Cinque Terre and Santorini

sally,

I'm not thoroughly familiar with the flight options from SFO, but a flight from there to Milan / MXP or Pisa / PSA would probably be a good place to start. From either of those cities, you can easily reach the five towns of the Cinque Terre by train. For travel this July, it would be a really good idea to figure out which of the five towns you want to stay in, and get a room booked SOON. At this late date, you'll likely have trouble finding vacancies.

For the trip to Santorini, you should be able to find flights from either MXP or PSA. Have a look at Aegean Air or easyJet (Aegean will probably have the best options). There doesn't appear to be any direct flights, so the trip will involve a short layover somewhere.

For your return to the U.S., you may have to return to Athens in order to connect with a flight.

Another option for nearby (Cinque Terre) Airport would be Pisa, however there's no direct from SFO. Easy enough to change planes in Munich, with a 75-min connection onto Pisa. Catch a glimpse of the Leaning Tower and train from there into Monterosso/Vernazza. We were there around the same week last July, it will be on the warm side when you go. :)

Thanks Ken and Matt, I am trying to figure out which option is it better to start with - Cinque Terre or Santorini ? Which town in Cinque Terre will be a good option being this late in planning ? Thanks .

From the standpoint of flights, it should be much easier to get to Milan (train connection to Cinque Terre), or possibly even Pisa than to Santorini. So do you want your more complicated flight at the beginning of the trip or at the end? I'd tend to prefer the easier flight at the beginning of my vacation.

Hotels actually in the Cinque Terre are apparently difficult to book this late, so if you feel you absolutely must stay in one of the five towns (as opposed to a nearby city), that may drive your decision.

I would much rather prefer an easy flight to get there ( Cinque Terre) then deal with the complicated flight coming back. If we could not get accomodation at the 5 towns in cinque Terra , where would be the other closest city? I understand that I am planning this quite late . As of this point I am not sure if I should reconsider / change one of the place . Thanks.

I've stayed in La Spezia, which is just south of the Cinque Terre (a few minutes by train), and it was fine. Not a cute little coastal town like those in the Cinque Terre, though. A friend stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure, which is north of the C.T. and more like an hour away by train. I saw a bit of the city one time, probably as a result of changing trains there, and I thought it seemed attractive. Most people heading for the C.T. would prefer to stay somewhat closer, however.

Levanto is much closer than S.M.L. on the north side, but I've always just passed through on the train. Sestri Levante is about mid-way between Levanto and S.M.L, but again I'm not familiar with that city.

sally,

"Which town in Cinque Terre will be a good option being this late in planning ?"

I'd suggest trying Monterosso first, as it's the largest of the five and therefore has the greatest number of hotels and other accommodations. If you have a copy of the RS Italy guidebook, there are a number of reliable places listed there. If you can't find anything there, you could try the other C.T. towns. Another good alternative is Levanto, which is only about 5 minutes by train from Monterosso.

You could also try looking on Trip Advisor. If you need other suggestions, post another note here.

Thanks ken and Acraven , I will get a recent RS italy book and check on Monterroso.

Not sure of the specific days you'll be flying since flights to/from Santorini may not be every day of the week from everywhere, even during summer peak season.
Since SFO is a Lufthansa/United hub (both are partners with the Star Alliance) your best bets are to fly to Pisa (PSA) or Genoa (GOA) via Munich (MUC), and return from Santorini (JTR) via MUC also:

1st Leg:
SFO > MUC (with Lufthansa)
MUC > PSA (with Lufthansa Regional or Air Dolomiti, also part of Lufthansa) or also GOA (with Air Dolomiti)
The Cinque Terre are located between PSA and GOA.

For Transfer to JTR:
There are direct flights to JTR from Florence-FLR (Vueling), relatively close to the Cinque Terre, and of course Rome and Milan (various airlines).

Return Leg:
JTR > MUC (with Lufthansa)
MUC > SFO (with Lufthansa)
I'm not sure if the flight from JTR will get you on time to board for the transatlantic flight to SFO, which departs in the morning, so you might need to spend a night in Munich.

You can also do the exact reverse of the above.

Thanks Roberto for a very detailed plan regarding our flights. We have never been to Milan and was thinking of flying to Milan from San Francisco instead. If I understand correctly, it will be easier to fly to Milan then train to Cinque Terra. To go to Santorini, do we need to fly to Athens first then take a smaller plain or ferry to Santorini? Thanks so much

Hi Sally,
How did your trip work out? We are planning the same vacation for next summer and was curious as to what you did? Thanks so much!

Hi Wendy, we decided to do santorini for another trip. We decided to do Milan, CT and Venice this time and we just started our trip.