help with italy itinerary
 

I would love some advice on our first ever vacation in Italy. we arrive in Milan and head for Venice for 2 nights, then to Tuscany near Montepulciano for 5 nights. I need some assistance with where to spend the next 3 days before we go back to Milan. we have a 10 year old so it needs to be considered. I was thinking Cinque Terre but have heard it may not be the best place for families. We want to see pisa and lucca but can we stay at a beach resort nearby and be able to have all these from one base. love some kids oriented ideas for this timeframe and area

I don't know where you live, but I think you won't find your mental picture of a beach resort in northern Italy.

I would add a day in Venice. After you land at Malpensa, collect your luggage and get through passport control, you're facing a 4-hour journey to your Venice hotel. That's one really long day. Unless you live in the same time zone, you'll likely be jetlagged.

After Venice, it's a 4-5 hour drive to Montepulciano (not counting comfort stops, lunch, interesting looking detours, etc.), so there's a day gone from your 5 days in the Tuscan countryside. Four days may be enough for what you hope to see/do, but that's up to you.

Will you return the car after Montepulciano or keep it until you return to Milan? Do you want to spend any time IN Milan?

FYI, the drive from Montepulciano is another 3-4 hours (not counting stops). The train ride is even longer.

I would head to Lucca and see Pisa and the coast from there. Consider Portovenere as your launch point for the ferry to the CT villages--given good weather that day. If not, enjoy Portovenere and Lerici.

thank you for your replies...we will have a car from Florence thru the Tuscany timeframe and will need to drop it off at some point (maybe Pisa??) Haven't planned for much time in Milan, we were really all about getting into the countryside this trip and not so much the bigger cities although I'm aware of the history we are missing. that will have to be for the next trip. I will explore the portovenere area more to see our options. Bob, can you give me your opinion on a couple of Tuscan accomodations we are considering - I see you have considerable information from previous posts I've read. right now it seems to be between
Residenza il poggiolo (http://www.poggiolo.info/) and Terre di Nano. Prices vary greatly between the two - both look lovely although I can't seem to get a response from terre di nano.

In looking at the website for Terre di Nano, it appears it may be closed for the months of January and February, so I'd give them a little more time to reply.

If Bob doesn't come back to this thread, click on his screen name for the list of threads he's contributed to. He's posted his Tuscan lodging recommendations on other threads.

If you're not planning to spend any time in Milan, you could just return the car at Malpensa before your departing flight. (In this case, it's faster driving Pisa-Milan than taking the train.) Even if you wanted to go into Milan for a couple of hours, you could spend the last night near Malpensa and take the train or bus into the city.

Genoa mightbe worth a look
Alt, make sure your Tuscany trip has a pool or access to a spa

Time of year might be important

The biggest differnce to me is the proximity to a real Tuscan village. I love to meander in San Quirico, especailly in the evening. Terre di Nano is a better property, but more isolated. Hope that helps.