CT change of plans?

Hi canaanski. My thought is that you may be over thinking / over worrying / over rushing your CT visit. Many people including me think CT is great. It can be crowded, but that can be part of the fun. Also, it is easy to get away from the crowds in 5 minutes if desired. I would say go; no need to plan by the hour; decide your plan when you get there. The trains from CT to Pisa / Florence will likely be regional trains, so you can decide and buy your tix at last minute. Relax and enjoy your trip!

I do sound a little intense....just trying to figure out where to leave it open and where to structure. If you didn't have to make lodging plans it would really not matter!

I agree with Bob. Go to CT, especially if your daughter is counting on it. You have the right plan to get up early and hike. The towns are wonderful in the evening. Don't worry about getting out, the main crowds on the train are between Monterosso and Riomaggiore as that is where the tourists stop, and it is only about 15 minutes. After that, you are back on a "normal" train. Make sure to stay for 2 nights if you can :)

It's also my impression that you're worrying too much about the crowd situation in the Cinque Terre. While there will be crowds at times in July (maybe not as much in Riomaggiore), you'll likely be off hiking during the peak times anyway. Note that the Sentiero Azzurro segments from Riomaggiore to Manarola and Manarola to Corniglia are closed, so you'll have to use higher and longer trails for those segments.

You could easily spend part of Sunday in the Cinque Terre. The cruise ship groups will have departed by the late afternoon. There are numerous trains from Riomaggiore to Firenze S.M. Novella (via La Spezia Centrale), so you can choose your departure time. I'm not sure stopping in Pisa for two hours is worth the effort, but your choice.

As your daughter wants to really see that area, it would be a shame to disappoint her.

You don't need to leave the Cinque Terre too early on Sunday. The trip to Florence is less than 3 hours and a stop in Pisa won't take longer than 2 hours, including going from the station to to Piazza Duomo where the tower is. The tower looks the same at night as it does in the evening (actually at night it looks more beautiful) and there are trains until late going to Florence (I think the last one departs Pisa at about 22:30 hours). If you have luggage that you need to drop off at the Pisa station storage while you visit Pisa, make sure you retrieve the luggage before they close at 21:00 (9pm).

I think we will stay flexible about our transition day from CT allowing for more time there that day if we want and moving on to Florence whenever we decide. That is assuming I do not need to reserve train space. I have to read up on the rail options again. If we stop in Pisa great, if not that is okay too. Funny how sites are in our radar and we feel like we must see something, even when we don't really! Thanks for all the input.