12 Day Italy Itinerary Suggestions

Your train from Florence to CT will change at Pisa anyway, so if you don't mind giving up the time in Riomaggiore you could do this:

Day 9: Florence/C.T.
Travel from Florence to Pisa in the morning by train (e.g., 8:28am arrives Pisa 9:28am)
Leave luggage at Pisa train station
Visit Pisa
Travel from Pisa to CT in the afternoon by train (e.g., 5:43pm arrives Riomaggiore 7:23pm)
Staying in Riomaggiore

It's only about a 30 minute walk from the Pisa train station to the tower (assuming that's what you're there to see) so you have plenty of time. Only you can say whether that would be cramming in too much, and whether you would prefer the time in Pisa vs CT.

I would say, yes, try to get to Lucca if you can. A magical little town.

Your itinerary seems very realistic. Allowing one day for Vatican tour is a good idea. We were pretty exhausted after 3-4 hours of that tour.

Similarly, on Day 9, you could divert from Florence through Lucca. From there it's an easy, 30 minute train to Pisa and then up to CT. Lucca would be a charming place to spend a day.

If you were really energetic, you could do both.

(early) Train from Florence to Lucca
spend 4-ish hours in Lucca
30 minute train to Pisa
take the bus (instead of walking) to the Tower
evening train from Pisa to CT

Now that would be crammed, yes. But what a day it would be! The train between Lucca and Pisa is quick and easy.

I'd like to book train tickets in advance between each city to save money, but again, I'm not sure if we can reasonably stop in Lucca or Pisa for quick half day sightseeing and how to plan for the train tickets if we do.

I'm usually a fan of purchasing my train tickets in advance for cheaper fares. Assuming you are young (or young at heart) and energetic - your itinerary suggests that you are - and plan to visit both Lucca and Pisa on Day 9.

You might purchase your Florence to Lucca and (perhaps also) your Pisa to CT tickets in advance. The ticket from Lucca to Pisa is so inexpensive, you could buy that ticket at the station when you're ready to leave Lucca. If you decide you're enjoying Lucca enough to skip Pisa, you can travel from Lucca to Pisa a bit later to catch your train to CT.

Looks like you a good "idea" of what you want to do.

I would not wait for Borghese tickets. I bought a tour through a third party for about $100 pp. DO NOT miss this museum. So much worthy art viewed in an intimate setting. Unlike any other museum experience in Rome or any where else! Wow, that's a bold statement. Seriously , go!

CT will be crowded. We stayed in Monterrso Mare. Hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza. iPhone said I climbed 50 stories!! Beautiful views. If you can have the Amphora Dinner at the Belvedere in Monterreso, great presentation and seafood.

When in Florence, we climbed the Duomo. Get those tix now 'cause they are timed. It's only 462 steps! EZ Peazy! Views are awesome. Hotel Guefla (sp) has a Tower Bar. Get a Spritz and watch the lights of Florence come alive at sunset, then go have a steak across the Arno River! And as you walk around the streets, look for altered street signs. This guy posts silly stickers on street signs, some are quite funny.

You will have a great time! Enjoy!

Looking again at your itinerary, you could visit both Lucca and Pisa by modifying your itineraries for:

Day 9: visit Lucca on the way to CT

Day 11: visit Pisa on the way back to Rome

This increases your time in Lucca (!) on Day 9 while complicating your Day 11. Judging from your itinerary, that shouldn't scare you.

Thanks terpgeekholtz. The problem I'm having and the reason I'm waiting is that I didn't see any third party tours for the Borghese Gallery on Sunday particularly because it's the first Sunday of the month (free museums day). My hope was to reserve a guided tour reservation directly from the museum. I've been checking everyday and it seems that they release tickets 1 month in advance.

And to everyone else thanks for the advice! It seems like we need to have a discussion on how much time we want to spend in C.T. I think 1 full day in CT would be good but we were hoping to use the two half day/travel days to do anything we may miss in that single day.

Also our hotel on Day 11 is booked next to the Termini because I figured we could spend the evening in the city before having to go to the airport. From previous threads posted here it seemed like it was just as much of a hassle as it was staying in Fiumicino.

Got it!
Check out Atlas Obscura for some free interesting stuff to see as you walk around. it works for where you are going. See if you can Michaelangelo's graffiti in Florence! Sorry, don't have my vacation, have yours!