Hello all,

Just registered today because of my question.

I am fortunate enough to have my mother come see Italy with me. We will be arriving in Venice from London to spend a few nights.

From there, I was thinking about surprising her by taking her to the villages I've heard so highly about in Cinque Terre. We will be there mid January. I was wondering if that is wise to go to CT in mid Jan for 4 nights?

Will there be plenty to do and learn for 4 nights in mid Jan? I figured it would be nice to travel during off-peak travel times.

I would be nervous to take her there and have it be cold, wet, ugly, boring? We will be leaving from CT to go to Rome by train: so instead of CT, should we go somewhere else or am I just worried for nothing?

She really deserves a nice vacation, so I want all the best for her on her first trip abroad!

Thanks for the help.

Regarding the weather, you'll have a better chance of good weather in january if you go south of Rome - that is, Sorrento, and the Amalfi coast.

Also, I think CT will be dead in January.

Using Sorrento as a base, you can visit Pompei, Naples, Capri, Amalfi and Positano.

My daughter and son-in-law have just left Cinque Terre after a two and 1/2 day visit. They took the hikes to the different towns and they took a boat ride.

I will find out more from them when we pick them up tomorrow.

Her only comment on e-mail so far is how steep the hills are and how many steps there are to their hotel.

Is your mother young and in good walking shape and healthy to manage such strenuous walks and stairs?

Gerald is correct. There is a lot of walking involved to really visit CT.

Hi M,

Both the CT and the Amalfi Coast are rather vertical. Lots of steps.

Neither are at their best in mid-January.

My suggestion is to go to Florence if you get bored with Venice.

You can visit Siena from Florence.

The CT is for hikers. Hiking is for nice weather. Do you and your mom like to hike vertical slopes and steps in bad weather? Therein lies your answer.

My advice would be to take your mom to some lovely town in Italy and enjoy art, shopping, museums, churches, and dining. That's what to do in Italy in January.

Some suggestions:
Verona (very easy to get to from Venice)
Florence
Siena

You all are very kind to resond. I really enjoy Fodor's.

My mom is okay to walk and hike; so she says. I was wondering if it might be better to leave Venice and travel to Florence for four nights before leaving for Rome.

With that said, is it possible to do a day trip to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and make it to CT to see the sunset... maybe spend one night in CT before returning to Florence.

She is defintely into art, museums, etc. But from what I heard of CT, the sights would make her very happy.

This way we can spend 3 days in Florence, and one full day trip to Pisa and CT if possible (or spend a night).

Then again, from Venice, we can go right to CT for a night and then onto Florence.

Not sure what makes most sense.

I am so happy she can come with me; I just want her to see it all.

Thanks again.

Chris

I apologize if the last message was too confusing.

I called my mother just now to discuss things. CT will be a surprise for her, by the way. I don't want her to look it up before we arrive.

As of now, I am thinking we'll take a train from Venice to CT and spend one night (from noon time of arrival to mid afternoon of next day). Then we will leave for Florence.

In Florence (where we will now spend 3 days), we can take a day trip to Pisa if that isn't too far.

I like this idea best.

What do we think? Better go before I'm late for class... can't travel if I don't get my degree in December.

Thanks again!!

Chris

If the weather will be bad at the coasts in January, how about taking her to a nice villa in Tuscany for a few nights? There are a lot of nice ones out there, you can do cooking classes, winery tours, and spa stuff too. Just an idea!!

We just returned from Italy where we spent three days in CT. Two of the days were lovely and we hiked a lot. One day was windy and showery. CT is not a pleasant place to be in bad weather - there is little to do except be outside. I would not go in January - there are so many other places to enjoy if the weather is not good.

There's nothing wrong with spending a day in Cinque Terre. You won't have the throngs of tourists. You can take the train from town to town, or if it's not raining, do one or two hikes between towns. When you depart for Florence, stop off in Pisa. The town of Pisa won't take more than a couple of hours.

You can leave Cinque Terre after breakfast, stop in Pisa to see the leaning tower, and be in Florence by the afternoon. Buon viaggio!

So far I think I will spend the nigth in CT on my way to Florence, stop in at Pisa, like suggested.

I am looking for rooms to stay at CT, but it seems all are by request only. Hmm... does anyone know what the odds are of getting a room? Is it tough, from past experiences? I guess I should make sure I get one before my plans are set in stone.

Are some villages easier to request rooms than others or is the demand fairly high throughout the year in all villages?

Thanks again - I am grateful for everyone's advice.

Chris

Your best bet is Monterosso...it is the biggest town. I don't know how much you want to spend but we stayed at Villa Steno and really liked it. It is more like a real hotel so I assume they are open year round.