Lovely Mum from NZ , flying with my 18yo son , in and out of Genoa, for a 5 night holiday in early June- just the two of us ! We only have a medium budget so need advice -should we drive or train? Should we head inland, to Nice or to Cinque Terre, or should we explore Tuscany? So many choices and not enough time! I think we won't want to be too busy - mostly soak up the local culture. Any suggestions would be great - a full Itinerary would be perfect!!

Go to Genoa a fair amount in 5 days might consider
a night or 2 at the Grand Savoia booking.com around
my flights and the rest in the SML/Portofino area
nearby. Our fav hotel is www.metropole.it a nice
sea view room at the red lodge with an incredible
breakfast was 120 euro for us last year.The Metropole
is a 1 block downhill bag roll from the SML/Portofino
train station and right at the ferry dock for the cinqueterre.com. Tuscany would be too far in the short
time you have for me make more if you can.

Happy Trails!

seat61.com/italy
hopping regional trains like a
local always cheapest best for us for budget.
SML/Portofino is 5 euro or so a half hour ride from
Genova Principale station where the center
and the Savoia are.

Wonderful idea! There is a poster here who lives in the area and has been extremely generous with sharing her extensive knowledge of the region. Hopefully she will see this and add her thoughts. Until then, I can add my report from 2008, when I spent 3 nights in Camogli and 3 nights in Santa Margherita Ligure before driving up to Lake Como.




http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-much-else.cfm

Whether you go to France, or the Italian Riviera or to Tuscany depends on what you all like to do (and eat). If you go to Tuscany, you will want a car if you want to see the countryside, but take the train to La Spezia and rent it there. If you would rather go to cities like Florence and Pisa or Siena in Tuscany, don't rent a car. Use the trains.

If you would like to relax and you both enjoy the seaside, then it might be nice to take the train to Rapallo by the sea. You can visit Portofino and Camogli, also le Cinque Terre. Take a cable car up into the mountains for a view. Visit the neighboring town of Chiavari and eat farinata at Luchin (via Bighetti). Or visit the lovely town of Sestri Levante for a sunset swim. Walk along the cliffside walk near Zoagli. Lots of places to enjoy views and the sunshine. On your way back to Genova, spend a day there before flying home.

Santa Margherita Ligure is also nice. It can also be nice to stay in Sestri Levante, not just visit there. Here is a cute hotel for people on a budget (but you should look up reviews to see if it is right for you):

http://www.marinahotel.it/indexInglese.html

The owners speak enough English if you e-mail them.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Liguria.html

Thanks for all the help - my son is going again to Europe later so will be seeing all the main cities and attractions, so we just wanted somewhere nice to relax and explore. Looks like SML or Sestri Levante, if I can get hotels available. Cheers

If you wish to stay in Genoa, and it is well worth a couple of nights, Locanda at Palazzo Cicala is a beautiful small hotel just opposite the cathedral. Our room was huge and lovely, the breakfast was wonderful and the receptionist extremely friendly and helpful. Also it was very reasonable.

I was just in Genoa for 5 days in February, and again, I can't begin to say how much I love this city! (Full trip report to follow). It's so easy to get around, great restaurants (lunch at Taggiou and dinner at Lupo a must!). Five nights will go fast - so it depends on if you want to pack it all in, or relax? You might want to just spend a couple of days in one of the bording beach towns - easy to reach by train. Or take a day trip to Pisa, or Alba by train. It's easy to get into Genoa from the airport by bus, which takes you to either train station. Enjoy your visit!

As glad as I am to read of happy stays in Genoa, day tripping to Alba is not particularly easy. (Torino is marginally easier, Asti much more so). A train trip to Pisa is around 2 hours one way. (Milan is closer.) I think it is nicer to stay in hotels in Genova that are not right neat the train stations, so that too adds time to a day trip.