This is our first trip to Italy in mid May. We plan on the following:

Fly into Milan, leave from Rome
Venice: 3 nights
Florence: 3 nights
Tuscany: 3 nights
Rome: 4 nights

We have 2 extra nights. I have heard so much about CT and it looks beautiful. However, it is off the beaten path and I want to know if it is truly worth it. I'm really torn with this!!

Should we omit it and perhaps add Bologna as it geographically on our route? If so, should we stop in Bologna for a night enroute to Florence, or rather than add an overnite stay, just do a day trip from Florence? Our family loves italian food and I hear that is the place to eat well!! Where do you recommend adding the 2 extra nights?

We will travel by train and rent a car for the Tuscany part. We're thinking Siena, or the outskirts would be a good central location? Can anyone recommend a farmhouse or B&B there for a family of 4?..(adult kids).

Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

For Italian food lovers Bologna and Parma are both delicious destinations and so much more! The adult kids will enjoy both Parma and Bologna as well.

Does the family love pesto and seafood or bolognese and prosciutto? That may help determine if its CT or Bologna/Parma. Sounds like a great vacation.

Not everyone loves the Cinque Terre - but it was definitely a highlight of 1.5 trips to Italy. I hope to return someday, to hike again through the olive groves and vineyards and take in the amazing scenery, as well as dwell in the little villages again.

However, you haven't mentioned whether you enjoy hiking. That's the biggest reason people go to the Cinque Terre: to hike between the five villages. There are four hiking segments between the five villages (plus there are many other trails beyond that many quick visitors don't have time to check out). One segment is very easy (barely a hike), the second is a little harder, and the last two are much harder - between moderate to difficult. The paths are well marked, but there are lots of steep stairs up and down as well as some narrow segments.

If you say, "Oh, we love to hike," then I'd say add the Cinque Terre for sure...if the weather is nice. If one of you has bad knees or just isn't in hiking shape or just doesn't like to hike, I'd discourage you from doing it especially if you aren't sure about it.

(And if there's any way you can play it by ear, I'd consider checking weather a day or two ahead of time, and if it looks like they will get rain the days you would be up there, I'd have a backup plan for doing something else. I think they close some of the trains when it gets rainy - it was dry when I was there, but I wouldn't have wanted to hike some of those segments in the rain!)

Siena is great: I did only a day trip there (from Florence) and wished I'd spent at least a night.

As for Bologna: yes, the food is fantastic. I did one night there. I probably could have been satisfied by planning a stop-over for a meal there, and since Bologna is an easy stop on the train between Florence and Venice, I'd highly recommend trying to fit in a stop at least.

We very much enjoy Bologna both as a base for exploring as well as being a delightful city to visit. It is not touristy, has a energetic vibe due to the university and it is well located for day trips.

We found CT to be mobbed with tourists (late September), overpriced and best enjoyed from the water. We would not choose to return when there are so many better options in Italy.

In 18 visits, we have so many areas yet to visit and I have to say that CT was one of my biggest disappointments in all of my trips to Italy. We really looked forward to our first visit there and planned to stay a few days and stayed a few hours instead - that was enough for us.

Yes, kfusto, the Cinque Terre has certainly been discovered by tourists now. But if one of your biggest concerns is that it was "overpriced" then I wonder if you went for the right reasons? As I said above, hiking between towns is the biggest draw, and after you pay for the park pass it doesn't cost anything to hike.

Venice and Florence (and many other places in Italy) could also both be described as "mobbed with tourists" and "overpriced" yet that doesn't seem to keep people away.

"then I wonder if you went for the right reasons"

I had always wanted to visit the CT for the gorgeous scenery and charming towns so those were my "right reasons" which do not need to be same reasons as others have for visiting the area. I waited too long as I am sure it was lovely many years ago before Rick Steeves put it on the tourist map.

I was not referring to the hiking that was overpriced since we did not visit the trails. A simple espresso was ridiculously overpriced IMO.

I agree that Venice (also not one of my favorite places in Italy) and Florence are both very busy with tourists. We do enjoy Florence but travel in the off season (November through March) and stay out of the center to avoid the more busy areas. There is enough we enjoy about Florence to compensate for the number of tourists there but that was not the case in the CT.

Other opinions may differ but it was not for me and I would not return.

Andrew gave you some good food for thought as to whether to include CT (for the record I hated it because of the crowds too--and I am an avid hiker), but I will chime in to say it would be a good idea to make those extra 2 nights a smaller town to give you some variety from the cities. Alternatively, you could add 2 days to any of your destinations and be pleased I'm sure.