6 days in June- Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre

I have to be honest: that sounds like an awful trip to me. Too much time in transit and not enough time to settle in anywhere. Six people in one car with all your luggage? Time spent getting the rental car, returning the rental car, getting to and from the train stations, checking in and out of hotels, all that is going to eat into your time to enjoy the things you are traveling to see. Not to mention dealing with jet lag. You have so many things on your "to-do" list, but you won't actually have time to do most of them.

If I were you I would skip the Cinque Terre and just spend those six nights enjoying Tuscany. Stay in the Montalcino area 4 nights. Then go back to Florence on Thursday, so you will have all day Friday to see your two museums.

If you are committed to squeezing in the Cinque Terre, I have no advice for you other than to wish you good luck.

Sorry to be brutally honest, but better to hear this before you go than to discover it while you're there.

Sorry but I have to agree with Lane, your proposed itinerary is completely unrealistic. It sounds like you arrive on Sunday and depart on Saturday, in which case there will only be 5 full days for your desired agenda items. I can't think of a good way to fit Cinque Terre into the itinerary without short-changing the Tuscan countryside, so I too would suggest eliminating Cinque Terre. Also keep in mind that for 6 people you'll likely need to rent either 2 cars or a van. You may not be allowed to jam 6 people and their luggage into one car even if your group is OK with it.

If you do this, and I agree, it is a bit much for the time you have, drop your car in La Spezia and go by train from there. Rick Steves covers this well in his guidebook.

I would pick either the Uffizi or the Academia. To do both is overload in one day. See one then just enjoy the ambiance of Florence.

I love Montalcino. Try to dine at Grappolo Blu.

Problems with your plans:

1) Too much to see in 6 days.
2) 1.5 days in Florence. Florence is a Renaissance gem and deserves minimum of 4 days.

3) Academia takes about 3 hours to go through and even with booking ahead you wait in line for 30-45 minutes to enter. Uffizi takes even longer to go through. Further, doing two museums in one day you will get museum burnout.
4) Pisa would take you minimum of half a day, just to see the Leaning Tower, Cathedral and Bapistry.
5) Driving in Italy (away from the tolled Autostradas) is slow and then parking is a real problem.

Audrey,

I agree with the others, this is far too ambitious for the time frame you have. One point that stands out is six people (with luggage) in one rental car. You'd probably need two cars. Also, if your "eating & drinking* includes wine, I hope one person will be acting as the designated driver, as impaired driving penalties can be severe!

One other point about rental cars. It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones .

One possible solution you could use is to split your time between the Tuscan countryside (Montalcino?) and Florence. If you're determined to see the Cinque Terre, a day trip from Florence is possible. I'd suggest leaving early and returning in the late evening, so that you have a full day to check out the five towns. Start in Riomaggiore and end in Monterosso with a fine meal before returning to Florence.

Good luck with your planning!

Thank you for all the feedback, I guess I was being too ambitious. Maybe we will just split our time between Montalcino and Florence or look into at CT day tour.

or look into at CT day tour.

That involves 4.5+ hrs of travel ( r/t) and has you in CT when all the other 'day trippers' are there

"Less is more" needs to be your mantra, with the limited time you have

Maybe we will just split our time between Montalcino and Florence or
look into at CT day tour.

Audrey, I wouldn't even do that with the very little time you have to work with. And I definitely would be very, very careful with any self-driving wine tours. Personally, I wouldn't do them at all in a country where one is unused to the local rules of the road, and where tolerance is very, very slim for impaired driving.

Florence needs more than one afternoon for the Uffizi and Accademia.

hey audrey
like others have commented this is way too much. as ken states, if a wine tour have a designated driver and make sure each driver has a international driver's license/permit, available from AAA. get a big enough car/van for all of you and luggage.
look at come&seeitaly.com, getyourguide.com, florencetown.com or cookly.me has some cooking classes in town. eatwith.com, eatingeurope.com
give yourself time for transportation, relaxing, sitting at cafe with appetizers and glass of vino, people watch. slow down less is more, enjoy italy.
aloha