Cinque Terre area or Tuscany as base?
 

My husband and I and our two children in their 20's will spend a little less than 3 weeks in Italy arriving June 2. We will land in Venice and spend a couple of days there.
We will then have a car and want to rent an apartment for a week. Our 2 options: Cinque Terre, Lucca, Italian Riviera area OR Tuscany, Sienna area. From either area? Either way we drive to see some areas other than cities, but will also take a train to see Florence for a day.
Then we will go into Rome, drop off car, see Rome and fly out of Rome.

Which area would be better to rent an apartment and stay a week in? We have never been to Italy and don't know when we'll be able to get back. Also, is weather a problem in Cinque Terre in June?

Thanks in advance for the advice. This website is very helpful!

I suggest you a very comfortable solution, as you want to rent an apartment.
Very close to Cinque Terre there is a small town: Bonassola.
In Bonassola there is a village "Villaggio Turistico La Francesca" where you can rent your apartment and from that location it is easy to visit Cinque Terre (10', but I would say 1 hour and half walking along delicious paths), Lucca (90'), Pisa (2 hours),
Florence (3 hours).
Do not miss Genova (1 hour).
By the way, website of the village is www.villaggilafrancesca.it .

Have a lovely trip, ciao.

Vincenzo

Cinque Terre area is interesting to see for a day or two, then I would definately suggest staying in a central area in Tuscany and visiting all the small towns, which are really charming, such as Pienza, Cortona, San Gimingnano, Volterra etc. A good site to look up appartments and villa's is www.intuscany.net or email them for suggestions,...they are very helpful. We stayed in Montepulciano and did all day trips from there, and would do the same again. We caught the train from nearby Chuisi to visit Florence for the day and also dropped the car off there when we caught the train to Rome for the final part of our journey. You will love it.

I think that, when organizing your trip in detail, you will want to see more places in the Tuscany region than in the 5T region. It might therefor be preferable to go somewhere in the Tuscany region, maybe the Volterra - San Gimignano region. It is still not that far from the 5T region but you still are in the most interesting zone.

We saw/did about all there is to do on the CT in 3 full days/4 nights. We've stayed in Tuscany for about 5 weeks total - and we still go back. We prefer the Val d'Orcia around Pienza/San Quirico. In Tuscany, you have travel options for 360 degrees around you. On the CT it's only 180 degrees. Also, it's a tad difficult to get in/out of the CT.

Really - to me this is a no brainer for an extended stay.

In case you're doing a search for apts in Tuscany, Siena is spelled with only 1 "n".

Try this site.
http://www.verdidea.com/

Stu Dudley

I would never use Cinque Terre as a base. Its a great area to visit and I think your group will enjoy it for 2 full days exploring and hiking but it is very much out of the way for daytrips. Your car will be parked the whole time--it is best to arrive and exit by train.
Consider leaving Venice by train going to CT directly or stopping in Florence. Do not pick up your car until after CT visit, either in Florence(after a visit) or La Spezia. Then you can rent the apartment in Lucca, Siena or southern Tuscany area. You only need the car with the apartment and not in CT/Florence. You can then proceed to Rome and ditch the car.
Weather in CT in June is not a problem to worry about.
Personally, I would rent the apartment in the Siena--Pienza/Montepulciano area--your car will serve you well. But hurry as apartments are no doubtedly booking up. Try agriturismo searches near Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano.
Good luck--Paul

They are 2 very distinctive types of vacations, and I loved visiting both areas.

I could easily have spent a week in the Riviera, possibly basing in Santa Margherita. It's so easy to get around by train and boat. If you do go there, be sure to visit Camogli.

That said, I would have been very sorry to miss overnight stays in Tuscany or Umbria.

Could you split your week between the 2?

hi Syd,
I'm trying to stay in Camogli. Is this a good place to base for 4 nights and visit Rapallo, Portofino, and-anything else? I was planning 4 nights in Monterosso after Camogli, then home via a night in Milan. Any better ideas anyone?
Thanks!

Hi

My wife and I went to Florence and Tuscany last year and that was wonderful. Lots of beautiful cities, vieyards, good food and wine etc. Here is my trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm . We also went to Rome a few years back and that is also an amazing city. Check out my trip report with pictures http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm for more details :-) Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi Dawnie,

Liguria is an awesome part of Italy. Nice people, nice food etc.

It seems 8 nights is a lot for that one area in Liguria. What is the goal of being there?

If it were me, I would base myself in the middle so I could travel up to Portofino and Rapallo and down to the Cinque Terre easily.

Here's a little video introduction to the Cinque Terre:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=377

And a video of the Cinque Terre by boat, including Portovenere and Levanto:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=379

And a video about Monterosso:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=376

I also think when visiting this area the northern Tuscan coastal towns are fun to visit. I am a huge fan of Pietrasanta because I love art and specifically sculpture. Here's a little video of that area visiting from Liguria:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=373

It is hard to go wrong in this area of Italy. Have fun exploring!

I agree that Cinque Terre is not a good base for an extended visit to Italy. It is too hard to get in and out of by car and is at the far end of the train line. I would suggest a stay near Florence. We stayed at Monsignor della Casa Resort about 20 minutes north of Florence and had a great villa with pool, fireplace, on-site restaurant and wine bar, bikes, etc. It was fantastic. We used the on-site restaurant for dinners after a long day and it was fabulous. Beautiful countryside, but you must have a car, which you will need anyway. Check it out at www.monsignore.com.

hi webvision,
Where do you recommend I base myself and what hotels, around 100E, do you like?
Grazie mille!
Dawn

While we loved CT and I would definitely recommend a visit of a couple of days, Tuscany is more central and has so much more to offer.
Your trip sounds wonderful and if you have nearly three weeks, you can spend three days in Venice, travel to CT, spend two days there, spend a week (or more)in Tuscany and then go to Rome. You could rent an apartment in Florence or a house further south in Tuscany. We loved the Chianti region and many people recommend the area around Pienza. If you have a car, staying in the Tuscan countryside is a bit easier than staying in Florence.
Plan to spend more than a day in Florence - there is an endless amount to see and do there.
Have a wonderful trip - you are going at a lovely time.