zenfoodist

So, I keep joking that planning these two weeks in Europe is like one big focus group. We keep going back-and-forth and changing our minds about itineraries based on many variables. Other than our flight to Barcelona and our flight back to the United States nothing is in stone. We haven't been to Cinque Terre in 10 years and I can get a multi city on Alitalia ( we decided we do not want to deal with Ryanair or Vueling in the end with all the up charges etc) from Barcelona to Milan and then Milan to Rome and then back to Barcelona to head back to NYC. 245 dollars. Not bad at all.

We could drive from Milan to Rome with stops in Cinque Terre and Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside etc (again, we have done this before in the past but our 11-year-old and our parents haven't seen it).

Cinque Terre doesn't seem to have the luxe factor that Amalfi Coast has. I actually remember loving this about it. But will I get my fill of "mare" here? Also, there don't seem to be that many resort type places in the area. Last time I was there I stayed above a pizzeria in Monterosso! Should we stay in a nearby town and just go to Cinque Terre for a day or two? Will I be able to get a beautiful boat tour there like Lucibello and Gennaro e Salvatore in Positano etc? Swapping out Alamfi makes the trip easy because we are traveling in one direction now: South. And will end up in Rome which is where our flight back to Barcelona will be.

With Amalfi in the picture, we would have to fly to Rome since flights to Naples are so expensive and not nonstop on better air carriers , and drive down and then back up for flight back to Barcelona from Rome. We've spent hours looking at the airfare. One way. Multi city. Round trips etc. We also want to do our best to avoid the two aforementioned airlines.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Lisa

Mimar

You can definitely do the Italian Riviera without staying in the Cinque Terre. Stay in a place like Santa Margherita Ligure and take a train to visit the CT. You could visit Portofino, just down the road from SML. Or stay in Rapallo or Sestri Levante, also on the train line to the CT.

I can't remember your parents' energy level but this would probably be easier on their knees than staying on the CT.

sandralist

If you have a car you might find it easier to stay around Lerici. If you are particularly interested in a resort type facility, check out the town of Fiascherino. But Lerici itself is nice, or take a look at Portovenere. From Lerici or Portovenere you can also take a ferry to le Cinque Terre.

Or, as suggested above, you could stay in upscale Santa Margherita Ligure, but also check out upscale options in Rapallo, Camogli, Sestri Levante, San Michele di Pagana or Paraggi. Some of these northern towns offer boat excursions to le Cinque Terre, but they are very long boat rides. People usually only go one way, and then return by train. But most often they simply take the train both ways for a day trip (Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Sestri Levante have train stations).

Jean

I don't remember everything you're trying to do in this trip, but I don't remember points north of Florence being mentioned, so could you fly from Barcelona to Pisa instead of Milan? That would save you some drive time.

Do you only want to go to the Cinque Terre or are you looking for a luxury resort on the coast? This place is fabulous, and its location would work well between your time in Florence/Tuscany and Rome.

http://www.pellicanohotel.com/en/lux...l-tuscany.html

There are boat charters out of Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano, regular ferry service between Porto Santo Stefano and the island of Giglio and less regular between Porto Santo Stefano and Giannutri.

http://maremma-tuscany.com/do/sailing-trips/

zenfoodist

Argh. We are all over the place with this one. Thank you so much for the suggestions. I am wondering if CT will be less congested than Amalfi in the summer. And less hot.

socaltraveler

I cannot speak for the heat, but I imagine the congestion will be similar.

kja

As I recall, you only have a few days for this leg of your trip. If so, then I think the Cinque Terre worth considering, as it lends itself quite well IME to a stay of, say, 3 nights, while Naples and the Amalfi Coast lend themselves much better, IMO, to a stay of a week or more.

If you decide on the Cinque Terre, you might look at La Torretta in Manarola:
http://www.torrettas.com

Or, since you will be in Barcelona, spend a few days on the Costa Brava instead of either of them.

Good luck!

sandralist

There are only 2 places on the Italian Riviera where foreign tourist congestion is intense in August: the five villages of le Cinque Terre and Portofino. Elsewhere on the Riviera, Italians pour into the towns for the holidays, but that is a different feeling than being surrounded by masses of non-Italian tourists. Some very popular towns with Italians where restaurants will be crowded and parking (and beach-towel) space at a premium are Santa Margherita Ligure and Lerici, and of course everywhere on the coast you will notice loads of people in the water having fun in Augsut -- but you will not encounter the car/bus traffic jams and queues for attractions in the Riviera in that one encounters in the Amalfi.

As for heat, if you stay out of the sun (in both places), you will be fine. Because of the way many towns are built on the Riviera, with lots of tall buildings, the streets and alleys away from the shoreline are very shady and breezy. It's a delight. If you go hiking, however, away from buildings, be prepared for heat-stroke inducing sun in the midday.

Something to consider, if you haven't already, is that the food of the Italian Riviera focuses on pesto, olives, focaccia and shellfish, small fish (like anchovies) and medium sized whole fish, while the Amalfi features tomato sauce dishes, lemons, mozzerella, larger fish, and a big variety of pasta, and pizza, pizza, pizza.