catj

Hi,

Firstly, thank you so much for the incredible help here!

I enjoy reading the topics and replies in this amazing forum.

Thanks to your help, we planned the following Itinerary for May 2016.

We'll fly to Venice on the 2nd week of May, and depart from Milan.

We plan to have 2 accommodations:
Accommodation #1: Venice
Accommodation #2: One of the CT Villages

* Day 0: If an afternoon flight (to Venice), we'd just settle in the hotel / apartment and stroll around
Day 1: Explore Venice
Day 2: Day trip to Burano (Is it enough to cover an entire day?)
Day 3: Day trip to Verona (Possibly visiting Vicenza on the way back)
Day 4: Explore Venice in the morning, Train to on of the CT Villages, explore the Village in the evening
Day 5: Hike from Monterosso to Riomaggiore
Day 6: Day trip to Portofino, Camogli, SML, Rapallo - We are looking for how to use a ferry in this day trip, still not sure
Day 7: Ferry to Portovenere, La Spezia, and Lerici, and from Lerici walk to San Terenzo, and perhaps visit Tellaro if there is enough time
Day 8: Not sure yet how to spend the 1st part of the day, and later go to Milan Airport

We'd love to read your opinions.

Thank you

PVR340PLA

Only one full day in Venezia? How sad..

nytraveler

Agree that Venice needs much more time than that.

Also, depending on your flight time staying on the CT on departure day may make it tricky to get to the airport in Milan on time for your scheduled check in.

catj

Hi,

Thank you for your replies.

We'd actually have 1.5 days in Venice:
Day 0: Evening (~2 hours, the afternoon flight is short)
Day 1: Full day
Day 4: Morning (~2 hours, the train is in afternoon)

Since we're less into indoor attractions (Museums, churches, Cathedrals, etc), we think that for strolling around streets, squares and markets, and for a sailing in the canals, 1.5 days would be enough, and it'd be actually nice to leave Venice with a taste for more

Additionally, It is advised in TA Travel Guide to spend 2 hours in Burano, which means we'd have half a day to explore other part of Venice region.

Could you recommend on how to spend the rest of the day after visiting Burano?

Thank you very much

Regarding going from CT to Milan Airport (~5 hours by train), the flight would be at night (past 22:00), therefore we could take the 13:00 train, and get to the airport by 19:00.

We'd love to hear your opinions on the rest of the Itinerary as well.

mazzaschi

There's no ferry from La Spezia to Lerici. I suggest Portovenere to Lerici/Tellaro and then there's good bus service from Lerici to the La Spezia train station.

mazzaschi

You can take the ferry from Camogli to San Fruttuoso and then a different ferry company from San Fruttuoso to Portofino and continuing on the same ticket to Santa Margherita Ligure.I'd skip Rapallo and enjoy SML. For ferry info look at www.apathtolunch.com

Pepper_von_snoot

1.5 days in Venice is daft. You may as well stay home.

Most people who spend little time in Venice end up hating the city because they only experience the tourist hordes.

Let me explain this to you because my sister lived in a palazzo behind Salute most of her adult life: there are many parts of Venice, especially around Piazza San Marco, where you will not stroll because of the tsunami crowd.

Forget taking a leisurely walk between the Rialto and Piazza San Marco. Won't happen unless you go at 7 AM or after 8 PM.

The Lista di Spagna will look like the Burning of Atlanta by noon.

I don't like Murano, by the way. I prefer Burano with lunch at Gato Nero.

Thin

PalenQ

Day trip to Portofino, Camogli, SML, Rapallo - We are looking for how to use a ferry in this day trip, still not sure>

well boats run the short distance between SMLigure and Portofino in season - not sure about May (but IME a great walk inland between the two) - take a boat if you want to San Fruttosso (sp?) the very popular religious site and seaside town.

Check www.trenitalia.com for discounted train tickets for Venice-5 Terre - via Milan and Geno - most trains in the 5 Terre area are regional trains that you should buy as you go along - flat fare and dirt cheap - no reason to buy in advance like to SML and places along the Italian Riviera. For lots of good stuff on trains check www.seat61.com - good info on discounted tickets; and general info - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Regional trains often have first class and IME for the few extra euros well worth it - 2nd class at times can be SRO IME yet first class is mainly empty.

mainetrvlgrl

One thing to consider-the ferry between the CT towns and Portovenere is weather dependent. We stayed in Portovenere (which we adored-the CT was a little more touristy for our tastes), but had two days in July with high seas, and the ferry did not run. Perfectly sunny days, just dangerous conditions on the sea. You can get to LaSpezia via the train, but Portovenere is not on the train line.

As for Venice, I'm not sure what days will have you in Venice, but we noticed a significant difference in the feel of Venice on a week day (very busy, but not crushed with tourists) vs. weekend. We went to Burano on a weekend day to escape, and it was lovely there. We spent more than two hours there (ferry ride, lunch, exploring, some lovely shops). Get lost on the side streets of Venice, and don't worry about seeing the "must see" places. We did enjoy the view from the top of the Campanile, but chose to go early in the morning to beat the cruise ship crowds.

Enjoy your trip!

PalenQ

I found the eastern tip of Venice's main island to be practically deserted by tourists but lots of locals, especially kids playing around in public parks that have great views of the sea - now one of my favorite picnic places in a Venice that even bans picknicking in certain mobbed areas like San Marco.

The Via Garibaldi in Venice is like any main street in any Italian town's residential areas - small caffes, shops and lots of kids playing soccer in the street and best of all no cars and few tourists.