Cinque Terre

It is a 3 hour one way trip from Florence to Cinque Terre. It is feasible, but it makes for a long day. I am making an assumption that you will have already seen Florence and these are extra days. if not, don't leave Florence for the CT or Tuscany, stay and enjoy Florence. Otherwise, I would do Lucca one day and Siena another and skip CT.

Yes, it's not clear how much time you actually have in Florence. Do you arrive sometime on May 18 and depart sometime on May 20? Or do you arrive on May 17 and depart on May 21? Even if the latter, I wouldn't consider that long enough to see Florence, take a full-day tour of rural Tuscany and go to the Cinque Terre.

Agreeing with the folks above: if you are arriving in Florence on the 18th and departing on the 20th, you only have one full day (19th). That appears to be the one you've booked for a Tuscany day trip so no, you don't have time for the CT. While that one can be done in a bit less rail time than 3 hours one-way, you'd still need an entire day to do it any credit. Even if you are not departing until the 21st (to Venice?) I wouldn't do it as that's still so little time for Florence itself.

Thanks, friends, for your quick and useful suggestions. I will stay for three nights in florence, meaning two half days and two full days. If we visit David and other important places in florence during the two half days, can we go to CT on our 2nd full day?

Three nights yield 2 full days. On both of those days there are mega [5,000+] cruise ships in the La Spezia Port. Insisting on going anyway you would want to take the train to the village of your choice [probably Manarola or Riomaggiore] from Firenze Campo di Marte at 7:28AM, connecting to the local train:

https://www.e656.net/orario/treno/21182.html

The idea is to get there early and stay off trains between 10 and 4. You will spend about 7 hours on trains and going to and from stations for only about 6 hours on site. There is a train from Manarola to Santa Maria Novella at 4:32 arrving at 8:07 with only 1 change.

Enter Vernazza Crowds:

https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en

nm,

I agree with the others. Given the very limited time you have in Florence and the fact that you've booked a "one tuscany whole day trip", you simply don't have time to visit the Cinque Terre. As one of your days is already allocated for the Tuscany day trip, that's not going to leave a lot of time to see the many sights in Florence. In this case, you have a choice between the all day Tuscany trip or an all day Cinque Terre trip.

If you had more time available, a day trip to the Cinque Terre is certainly possible (I know that, as I've done it). A day trip will provide a brief glimpse of the five towns, but won't allow much time for hiking or other activities. In mid-May the cruise ship hordes may or may not be a problem. That will depend on whether there are any ships in port at the time.

You will spend about 7 hours on trains and going to and from stations
for only about 6 hours on site. There is a train from Manarola to
Santa Maria Novella at 4:32 arrving at 8:07 with only 1 change.

While I don't recommend trying to do the CT with limited time - Florence has SO many treasures to explore, and "David" wasn't even a highlight for me! - there is a way to get into/out of the region, from/to Florence, without spending 7 hours on trains.

There is a daily 07:28 train from Firenze Campo Di Marte that arrives in La Spezia Centrale at 09:11: 1 hr, 43 minutes.

There is a daily 20:03 train from La Spezia Centrale that arrives at Firenze Campo Di Marte at 21:44: 1 hr, 41 minutes

Once in La Spezia you'd be catching trains into and around the CT but they take only minutes between villages. Still, the potential day-tripping crowds are not to be underestimated, and you'll be smack in the middle of them. Many of us strongly advise bedding down for a night or two in this particular destination to enjoy those few golden hours when the hordes of day trippers aren't around. This is also not a place you want to visit in the rain.

You've not mentioned the ages of your children, if they are the other family members traveling with you. ?????

Looking at your two posts leaves me to think you are trying to cram 5 qts into a one gallon jar.

How much of your trip is already irrevocably set in place?

Care to share the rest of you proposed itinerary for what could be helpful suggestions by the forum?

What age group is the the 'family of four'?

Skip it because it's not convenient from Florence and requires one train transfer. I would take a day trip to Siena if the tour you're taking doesn't include it. Have you been to Venice yet? That's a direct 2h train ride away and would make a good day trip too.
While in Florence I would visit the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia but you'll need to purchase your tickets for the Uffizi ASAP.
Have you picked up a RSE guidebook yet? You can download an electronic version from his app.

Honestly, everyone I know who has "done" Cinque Terre as a daytrip from Florence felt it was overcrowded, rushed, and not worth the time they took from other possibilities.

The charm of the Cinque Terre lies in spending time overnight, at least two in my opinion. Then you can stroll, enjoy the vistas and the ambiance at uncrowded times, dine on a terrace somewhere for good seafood and great views, and generally relax instead of rushing around.

During the day the towns can be so crowded with cruise ship people and other dsytrippers that it is unpleasant and hard to move. At least that was our experience in Vernazza 9 years ago. We had two nights in Manarola in a lovely hotel and enjoyed the mornings and evenings very much, along with the swimming. We hiked to Vernazza and while the trail was crowded, it was tolerable until we reached Vernazza. The streets of the town were packed and we could not find a place for lunch, nor a place to sit to eat the piadini we finally found at a bakery. We could not wait to leave--- but the station was so packed with people we could not get through to the train, so we had to wait for the next, and barely managed to squeeze on. It was not our idea of fun.

MaryPat, the OP mentions in their other post about the Dolomites that they, "will be in Venice from 21st May, 2020 to 23rd may 2020." Looks like they are intending to go there after Florence.

Absolutely right. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. We are planning the trip accordingly. 😊

This was great to read because my family of four was considering trying to do the same this summer. Sounds like it will be too much with limited time. Can you tell me about the Tuscany whole day trip you booked? Who is that through and what does it entail?
Thank you!

Dear Heidi,
Please ignore the earlier link. Some part was missing. Follow this one. https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Tuscany-in-One-Day-Sightseeing-Tour/d519-5070TUSCANY