Tuscany or Cinque Terra
 

In Italy for 11 filull Days/Nts. We have open 5 days in between Venice (1.5) and Rome (4). Can’t decide if we go to CT/Tuscany or just Tuscany for the 5 days??? It’s half our trip so want to make right decision. Is i5 days too much time in Tuscany, lvisiting countryside & villages? We wld be open to renting car. Thoughts??

You might tell us what time of year you will be there. I would not recommend the CT in March - but that's the best time to be in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, for example.



Five nights in a short trip to Tuscany, IMO, even if you don't include Florence, Lucca, or Siena.



Also, I'm curious about only 1.5 days in Venice. We spent a week there last year & wished we could have stayed longer - but people like different things.


Stu Dudley

Is 5 days in Tuscany too much? No.

Is 1.5 days in Venice (if you haven't been there before) enough? No.

"Eleven full days" is 12 nights. You should think in terms of x number of nights in a place. Four nights is 3 full days plus perhaps a late afternoon and evening, for example. Then understand the time needed to travel between points.

Venice to the CT by train takes about 6 hours, so you'd already be down about half a day when you arrive. Driving might save an hour, but then you've have a car that you'd pay to rent and park for however many days you're in the CT because traveling between the towns by car is a major pain. Then the CT to, say, Siena in the heart of Tuscany would take 4 hours by train (with multiple connections) and almost as long by car. Most Tuscan towns have no train service, so once you get there having a car really isn't an option. The only car rental offices in Tuscany that I'm aware of are in Pisa, Lucca, Florence (airport and city), Siena and Chiusi.

Venice to Siena would take 4.5 hours by train and perhaps 4 hours by car.

If your trip is in high season, the CT will be a mob scene. If you're going in the "off" season (whatever that is anymore), you risk encountering less than ideal weather in a place that is meant to be enjoyed outdoors.

At what time of year? The Cinque Terre can be utter chaos during high season, particularly during the day.

And FWIW, I would think 5 days too much for the Cinque Terre. But then, I would think 1.5 days too little for Venice and 4 days too little for Rome. And I wanted more than 5 full days just in Florence, not counting any other part of Tuscany. It really depends on what you want to see and experience.

Good luck!

I think Tuscany is a better option than Cinque Terre which is a more fragile place and is actually being ruined by tourism.
The Cinque Terre is also not an easy place to get around especially with crowds. Tuscany on the other hand has so many charming towns apart from historic and treasure rich Florence. You would have so many options in Tuscany.
More info at https://www.diyfamilytravels.com/tuscany/

To clarify, trip is in a few weeks , early October for
11 nights. Note, we were in Florence and Rome last year. We arrive Venice Sat afternoon they Monday (AM
train to Florence) - open 5 days - last 4 nights Rome.

My wife & I have vacationed for 11 weeks in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany. Obviously, we like that region (our closest friends had an apt there - which helps). I have a 20+ page Italy itinerary, which has a heavy dose of the Val d'Orcia. The itinerary describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, sites, etc. I've sent my various itineraries to over 6,000 people on Fodors (I have itineraries for many regions in France too). If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. Specify that you want the Italy itinerary - or I'll probably send you the Provence one. Do so soon - we depart Friday for 3+ weeks in Paris. No, kja - we're not driving in Paris (joke).



Stu Dudley

The second best time to visit the Val d'Orcia is in late Sept & early Oct. We were there at that time last year. We also visited Florence for 5 nights - which was shoulder-to-shoulder people. The proprietor of the apt we rented told us that early Oct is one of the most crowded times to visit Florence because most visitors want to avoid the summer heat and the summer crowds - so they go in Oct.


Stu Dudley

As others have noted, the weather in the Cinque Terre is a bit unpredictable in October. I was there at that time of year some time ago, when torrential rain forced closure of the trails. You can check historic climate data at timeanddate.com

@StuDudley: :tu:

Five days is certainly not too long in Tuscany. We just spent 10 days there, 3 days in Florence and a week in the countryside, and we hated to leave. On a previous trip we did the CT as a day trip from Florence. I would pick Tuscany.

Ask yourself what you hope to do. Than think about what you'll do if the weather is less than ideal.

I'd be really disappointed with only 1.5 days in Venice. 1.5 days is better than not seeing Venice at all, but is not enough time to see much.

And I wouldn't plan on the CT at that time of year

Early October weather should be decent - not sure where janisj getting weather info for - could be rainy so keep CT in flux but could be really nice.

Avg hi for La Spezia (few miles from CT) October about 70 F and 26% chance of rain - not too shabby:

https://www.holiday-weather.com/la_s...rages/october/

>>not sure where janisj getting weather info for <<

Gee -- I don't recall mentioning weather. Maybe I missed it

I went to Manarola during mid Sept in 2016 and Vernazza during first week of october in 2017. Stunningly beautiful weather both times, but it's a crapshoot. You can get bad weather anytime, we got plenty of rain this spring in Tuscany.

CT is crowded during the day even in October because there are too many giant cruise ships, but the crowds are only bad from ten to four since everyone heads back to the ships.

The CT is gorgeous, just get up a little earlier and go to bed a little later i to avoid crowds. It's stunning in early morning and evenings with plenty of place to stretch out. Daytrippers have no idea what they missed.

And I wouldn't plan on the CT at that time of year>

so if no weather what would be your reason for not visiting at that time of year? Huge crowds - unlikely at that time of year from what others have posted. A perfect time to visit crowds have dissipated and weather fine most of time.

>>Huge crowds - unlikely at that time of year from what others have posted.<<


Here is what "others" have posted posted.



>>>CT is crowded during the day even in October because there are too many giant cruise ships, but the crowds are only bad from ten to four since everyone heads back to the ships.<<<


IMO, most people want to explore the CT in the daytime. In October, there is less "daytime" than most months.


FYI, the OP e-mailed me asking for my itinerary. I sent him the itinerary and also my wife's Shutterfly book of Lucca, Tuscany, and Venice. He then wrote back and told me that 1.5 days in Venice was a "mistake" - it needs more time. He also stated that Tuscany looked a lot better than the CT



Stu Dudley

There have also been folks who say CT was not as mobbed as previewed earlier in season. OK so some towns may be crowded - so is Venice and Florence so cross them off too?

Rick Steves who of course is falsely credited with putting CT on tourist map - whereas it was a tourist draw even in Roman times says October can be a great time to visit - avoiding weekends and holidays:

https://blog.ricksteves.com/cameron/...-cinque-terre/

Renting car in Florence
 

I arrive Firenze S. M. Novella - Is it that difficult to rent a car by the station and drive out headed to either Lucca or Tuscany??? I hate to waste 30 minutes going to airport to get a rental car. Please advise, have lived in Ny and Miami - could the driving be that hazardous? We are not staying in Florence at all (did last yr), plan to drive they Tuscany for 5 days. Appreciate input, i’m Arranging rental car tonight. Also, do you have to have GPS to get around Tuscany (extra $100 that I could use to eat pasta!). Thanks

Well are there even car rentals right at SMN station? You may find one on outskirts of town center where private vehicles are banned.