14 day trip Dolomites/Cinque Terre

Hi Nancy, I was in Italy March, 2012, and loved it, partly because it was off season. Next time I'll move it up to April, just to get in things that start or open at the beginning of tourist season. Seems like June would be really touristy. No car, just used trains and busses. I did manage a day trip to Venice from Florence...Not the best, of course, but wanted to squeeze it in. Prepare for a Disneyland experience, though. :) I didn't go to the Dolomites, but a friend enjoyed hiking there and mentioned there's more German than Italian there. Just so you know. I'd leave more time in Cinque Terre if you can. I was also at Lake Como and loved the area. Enjoy!!!
Marfa

2-3 days hiking in Cinque Terre should be sufficient. Some of the trails are not always open due to small landslides, so expect not to be able to hike them all. The Cinque Terre is not overly touristy which makes it a great place to visit. However, if you're in going in June (which we did this year), the hotels and B&B's do tend to book up quickly. We stayed in Vernazza and I booked it 4 months ahead of time, and even then some places were already full. We spent 3 days in Florence and wished we had stayed longer, so you might want to spend 3-5 days there (depending on how much you like art). If seeing 4 or more museums get the Firenze Pass when you get there. For Tuscany, we spent a week there and only saw half the places we wanted to.
Spent 2 days in Siena, then rented a car to drive into the countryside south of Siena (Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano - all great places).

We have spent several summers hiking the Dolomites and I highly recommend the five days you are planning. One of our favorite things to do is hut-to-hut hiking. There is everything from pleasant walks through meadows that take a few hours to cables and metal spikes that serve as footholds up the faces of rock cliffs. You can make it as easy or as hard as you like. You won't find more dramatic mountains in Europe in my opinion. You can stay in everything from modern chalet style huts to old stone huts with walls that are 3 feet thick. You meet wonderful people from all over the world and they prepare fantastic, home cooked food.
Another perk of the region is its dual German/Italian identity. Many signs are in both languages and, even better, menus offer cuisines from both cultures which makes eating AMAZING!

Hi Nancy Am planning somewhat the same thing as you are however, Christina from Lake Como who is a provider of information on this forum said doing it by car is probably best. If you get a Rail Europe train map you will note they do not get right into the Dolomites. Perhaps some of the regional trains do but I could not find one that went up to Val Gardena(which was suggested) she mentioned the Bolzano area is boring so we have now changed our plans to go to Florence & Siena. Of our many trips we have not done this. However have done a lot of towns in Tuscany and Umbria by car before. Have done CT for 4 days and it is fantastic. Vernazza was our home base (Francamaria rooms - we had # 1 overlooking the small piazza on the water) If you have not done Venice before IMO it should not be missed. This will be our 3rd time and still have not explored all the back streets.
Happy planning in whatever you decide to do. May Christina will read this and help you out.

June may be early for hiking in the Dolomites, depending on the spring weather. This year they are still skiing in parts (Cortina) right now! Perhaps make the Dolomites your last stop with the CT first. You do not need a car in the Val Gardena. Train to Bolzano, spend a couple of hours there as it's a cute town, then take the bus to Ortisei, a great base. Be sure to buy a Val Gardena Pass for the buses and gondolas. It will save you $$$. If you have 14 nights: Fly into Pisa or Milan, transfer to the Cinque Terre via train, spend 3 nights giving you 2 full days to explore/hike. Transfer to the Val Gardena, which will take most of a day. 4-5 nights depending on your plan to hike overnight.... Staying up in the Alpe di Siusi would be good for one or two nights, then 2 or 3 down in the little town of Ortisei. (We are doing just that later this month.) Transfer to Firenze or other Tuscan base for 3-4 nights. Now that could be 12 nights... or 10 if you go for the shorter stays, If you have at least 3 nights more at your disposal (4 is better), you can go to Venice. Fly out of Venice to avoid another long travel day.