I'm going on a 12 day trip to Italy with three days in Rome and 3 to 4 in various places in Tuscany. Trying to decide if I should make my other stop Cinque Terre or Venice? Any help would be much appreciated. P.S. not much into touristy stuff. Love beauty and local experiences.

Removed Trip Report tag and added Italy

Depending on where in Tuscany Venice is likely going to be an easier trip. A couple of hours by train from Florence. There is but one Venice.

A question would be when? Venice is more year round than your other option.

That's a chalk and cheese decision - the only thing they have in common is a lot of tourists visiting. Oh, and they're both Italian. If you want to be in nature and do some hiking, then Cinque Terre. If you want to explore a unique and beautiful town, then Venice. Both places are drowning in tourists so if you don't really care which, then I suggest you go somewhere else and reduce the pressure of tourism. There's certainly no shortage of wonderful alternatives.

No comparison, so only you can decide which experience you'd rather have based on what you'd be able to do/see in either place in just 2 days. Two days in Venice is a really brief visit. If it would be 2 nights in this third destination, you'd have less than 2 days for sightseeing which might make the CT a better choice.

Advice could be more helpful if you provided more info about your Tuscany plans. What towns do you want to see, where would you be staying overnight?

You should consider how much time it will take to travel from your (last) Tuscany stop to the CT and Venice. If you'd be driving, returning the car in Venice would bring you close to the historical center and be a straight-forward process. For the CT, you'd return the car along the way and then take a train (or trains) to your destination town. Depending on where you start from in Tuscany, this travel day could be fairly easy or somewhat of a trek. If you have to return to Rome to fly home, it's 4 hours by train from Venice and 4-6 hours from a town in the CT. If you do have to return to Rome, it would be better if you went to Tuscany as soon as you arrived in Italy and then put all of your Rome days at the end. If you could fly home from Pisa or Venice, you could have your Rome time at the beginning.

I haven't been in Italy for a long time but really liked Venice a lot. All the canals, the food, the gondolas..

Thank you!!!

If you're going soon, Venice. Take advantage of the far fewer tourists.

If you go later, it's a coin flip. CT is less touristed anyway.

There is only one Venice. It is not the Venice of the North or the Venice of the Southwest, or the Venice of the East, etc. There is no Cinque Terre of anywhere. Plus Venice is deteriorating as the sea rises and the buildings sink. Go while you still can. ,

Glad I went when I did. Years ago. Would love to see the a amalfi coast!



Lyn

Again, which month?

Loved both, but if it were one or the other, Venice is a no-brainer for me. It is unique and a very special place. And, as others say, if you’re going soon, it’ll be less crowded than usual.

Which ever you choose (and I vote for Venice) going during the week will avoid some tourists. Please report back.

The Cinque Terre are less touristed than what? There are very few places on this earth where I've seen the tourists more densely packed in than the Cinque Terre.

In Venice the tourists are concentrated into an overly beaten path between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. If you go one canal over, it's not crowded at all. In the Cinque Terre, if you want to escape the crowds, you can climb up to some of the high trails, if you're interested in hiking. (Bring appropriate shoes.)
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Tuscany sounds wonderful! Hope to see it one day and the amalfi coast!

Lynn