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4 days 5 nights in Florence and 3 nights and 2 days Venice -pls help with Itinerary

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All, i have already posted my 4 N nights Naples questions on the forum and now on to the next leg of my travel in Italy suggestions required. I have 13 Days 14 nights in Italy and i am breaking my trips in 4 Nights chunk to just be able to manage and give attention to small details. I will be taking a late train from Naples on 21st June and head to Florence. Planning to stay over nights or the next 4 Nights in florence(22nd of June full day) and do day trips to Siena(23rd June), Pisa, luca, Tuscan Vineyards (i would love to do CT but i am not sure sure if i can somehow manage to put in CT in the current plan)
My initial plan to include CT was to rent a car on the 24th of June(early morning before crazy traffic strats) in Florence and drive to Pisa and do Luca and drive along to CT and do the vineyard along the way, Overnight 24th June in CT and 25 full day in CT and drop of rental car in CT and take evening train to Venice and 26-27th June in Venice and Fly back on 28th evening to LGW.
Many might think its ambitious, but if this is practical, i would love to give it a try. and if any has tried and thinks its not worth it to do CT in a car, pls give me your suggestions. Thanks much

Posted by
11852 posts

So with 3 nights and 2 fulls days, June 21-23 you plan to see Florence, Siena. Pisa, Lucca and some Tuscan countryside. It is not enough time to do all of that. If you want to "give attention to small details" you need to move a little more slowly. I would skip the Cinque Terre and add the night of June 24th to your time in Florence & surrounding countryside.

Allow one full day to Florence. This is barely enough to scratch the surface.

If you must see Pisa, use trains to go there and Lucca on the same day.

Your third day, you can go to Siena OR take a wine tour so you see some Tuscan countryside and vineyards. I recommend Tours By Roberto.

See how with 4 nights and 3 full days you cannot even see BOTH Siena and do a vineyard tour as well as everything else on your list? Do not add the Cinque Terre to this mix. You just do not have time and it is a long drive from Florence to the Cinque Terre. Also, the Cinque Terre is not a good place to drive. I recommend you do not try to drive there at all!

Leave early on the 25th for Venice so you will have a little more than one full day there. I do not understand taking evening trains and arriving somewhere late. I think it is better to leave your location early and get to the new one with time to get oriented, checked in, and still have time see something there

Posted by
15798 posts

I agree with Laura that you need more time in Venice and you're trying to do too much from Florence. But I agree with you that evening trains mean all day (or at least most of it) sightseeing, then resting your feet and relaxing on the train, especially with a picnic dinner.

I too would advise skipping the CT - takes too long to get to/from and you could very well end up being there with hordes of day-trippers from a cruise ship. It definitely isn't "car friendly." Pisa isn't really that much to see, but if it's high on your list, it's an easy 1/2 day trip by train from Florence. I don't know if it's worth going to Lucca for a 1/2 day but you could conceivably to both by train. It's an hour-plus between Pisa=Florence and Lucca-Florence, 1/2 hour from Pisa to Lucca. Take an early train from Florence to Pisa and arrive at the Tower campus when it opens. Then take a train to Lucca for the rest of the day.

If you choose to rent a car (bad idea in my book), you need to rent in the afternoon to get an early start in the morning. Rental offices will not be open early and you need to allow 1/2 hour or more for the process.

Posted by
13 posts

Thanks Laura and Chani, I take your suggestions on board and omit CT in my trip.
I plan to stay in Florence from 21 Nights until 25th Evening. So my itinerary would be
June 21st Night - check into Hotel in Florence (Can you pls give me suggestions on where i should look for , in city centre or away from the city centre, my budget would be <100 euro pn )
22nd - full Day in Florence, Will see if i can take a local day tour from the the hotel.
23rd - Pisa and Luca
24th - Tuscan vineyards?
25- Siena and take train to florence in the evening and then change to Venice.
i know each of our ideas and comfort about train travel are different and i appreciate each one of it. My thoughts about evening train, if there are evening/late night trains operating, then why not use it to just relax after a days trips, review photos, and make use of the night travel time to unwind and cherish and write my experiences about the places and check-in at the hotel and just dose off and be all recharged the next day to explore what the new place has to offer. I would want to use the morning time and the daylight now to visit the important sights, as some may close by 4pm(not sure yet) and sink in the great buzzing atmosphere of the places and enjoy a good relaxing lunch and move around and not sit in the train. just being a bit on the practical side as Chani :)

Posted by
15798 posts

The Florence train station is on the "edge" of the historic center. There are lots of hotels at all levels nearby. The bus is better to/from Siena because it stops in the center in Siena while the train station is farther away. The bus stop is across the street from the Florence train station. I don't think you'll have enough time to see Siena and return to Florence for a train to Venice. Take into account that you will want to get to your hotel in Venice before dark - it can be very hard to find your way around after dark when you first arrive.

Posted by
11852 posts

Hard to recommend a specific hotel. At this late date, you may not have many choices. I suggest you try Booking.com and do a search. Try to stay as central as possible as it Florence is a very walkable city. Euro 100 per night is a very low amount for high season in Florence.

Rick Steves' guide has all you need to tour Florence. You do not need a guided tour. Save that money and put it toward your hotel.

Posted by
7175 posts

Forget Cinque Terre.
21 Travel from Naples to Florence
22 Florence sights
23 Day trip to Siena
24 Day trip to Pisa & Lucca
25 am. Bus to Greve in Chianti for lunch
25 pm. Evening train to Venice

Posted by
13 posts

Thanks djp_syd, your itinerary looks really really, short sweet and straight to the point. I think i just am following your plan mostly :) because of the appealing factor. Would you pls give me some pointers to do Bus to Greve in Chianti for lunch. Is it a dedicated tour or can i just take a bus from the bus station ? How far is it in train/bus/car ? How about i interchange the plan and do Florence sights on 25th, which means that in am in Florence city until 25th eve and take eve train to Venice, then i can save the bus and travelling time to and fro Florence.
21 Travel from Naples to Florence
22 Day trip to Siena
23 Day trip to Pisa & Lucca
24 Bus to Greve(or any) in Chianti for a day --> is it worth a full day dedicated to Chianti
25 untill eve, say 5pm or 6pm? Florence sights --> not sure if this time will allow me to do much or atleast more important bits in Florence :(
25 Evening train to Venice
I do not know if 25th until eve is good enough to do Florence, i know i wouldn't be doing everything there, but at least cover the important bits, because every evening i would be basing in Florence and will have time around to roam in the evening doing, restaurants, photography, etc ? I flexi-booked a Hotel San Lorenzo in Florence. I hope its a good location in Florence, The accommodations in Italy never met my budget at all :( Its seems really expensive for not many amenities. I wanted to splurge on fine dining, shopping and other activities instead paying so much to hotels.

I booked a hotel in Venice too which is called Locanda Sierlia, which was way out of my budget. I will have to check the train times now to match what time i need to be in Venice. By around what time does it start getting dark in June , say 8pm Italy Time ?

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