Is it possible to see Cinque terra and Venice in only 7 days?
We understand the train from Venice to CT is 7 hours with stops..... Are we pushing it trying to get both these cities in with the geographical distance and using the train for transportation? We don't want to be frenzied wrecks while we are there just trying to get from point A to B. We are booked to fly in and out of Milan so that distance needs to be traveled too.
We could use some advice.
Thanks

Sure. I think two nights in the CT is plenty if you are willing to do the full hike between the five villages in one day. Add a full day of travel from Venice there and it still leaves you with 5 nights in Venice (or four, if you were counting days, not nights), which isn't bad either.
I'd say most people allow three nights for the first trip to Venice.

I personally would prefer not to spend seven hours sitting on a train with but seven days available to touring in Italy. The Cinque Terre is not a city, but rather a series (5) of small towns along the coastline, with hiking paths and a train route between them.
My advice? Choose other destinations closer to Venice for this visit.
CarolL

Hi C,

With only a week, I suggest leaving the CT for another visit.

You could visit Florence, Bologna, Padua and Verona from Venice.

You could split your week between Venice and Florence or Venice and Bologna.

Thanks all for your replies ..With so little time , it is so hard to make decisions!
All postings are very helpful.
I hate missing CT, but maybe this would be the best.
We are going in late june so weather should be good right?

The weather will be lovely in late June. While it is certainly possible to see both Venice and the CT in 7 days, I wouldn't do it unless I was flying into Venice and flying out of Milan/Pisa (both cities are fairly close to the CT). It would be pointless to do that long train ride twice in such a short amount of time.

In late June I would definitely make Eurostar train reservations the minute you arrive in Italy. The one thing you DON'T want to do is end up on an inter-city train packed to the gills with tourists for 7 hours and possibly having to stand.

That said, I wouldn't want to spend all my time in either place in late June. If you ultimately decide on one or the other, take time from Venice to visit Verona or perhaps Lago di Como or Stresa (a good place to spend your last night if you are flying out of Milan).

If you are thinking about CT, you might also spend a few night in Camogli and daytrip to Genova and take a hike in the Portofino hills.

Since you are landing Milan I would maybe tour lakes nearby there for a 2 days, then spend 5 days in Venice, skipping CT and saving a 14 hour RT train ride (Milan to Venice is more like 3-ish each way).

If I had arrived from a long flight in Milan and taken a train to the CT, and had spent two glorious nights there and had hiked the full trail in one day (which is not only doable, but wonderful), I frankly would truly enjoy the 7 hour train ride across Italy the day after doing the hike. Then I'd really enjoy the next 4 to 5 days in Venice. A seven hour train ride will only help you NOT to be a "frenzied wreck". Sit down, relax, and watch the countryside roll by. Have a nice lunch in the dining car perhaps, or open up some wine and sip it with some prepurchased wonderful snacks as you watch out the windows and follow the route on a map. I personally find the train travel some of the best time spent on my trips, and certainly the most relaxing.