Hello! My husband and I are planning a 2 week (approximate) trip to Italy starting the second week of October. We are fortunate enough to be able to capitalize on Aeroplan and various hotel reward points as my husband travels frequently for work so we have some flexibility in some areas and less in others! (However, we will not restrict ourselves to points-only accommodation.) The plan so far is to fly into Rome and stay there for four nights. Following that we are planning to head to Florence for 3 nights. This is where I need some advice. It looks very inviting to drive (or take a train?) to the Cinque Terre region. I have found a hotel in Santa Margherita that looks quite lovely though I realize it is about an hour from CT but that area looks quite pretty as well. Would it be feasible to do day trips from that location or better to spend a night or two in one of the Cinque Terre towns? We could also stay somewhere in Tuscany (in addition to Florence and really get to know that region) and leave off Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera altogether. We would be closer to Rome in order to fly back out. If we do head up towards Cinque Terre and that region, we may want connect through an airport there. We are open to renting a car or not... We really don’t like areas that are overrun with tourists (although some sights will always be busy) nor extreme heat so October seems a good time. Like so many, we love to explore and take our time. Love old churches and buildings, good food and beautiful gardens. Gardening is one of my passions. We are active but wouldn’t say we are fitness buffs. We do love to walk. This is our first time to Italy and we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew and realize we can always return to see what we missed. There is a lovely hotel we could stay in using points in the the town of Viareggio however from what I have seen online (besides the hotel) it doesn’t look like a town we would enjoy (though we could use as a base) - too commercialized. I could be wrong. We have just started to explore Europe. In Austria - I loved Vienna and there was so much to do however fell in love with Salzburg. Same thing in England - loved London but felt very happy in the small towns and villages in southern England. We used Porto for a base last year (also in October) and loved that town although it was a lot busier than I expected. Thanks for any and all suggestions, we have been given invaluable advice on this and Rick Steves travel blogs in the past.

Thank you both Jean and Calabria for your insights and advice. I have done more reading and research and it seems I may fall into that category of first time visitor who is trying to experience everything. We are now thinking perhaps of doing Rome-Florence-Venice and perhaps a day trip or two from these base points. We may not rent a car and travel by train. We can easily connect through Venice for our flight home. I did recently see a program dedicated to the gardens of Trivola and they were magnificent and not focused on flowers but more on water and architectural details. As mentioned, may be best to leave that for another visit as there will be so much to see in Rome. I think it may be best to return to Italy to experience a week in the Tuscan countryside and/or one by the coast. Can be quite stressful making a final decision when there is so much to offer. Good to know that one can drive from Florence to CT and back to Rome, that may have been something we would have attempted 20 years ago! Thanks again to you both, very much appreciated and will check back in to report back how it all unfolded. May have a question or two before then!