Hi All,
Would appreciate some insight as to whether we are spreading ourselves too thin by trying to see both Cinque Terre and Tuscany in 10 days by car. Can't seem the be able to choose one or the other, so maybe with your help, we can figure out what route would be the best. Hubby and I like to drive, stop along the way at our leisure. What towns would you suggest we stay overnight in? Where should we fly in and out of Italy from? Is it much more expensive to pick up a car in, say, Florence and drop it off in another city so we don't have to backtrack? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated in planning our 25th Anniversary trip!

>whether we are spreading ourselves too thin by trying to see both Cinque Terre and Tuscany in 10 days by car.<

I don't think you're running thin...

Here's how I would do it: Open jaw Rome-Milan (or the reverse). Take the rental car from the airport to your first stop - Orvieto from Rome (Lerici from Milan). Make two 3-night stops thru Tuscany (one in Val d'Orcia, one near Siena/Florence) and from Lerici (or a similar spot), use boat transportation to explore the five towns plus Portovenere. You can also include a daytrip to Pisa and/or Lucca from there.

I think that seems perfect. The ideal scenario is to fly into and home from Pisa and get the car there. I would spend 3 nites in the CT--I like Portovenere or Levanto as a base---and then 3 nites each in 2 Tuscany locations. I would pick a location in the Chianti region for one and the other in the Val d' Orcia, perhaps near Pienza. Have fun !

Sounds like a plan. Any suggestions as to where to stay at these locations? 3* or 4*

For some recommended 4*-type hotels, this map is a good place to begin:

https://www.jdbhotels.com/maps/map_tuscany.asp

Click on the towns, then on the hotels, and you'll get descriptions as well as prices. JDB Hotels is a really good collection. Note that JDB's negotiated prices INCLUDE taxes (when you compare them with the hotel's own website)... and you're also likely to be blocked into one of the hotel's better rooms. However, you can only book through JDB with a travel agent, but I can give you a source that will do it without charging a booking fee. (Not allowed to post advertising on this site, so you'd have to email me).

Cinque Terre is beautiful. The best way to see it is by boat. There's a ferry running up the coast to all of the towns. You can get off at each place, do some hiking and exploring, then get back on the next boat and go to the next village.

Happy 25th Anniversary! What a wonderful way to celebrate.

Of course:
Grand Hotel Portovenere
www.palazzodelcapitano.com
Fattoria Tregole near Castellini

Lufthansa has good connections into Pisa, and Delta is adding a new direct flight at nd of May, but not every day.
Have fun !

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll look into them.
Is mid-Sept. still warm enough in CT to swim in the ocean? Or is it even pool weather still?

We were in CT in October & swam, as did a lot of other people. The water & weather were perfect, and after the long hike from Corniglia to Monterosso, it was just what the doctor ordered. CT is heaven on earth in the autumn, imo.

We hiked the Cinque Terre and stayed in Riomaggiore (sp) and in Santa Marguerita, which was a charming town. We flew into Milan, took trains to CT.
Liked Portofino more than Portovenere. Hiked from town to town, sometimes took boat back, sometimes train. Order the linguine with clam sauce! Lovely,lovely area. Happy Anniversary!

No one has answered the question about picking up a car in one city and dropping off in another. Is that a problem? I, too, am thinking of doing that, but am not sure if there are drop-off charges.

Picking up a rental car in one city and returning it in another is not a problem. Check autoeurope.com

depends on what you plan to do in "tuscany"-we took 13 days, flew into florence, picked up a car at the airport and drove to a lovely b&b with a 5 star chef for under $100 in monterriggione, 10 miles from Sienna and with a lovely small walled fortress, used that as a base for 3 days to explore other walled towns like volterra, sienna itself,drove through chianti and visited several of the key towns,including radda, visited montepulciano 100 miles south of sienna,then from our monterrigione base drove to lucca, stayed 2 nights there and walked the fortress rim,visted lovely churches and museums, the leaning tower at pisa 30 minutes away by train, trained to the cinque terre to manarola and stayed on the top of the town in a charming pensione with a balcony view down the center to the ocean for $100 night and hiked the cq trail-very crowded--and trained the other cq towns, and then trained to florence for 3 nights staying at the boutique hotel tournabouni, 1 bridge below the ponte vechhio and acros the street from the f ree ferragoam shoe museum. so the question is do you want to do all of that driving or break it up and save some time by using the fast and/or regioanl trains in italy-just make sure if you do the latter that you printout alternative schedules in case your train is delayed or stopped en route. if you want the details of our trip, look for my tripadvisor report about 2 years ago or email me.

Hi! - Are we selling Tuscany Short?

We're planning a trip to Tuscany.It sounds like you had a good time.

We're planning our honey moon and currently have planned:

3 nights florence (including 1/2 trip to pisa)
3 nights in Tuscany (including 1 day trip to Siena Gimginamo and 1/2 Chianti Wine Tasting) - drive
... back to florence and train to Venice (2 days)

Are we selling Tuscany Short?

Thanks for any info you can provide!
- Alex

I can't speak for Tuscany, but I think that 3 nights in the CT is about right. Regarding swimming, yes, you'll be able to swim. However, I found that the main "activity" in CT was hiking. Not strenous hikes, but gorgeous walks where it seemed like around every corner you got a new, unique view of the Riviera and Sea. Beautiful.

I can't speak for Italy, but I know that anywhere I've rented a car in one place and dropped in another, you encounter a "drop fee". However, I find that that fee is usually in line or better than what it would cost to take a different form of transporation, especially when you factor in the convenience value of having a car.

<i>I found that the main &quot;activity&quot; in CT was hiking. Not strenous hikes, but gorgeous walks</i>
And, of course, just inhaling (and stockpiling for future reference) the whole feeling of being in a fantasy come alive.