jent103

I'm planning a trip with a friend for May - a bit late to get started, but opportunity struck us so here we are. We haven't booked a thing yet; I'm hoping to book plane tickets this weekend, and right now it looks like into and out of Rome will be our best bet in terms of flight schedules and prices. (I also checked open-jaw and round trip tickets using Milan and Pisa.) Here's a first stab at an itinerary - I'd love any general feedback. We are two female friends in our early 30s, active, don't need a lot of nightlife, past the hostel phase but we like a good value. We went to Rome, Venice, and Bellagio a few years ago, so don't need as many days in Rome this time. We've both been to Florence, but 15 years ago in college. For reference on how long we generally stay places - we spent 4.5 days in Rome, 2.5 in Venice, and 2.5 in Bellagio last time and that worked well for us.

Day 0 - leave US

Day 1 - land in Rome, train to Cinque Terre, focusing on Vernazza right now but open to other villages. (Trenitalia has journey time at just under four hours with a change at La Spezia - a long day, but might as well knock it out, and coming from Milan was almost as long)
Days 2-3 - CT, plan to hike, take the boat, see the towns

Day 4 - train to somewhere in Tuscany, maybe stopping in Lucca on the way?
Days 5, 6, 7, 8 - Tuscany, including a day in Florence. We're leaning toward renting a car and looking for an agriturismo or something along those lines - possibly somewhere near Siena or San G as a base? On the list are San G, Siena, Lucca for sure, still doing research about other places and activities. A cooking class would be great.

Day 9 - train to Rome
Days 10, 11 - Rome
Day 12 - fly back to US

I'm debating whether to take a day from Tuscany or Rome and add it to the CT, since we'll be getting over jet lag there, but we came close to being bored in Bellagio after two full days so I'm hesitant about that.

Thanks for any input! This is definitely still in the preliminary phases, so any feedback is welcome.

Andrew

Don't forget to count the time from Fiumicino airport to Rome Termini where you'll need to connect to the train going north. That would make the train ride just over five hours or so, assuming you take the airport train in.

I did something similar a few years when flew into Rome and immediately trained to Venice. That made sense in my case because I got a direct flight from the US into Rome - a connecting flight to Venice wouldn't have saved much time and I preferred a train to another flight anyway. It did make for a long day, and I had a tough time staying awake but I managed. (I follow the method of staying awake all day the first day you land in Europe to combat jet lag.)

How much worse is Pisa as an arrival airport in terms of cost and flight time? It would sure make for a shorter train ride - but if it was like my case, it could still be better to fly into Rome.

I did spend three nights in the Cinque Terre on my first visit. I hiked over two days and spent the last one kind of taking it easy in a couple of the villages. I wasn't bored, but another day would have been too much. In your case, you won't really have much time to do much the first day, so you probably won't hike the first day.

sandralist

Since you are not looking to spend more than a day in Florence, and daytripping into Florence from rural Tuscany is always a big tricky, how about taking the train first to Florence and spending two nights there?

Then, if you know for sure it is not raining in le Cinque Terre, go there, either with a car rental or by train. But if it is raining, go to Lucca instead, by train. There really is no point in going to le Cinque Terre if it is raining.

So after that, if you don't already have a car, you can pick one up (either in La Spezia or Pisa), and head on into rural Tuscany. You can stop by San Gimignano for lunch and then head to somewhere maybe a bit south of Siena for a few nights, so you can fit in a day trip to Siena. Finally, drop off the car in Orvieto (or Chiusi) and take the train to Rome.

So it would be something like this:

Arr in Rome, immediately train to Florence 2 nights
2 nights in either le Cinque Terre or Lucca
3 nights Tuscany
4 nights Rome

sandralist

I meant to say that if you see a short term weather forecast that shows the sun will be shining in le Cinque Terre, you can rent a car at the Florence airport and stop by Lucca for a looksee and lunch on your way to le Cinque Terre. But if you see that the forecast is for rain (which it could be in May) then just take a train to Lucca instead. In May you can easily book last minute accommodations via the internet.

jent103

Thanks to both of you for the feedback!

Andrew - flying into Pisa is about the same cost, but requires short (stressful ) layovers and an extra connection, and assuming all goes well, wouldn't get us to CT much earlier. If I remember correctly, the Rome flight lands at 9:45 while the Pisa flight lands at noon.

Sandralist - I did think about going to Florence first and am still looking into that. Hotels are more expensive there, it seems, so day tripping also seemed attractive from that perspective, but I haven't dug too much yet. Going without reservations makes me nervous, especially since I've already been turned down by a couple of places in Vernazza for our dates!

I did hear back from an agriturismo that I think bobthenavigator recommended, near San Gimignano, with availability for the current dates. If we were to stick with that plan, is that a fairly central location?

sandralist

Locating near San Gimignano is "central" depending on what you want from your Tuscany stay. It is good for using a car to visit Volterra and Siena, or to get close to Florence and then take some public transportation into the city (you can even take a bus to Florence from there if you are OK with the schedules). But many people would not consider it the most scenic part of Tuscany. For that, most people would choose either the val d'Orcia or the Chianti, the classic wine areas of Tuscany. The area around San Gimignano is not unattractive, but it is the iconic picturesque landscape of Tuscany.

Not pushing you to stay in Florence, but I recently had a very nice stay in Florence at this b&b, which I considered a bargain. They also have plans to open a sister hotel, and might be offering promotional rates there if you e-mail and ask about it

http://www.emozionicharme.it

kybourbon

>>>into and out of Rome will be our best bet in terms of flight schedules and prices. (I also checked open-jaw and round trip tickets using Milan and Pisa.)<<<

Check a few other surrounding airports as I sometimes find cheaper flights to places you don't usually think about (Florence, Genoa, Bologna). Some Pisa flights are seasonal and don't start until June.

You might consider starting in Tuscany instead of CT. There's a bus from the airport to Siena. You could pick up your car the next day or base there a couple of days. You can easily visit Florence by bus from Siena for a day trip.

You could also go somewhere like Orvieto for a first night and pick up your car the next day for Tuscany (would depend on day of week for rental car hours). Drive through southern Tuscany (Val d'Orcia) on your way towards Siena/San G. Head to CT after Tuscany drop your car in La Spezia.

Do you really want to stay in Rome or are you just doing it because of the flight?

sandralist

Sorry, jent103, I noticed I made a typo in my post. I intended to write:

"The area around San Gimignano is not unattractive, but it is NOT the iconic picturesque landscape of Tuscany."

jent103

sandralist - thanks for that b&b suggestion! It looks great. It's more expensive than I'm hoping for, but I'll keep it on the list.

kybourbon - thanks for the suggestions; I hadn't even considered Bologna, but I'll check it! I think we'd like a day or two in Rome to do some things we didn't get to do the last time, but we don't need a ton of time there. I had totally forgotten about Orvieto; I saw it suggested a lot when planning our last Italy trip but hadn't considered it this time.

jent103

Quick update - kybourbon, all the flights to all those other airports are roughly the same price with an extra connection. Bummer!

I found a great b&b possibility in Florence and am thinking more about the idea of starting there. We know we want to spend a day or two there anyway, and I like the idea of starting in a city where plenty of things are in easy walking distance and we don't want a car - and I also like the idea of getting over jet lag as much as possible before driving! Plus it gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of whether to do CT or Tuscany next, depending on the availability of accommodations we like.

Mimar

Last minute car rentals are expensive. See if you can make cancellable reservations now for both trip options.

You don't really want a car for the Cinque Terre. They are very small towns with no room for cars. You get from town to town by train or, in season, boat. Or, of course, on foot.

Also you can do Lucca as a daytrip by train from Florence or stop off on the way to the CT. There's luggage storage in Lucca for while you tour the town.

sandralist

>>There's luggage storage in Lucca for while you tour the town.<<

Is there? Not saying there isn't, but had not thought there was.

I agree that having a car is not optimal for le Cinque Terre, but in May it is not the worst option either, especially if you are not going on a weekend, and if you plan to arrive late in the day (after a stop in Lucca). You will end up paying for 2 nights of parking for a car you won't use. On the other hand, you'll save some time.

I'm totally agnoistic about what you choose, and think cancellable reservations are fine, but I wouldn't rule it out completely, especially if there is no luggage storage in Lucca (which there may be).

kybourbon

What are your dates? Picking up cars on Saturday afternoons or Sunday can be a problem a lot of places.

http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/nuovo-c...iumicino-roma/

>>>Lucca for sure<<<

Why for sure? Is there something in Lucca you must see (I'm not a fan of Lucca)?

If you visit CT first and end up in the Siena area before Rome, there's bus transport from Siena to Rome.

http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html

I wouldn't add a day to CT if you were bored in Bellagio.

While this convent in Siena is not quite as cheap as it was before their remodel (although it still has some economy rooms), it's still economical and has fantastic views of the Duomo which is a 5 minute walk away.

http://www.hotelalmadomus.it/

If you decide on southern Tuscany for a base, I've stayed at these apartments in Pienza which is fairly easy to drive in and out of for day trips. While Pienza has some sweeping views, it's pretty flat for coming and going unlike other hill towns.

http://www.ilgiardinosegretopienza.it/

Outside of Pienza, between Pienza and San Quirico, I've stayed at this agriturismo. It's pretty basic, but a good location for touring around the area.

http://www.agriturismobonellinovecchio.it/

If you want to stay around that area, here's a list of agritursimo in the area. If you click on them, it takes you to their webpage.

http://www.portalepienza.it/Siti_com...riturismo.html

sandralist

>>Picking up cars on Saturday afternoons or Sunday can be a problem a lot of places. <<

But not at airports, where car rental offices are continuously open long hours, even on weekends. If you pick one up in Florence, it is often simpler to get it at the airport rather than in town anyway. If you are already in le Cinque Terre or Lucca and want a car, head to the Pisa aiport by train if La Spezia is closed.

You will also need a plan for getting rid of the car when rental offices are open.

jamikins

There is definitely luggage storage at the Lucca station...its outside the station on the left hand side of the square.

jent103

Thanks, everyone! This is all really great information.

We plan to fly in on a Sunday, and I don't want to drive while I'm that jet lagged, so we definitely wouldn't be picking up a car till Monday at the earliest. I don't plan to keep it in the CT; we tend to prefer trains when reasonable, so the car is just to make exploring Tuscany easier. Neither of us drive a manual, so we'll need to reserve in advance to make sure we can get an automatic.

kybourbon - Lucca is on the list because, well, it's on a lot of lists and it looks beautiful and I've never been, all of which true for basically everything on the list right now , plus the walls sound interesting and it seems like a good stopping point between the CT and Tuscany. It's good to hear a different perspective on it! We don't plan to spend a full day or anything, and if we were to not make it in favor of something else, that's fine. It's not been as recommended to me as, say, San Gimingnano. Thanks so much for those recommendations - I'll definitely be looking at them!

Here's the current thinking. Are any of these train routes, besides Rome/Florence, routes where we are likely to save much by buying ahead of time, or would we be basically just as well off being flexible about our departure times?

May 2: fly
May 3: land in Rome, train to Florence
May 4: Florence
May 5: Florence to CT
May 6: CT
May 7: CT
May 8: CT to Tuscany, pick up car somewhere
May 9, 10, 11: Tuscany
May 12: drop off car somewhere, train to Rome
May 13: Rome
May 14: fly home

Also, under these circumstances, would you all stay near Termini in Rome, or nearer the historic center? We stayed near Piazza Navona last time and loved that location, but we were there for nearly five days. This time, since we'll only be there 1.5 days or so and arriving and departing by train, I'm wondering if Termini would be a better choice. I've heard it's not such a great area, but am not sure how up to date that impression is.

noe847

I am by no means an expert on Italy but in October we spent 3 weeks there - 12 nights based in northwest Tuscany (along with 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Bologna, 3 nights in Assisi, 1 night at Rome airport. I did 8 day trips in Tuscany, using a car or the train, depending on the destination. We loved Lucca! Volterra and Pistoia were other favorites, and a drive to Vinci and environs was a surprise hit. We didn't make it to San G, unfortunately. Our Tuscan villa was a short train ride from the CT and we spent one day exploring 3 of the villages. We didn't do any hiking, mostly because the shorter hikes were closed because of trail conditions (we were able to check online, iirc).

Looking at your itinerary, I'd take a day from the CT and add it to Tuscany. You'll be able to get to the CT fairly quickly from Florence and could have the better part of May 5 to explore. Then you'd have all May 6 and even a portion of the 7th. We rented our car at the Florence airport.

Andrew

If I read her itinerary correctly, she has only two nights in the Cinque Terre as it is. If she takes away a night, then they won't have a whole day just for hiking - they'll have to check in the first day and check out the next. And if it happens to rain, having two nights offers a better chance of having at least part of a day suitable for hiking.

But you make a good point about checking the trail status - they can close on short notice due to slides, etc. There are more trails besides the main trails between the five villages as well.

jent103

We currently have three nights and two full days planned for the CT, and would definitely like to do some hiking (assuming the weather cooperates, which I am fervently hoping it does!). Is there a good site or other resource you would recommend for checking trail status? I was thinking that May would be fairly likely to be a good time - hopefully that's right!

sandralist

If you don't drive a manual transmission, you will probably need to pick up your vehicle either at the Florence airport or the Pisa airport. You can try La Spezia, but they may not be able to guarantee it. Since you don't want to drive to le Cinque Terre, picking it up at Pisa airport is probably your best option.

Regarding trail status in le CInque Terre, there are residents of le Cinque Terre who post on the Tripadvisor le Cinque Terre forums and keep up a running commentary on which trails are open, because so many people ask. So you might keep checking over there as well as watch the weather. You shouldn't plan to go hiking in le Cinque Terre following days of rain.

As for staying near Termini, you heard correctly and there is really not much gained by staying right near the train station (which is actually part of the historic center, just not a particuarly nice one). I realize you are traveling on a budget, but it still makes more sense to budget for 2 cab rides to take you and your luggage to an area where you will more enjoy your brief stay.