italy Cinque Terre and Lake Como
 

we are planning a trip to Cinque Terre and the Lake Como area
is it better to fly into Milan and go first to Lake Como area and then Cinque
Terre or would the other way be better?
We are planning on going late May into June and would like to be gone about 2 weeks.
We would also like to visit Florence for a few days.
Our flight home is likely to be out of Milan.
Also, do you think a week in each place would be too long, or is that a reasonable amount of time?
thank you so much for your help

going by train or car? Go to Cinque Terre as early as possible as crowds swell as the season goes on - for many a week in CT or Lake Como would be too much - have you been to Venice - if not maybe do Venice and Florence and the two other places for fewer days.

If going by train check www.trenitalia.com for schedules and fares -for general info on Italian trains - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

You need no car to go to those places and once there cars are useless in CT - boats are IME the best way to get around Lake Como - Florence and cars don't mix.

1 week for Florence and surroundings is fine. 1 week for Milan or even 5Terre is way too much.

agree with neckervd on that.

I've done day trips to the Cinque Terre from nearby towns like Santa Margharita Ligure - a sweet town I enjoyed much more than if staying in the super crowded Cinque Terre villages.

Lake Como too I think for the average traveler is a few-day thing.

The area around the CT certainly has more than enough for a week - Santa Margharita as mentioned above but also Rapello, Camogli, Portovenere, Portofino, etc. and the CT towns themselves. Here's some photos of the area: http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/ital...ligurian_coast

If you have a total of 'about' two weeks I would spend 5 or 6 days on the coast and 3-4 Lake Como and the rest Florence.

Whether a week is too long or "enough" depends on what you intend to do in a place. I can keep myself happily occupied for a week just about anywhere. So, think about what you'll do and then decide how much time that requires.

"... is it better to fly into Milan and go first to Lake Como area and then Cinque Terre or would the other way be better?"

Malpensa to somewhere in the Cinque Terre by train would take 4-5 hours and multiple connections. That wouldn't appeal to me after a long flight. Alternatively, consider heading to Florence first (about 3 hours from Malpensa), then the CT, then Lake Como and finally Milan.

You might want to check out my blog on my stay in a home exchange in Lake Como.

This is the link:

http://altecockertravels.weebly.com/...t-30-2016.html

I did not go to Cinque Terre, so I cannot comment on that. During my almost 1 month in a small town south of Lecco (Lecco is the town on the southern end of Como's right "foot"), I was never bored. There is a lot to see in the area if you are interested in scenery. I went up in a couple of cable cars that run outside Lecco. I also went on several lake boats. I took side trips to Verona (opera festival) and Genoa (to catch the ferry to Corsica where I visited friends for 4 days); I also briefly visited Lake Garda and Lake Orta. I spent 5 days seeing things in Milan because I like to take things slow. One museum for a couple of hours suffices for me. Then I would take the train "home".

My type of traveling is not for everyone but I do have a problem with people saying 2-3 days in the area is enough. It depends on what you want to do. For me it is not racing through a series on a check off list. I like the idea of just going somewhere with a nice view for lunch occasionally. If you are a slow traveler, you can, as I did, spend a month in the area and still have a list of things I wish I had had time to do.

If you want to see The Last Supper, make an advance reservation. Tickets go up for sale about 3 months in advance. Tour companies buy up most of them and will charge you mightily to take a tour. Don't get in a position where you have to do it that way. Get your own ticket. They only allow in 25 people each 15 minutes.

We have been to Lake Como four times, once for two weeks and like Lauren Kahn above, never ran out of things to do. We spent three nights in the Cinque Terre to complete the hike between the five villages over two days. That was more than enough time. Flying in and out of Milan makes sense. You could easily add time in Florence, Bologna and/or Venice.

I am really sad to have missed Cinque Terre and Bergamo but such is life. Maybe I will get to return someday. I consider myself very lucky to have had this home exchange.

We did Cinque Terre as a day trip this April, and found it to be so touristy. I don't understand what so many rave about -- maybe it was authentic 20 years ago, but not anymore.

Bookmarking...