with the idea of going to Munich after Venice and before Cinque Terre.
Does anyone have any advice on where to stay and visit in Tuscany that fits our goal of scenery and wineries? Also what's the best way to travel between these locations, train or car? Any other suggestions for this quick trip would be great.
Thank you!
Apr 4th, 2014, 02:49 PM
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First of all realize that what makes le Cinque Terre unusual is that it is vineyards. Very dramatic vineyards.
Secondly, realize that there is a very easy late afternoon flight from Genoa airport to Munich, so one way to do your trip would be to put le Cinque Terre last and head to Genoa airport by train and fly to Munich.
What do you want to get from visiting vineyards in Tuscany? Is it to see the Tuscan scenery or is it to drink a specific Tuscan wine? If you want the scenery and the specific Tuscan wine, then of course you must go to Tuscany.
But if you want great red wine, then you could go to any number of places between Venice and le Cinque Terre and visit wineries and taste wine. (It also happens to be a curiosity of Munich that its restaurants have a lot extremely good Italian wine at prices cheaper than what you will find in Italian restaurants).
But in general if you are just looking to bomb through Venice, le Cinque Terre and Tuscan wineries, without regard for anything specific interest in wine itself, but just as a tourist looking to see the scenery you have heard about, then the most efficient way to go about this is:
Venice
train to Florence, rent a car, visit Chianti region
Drive to La Spezia or Pisa airport, drop off car, train to le Cinque Terre
Train to Genova if you want to fly to Munich
Secondly, realize that there is a very easy late afternoon flight from Genoa airport to Munich, so one way to do your trip would be to put le Cinque Terre last and head to Genoa airport by train and fly to Munich.
What do you want to get from visiting vineyards in Tuscany? Is it to see the Tuscan scenery or is it to drink a specific Tuscan wine? If you want the scenery and the specific Tuscan wine, then of course you must go to Tuscany.
But if you want great red wine, then you could go to any number of places between Venice and le Cinque Terre and visit wineries and taste wine. (It also happens to be a curiosity of Munich that its restaurants have a lot extremely good Italian wine at prices cheaper than what you will find in Italian restaurants).
But in general if you are just looking to bomb through Venice, le Cinque Terre and Tuscan wineries, without regard for anything specific interest in wine itself, but just as a tourist looking to see the scenery you have heard about, then the most efficient way to go about this is:
Venice
train to Florence, rent a car, visit Chianti region
Drive to La Spezia or Pisa airport, drop off car, train to le Cinque Terre
Train to Genova if you want to fly to Munich
Apr 4th, 2014, 04:38 PM
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@sandralist - Thank you for the reply, that is super helpful. We have a great love of wine, and do want to enjoy the varietals (mainly red) that Tuscany (and Italy in general) so wonderfully create. We want to see the beautiful Tuscan scenery, and we do have some specific interests in the wine themselves (to answer the question you had). We also did want to spend some time at the vineyards in le Cinque Terre. We aren't interested in much shopping or very touristy things, but do want to take in the architecture, countryside/scenery, and wines.
That being said, would you still recommend the route in your post? Thanks again for the advice and taking time to answer our post!
That being said, would you still recommend the route in your post? Thanks again for the advice and taking time to answer our post!
Apr 4th, 2014, 04:44 PM
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If you have a great love of Tuscan red wine, then presumably you already know which vineyards or at least general areas of production you want to visit. Where are they?
I can't recommend a route until I know which Tuscan wine you are most interested in.
I can't recommend a route until I know which Tuscan wine you are most interested in.
Apr 5th, 2014, 09:16 AM
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OOPS,fingers slipped and I posted too soon.
After Tuscany, drive to La Spezia for 2 nights in CT.
From CT, train through Genova to Milan for flight home. You don't need to traipse all the way back to Venice.
After Tuscany, drive to La Spezia for 2 nights in CT.
From CT, train through Genova to Milan for flight home. You don't need to traipse all the way back to Venice.
Apr 13th, 2014, 05:29 PM
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@jeanneB, yep, we have 8 nights. And we're thinking 1 night Venice, then off to either cinque Terre (2 nts) or Sienna (or Florence) (2nts) then up to Munich (2nts) & back to Venice for the last night since we fly in/out of Venice. Just unsure of the best route other than we know we start and end in Venice. We were thinking trains everywhere but wouldn't be against driving or a short flight to Munich to save some travel time.
Apr 13th, 2014, 05:52 PM
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That's too many locations in such a short time. Two nights somewhere is only one sightseeing day. Do you really want to spend 4 days of your 8 days on the road?
It will easily take 4-5 hours driving to get to CT from Venice. Train would take around 6+ hours. You need to forget Munich as you simply don't have time for it.
It will easily take 4-5 hours driving to get to CT from Venice. Train would take around 6+ hours. You need to forget Munich as you simply don't have time for it.
Apr 15th, 2014, 05:49 PM
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4 stops is just too many. Too much distance to cover, and adding airports doesn't really help much. A delayed flight would trash your itinerary.
What is your home country? If you are flying from far away I can understand the desire to see as much as you can while in Europe, but I honestly don't think it will work.
Can you eliminate one of the more far flung destinations? I would skip the CT or Munich.
If you stuck to your destinations in Italy, you could do so with a car and it might be easier than a combination of train and car.
Arrive Venice, stay a few nights. Pick up car.
Drive to Tuscany (Montalcino? Montepulciano? Somewhere in Chianti?) stay 2 or 3 nights.
Drive to CT. Stay 2 nights.
Assuming you have an early flight out of Venice, use your last evening to drive back there.
If you really have no interest in Venice, you could just stay one night, then head to either of your other Italian destinations.
A very good way to visit Tuscan wineries is on a guided visit. While there are tasting rooms in the cities, wineries aren't like those in US, where one can drop in. Some excellent companies are in the business or arranging visits with tastings and even meals.
What is your home country? If you are flying from far away I can understand the desire to see as much as you can while in Europe, but I honestly don't think it will work.
Can you eliminate one of the more far flung destinations? I would skip the CT or Munich.
If you stuck to your destinations in Italy, you could do so with a car and it might be easier than a combination of train and car.
Arrive Venice, stay a few nights. Pick up car.
Drive to Tuscany (Montalcino? Montepulciano? Somewhere in Chianti?) stay 2 or 3 nights.
Drive to CT. Stay 2 nights.
Assuming you have an early flight out of Venice, use your last evening to drive back there.
If you really have no interest in Venice, you could just stay one night, then head to either of your other Italian destinations.
A very good way to visit Tuscan wineries is on a guided visit. While there are tasting rooms in the cities, wineries aren't like those in US, where one can drop in. Some excellent companies are in the business or arranging visits with tastings and even meals.
Apr 16th, 2014, 04:51 AM
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The above posters indicating that you have selected too many places are making a very cogent point. Eight nights and all of those destinations will enable you to see a lot of the insides of some sort of public transport.
Personally, we would only visit two places and have some time to see each destination. Sometimes less is more.
Keep in mind that Italy will seduce and you will probably want to return. You can visit other places missed this trip when you return. We spend a month in Italy every summer and we start planning the next trip while on the plane returning home from the current vacation.
Buon viaggio,
Personally, we would only visit two places and have some time to see each destination. Sometimes less is more.
Keep in mind that Italy will seduce and you will probably want to return. You can visit other places missed this trip when you return. We spend a month in Italy every summer and we start planning the next trip while on the plane returning home from the current vacation.
Buon viaggio,
