Would this itinerary work?
Any suggestions about train, bus, or car..( I don't like renting cars but realize it gives the most flexibility). things to do on the way. Coming end of June. Thanks!
Day 1. Fly into NCE.. spend one day
2. Travel to Genoa
3. hike Cinque Terre
4. hike Cinque Terre
5. Tuscany Hill Town?
6 bus, train, or drive to Chamonix, France
7 hike in Chamonix area
8. hike in Chamonix area
9. Fly from GVA to USA
Why are you flying into Nice to go to Genoa and the Cinque Terre? Fly to Pisa, perhaps, stay in or near the Cinque Terre (Genoa is a bit far if you are planning to spend two days hiking in the 5T.) Then go to Nice and finally on to Chamonix (where I am as I write this).
SO your itinerary might look like this:
Day 1 - Fly into Pisa or Genoa and transfer to the Cinque Terre town of your choice
Cinque Terre - 3 nights total giving you two full days to hike
Day 4 - Transfer to Nice - 2 nights
Day 6 - Transfer to Chamonix - this is a long day (we just did it and the strike did not help). Check Captaintrain.com for tickets. 3 nights Chamonix. FYI at CaptainTrain it is easy to get a refund if you are entitled to one due to the strike.
Days 7 & 8 - hiking in Chamonix (hope you have great weather!!!)
Day 9 - if you can get a late flight out of Geneva, you can reach the airport via shuttle in about 2 hours from Chamonix. Otherwise, if you have a morning flight, you will need to go to Geneva the night prior. Try Alpybus. They saved our trip as we are taking them today. SNCF strike cancelled one of our trains and we would have been left hanging in a very small town!
I'm with Laurel.
Nice is not a nice starting point.
(Sorry)
Good one, David!
ok.. thanks for the info! We will start in Pisa and go the other way round.