Day tour from Florence to Cinque Terre in early December?

Expect it to be cool to cold, with a high probability of rain. Sunset will be before 5pm. Some restaurants and shops will be closed. Trails may be closed in rainy weather. Of course at least 5 or 6 hours of that tour will be spent on the bus.

I plan to take this tour without hiking.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Cinque-Terre-Hiking-Day-Trip-from-Florence/d519-5070CINQUE

I heard Cinque Terre is great. I know it is great in summer. It may not be great in winter. That is the reason I only give it one day rather than several days like in summer. I checked the weather history of towns in early December from weather25.com. It seems to me that in past three years they didn't rain much.

joe32F, yes, it is after my Greece trip.

I would not waste a perfectly great day in Florence to travel 2 and half hours each way to the Cinque Terre in December! Not even if my life depended on it. Unless one needs to check a box (Been there, done that!), who does that?

I planned four days in Florence. Two days inside Florence. Two days outside Florence. Do you think I should give up cinque terre completely and save that day for Florence instead. Will three days in Florence too many?

We spent 4 days in Florence and could have spent more. Plenty of caffes to dip into when it’s cold and rainy. We stayed in the Oltrano neighborhood which I highly recommend.

Personally, I would not want to spend that amount of time unless I knew that I was going to have spectacular weather and scenery. We were able to book some last minute things even in October with the Cinque Terre. Is it a possibility to wait and see what weather you are getting?

If I were to plan a daytrip in December, i think I would look at some of the closer Tuscan towns.

This tour has a detailed itinerary on the TripAdvisor site:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d11450562-Cinque_Terre_Day_Trip_from_Florence_with_Optional_Hiking-Florence_Tuscany.html

This is the same tour on WalkAbout's own site:
https://walkaboutflorence.com/tours/cinque-terre-day-trip-from-florence-with-optional-hiking-tour

Note that all of the advertising shots were taken on blue-sky days during mostly warm-weather seasons. They also highlight activities such as coastal boat trip, swimming and sitting on the beach that won't be happening in December. As well, many of the villages' shops and restaurants will also be closed for off-season.

The itinerary is a bit vague. For instance, stop 4, "Cinque Terre Trails - 8 hours" is confusing as apparently the only hike they do is the 3.5 km trail from Corniglia to Vernazza, which takes about an hour and 15 minutes to do (I've done it the other direction)...if it's not closed to wet weather or repairs. It probably means the entire time the tour spends within the region +2.5 hours allowed on each end for traveling to-and-from Florence. There will also be time spent returning to rail stations and waiting for trains.

Your ride back to the city will be in the dark.

You are not planning on hiking anyway, I know, but make note of:
"Upon arrival in Corniglia it is time to test out your walking boots – there are 380 steps from the train station to the clifftop village." That stairway has a name - the Lardarina - and it has 33 switchbacks. We've done it but from the top down. There is a local bus that travels from the train station, below the village, to the top but they don't mention making use of it. What goes up must come down so you'll be returning to the station via the same stairway to catch a train onward to Vernazza. Just throwing that in as one example of what just exploring the villages on foot can entail?

Personally, with winter weather being sketchy - the tour operates in all but the very worst weather - and daylight being short, I'd stay in Florence versus spend 5 hours (or possible more) sitting on a bus. Those are hours that could otherwise be spent sightseeing more of Firenze; there's so much there to see, and lots of that indoors, should it pour rain. In CT you'd be spending almost all of your time outside.

If you want to do a day tour from Florence, make it Siena/San Gimignano.

Siena is a no-brainer - even by itself.

I’ve been to Florence twelve times and still have not seen it all.
Three days is not enough!

cala and markcw, Siena and Pisa is on my another one day guided tour from Florence. Now I want to know if get another day tour to Cinque Terre.

My current plan is

Day 1: Siena & Pisa guided tour
Day 2: Uffizi (morning) and Accademia Gallery + other musuems
Day 3: Duomo + other places.
Day 4: Cinque Terre???

Since most of itineraries from google search (and also RS's one) suggested two days in Florence. So I think two days are enough for Florence. I booked Uffizi, Accademia Gallery and Duomo already.

I created this topic because I am not sure about Cinque Terre trip due to winter weather. If I save it for Florence, what else I can do in Florence? other musuems like castle of Di Medici family? I think in my Day 2 and Day 3 should cover them. Yes, on Florence official website, there are a dozen of museums. But are they significant except Uffizi, Accademia Gallery and Duomo? I doubt.

S J, I think you are artist or very compassionate of art.

Kathy, thank you for your detailed analysis. Since tour with and without hiking options are in the same group, it should be boring for people in the non-hiking group since they have to wait for hiking group especially that they didn't mention about the bus to the top at all.

But are they significant except Uffizi, Accademia Gallery and Duomo? I
doubt.

You seem to write off anything that isn't a "check this off the list" site.

There are plenty of other significant museums and sites worth visiting in Florence- Bargello Museum, San Marco Museum, Medici Chapels, Santa Croce, Oltrarno neighborhood, Mercato Centrale, Brancacci Chapel frescoes, Pitti Palace, San Miniato Church and Piazzale Michelangelo, Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella...

Question-
from your Pompeii post

Day 2: Pompeii for most of the day; Then take train to Florence.

So you are arriving late in day in Florence

From this post

Day 1: Siena & Pisa guided tour

Have to assume this is the next day

So you have 5 nights in Florence?

I lived and visited Florence for a total of about 28 years. Believe it or not, there are things I haven’t yet had time to do. For example I’ve never climbed the Torre di Arnolfo (Arnolfo tower), the bell tower of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence City Hall. Some people might think it’s normal, since we tend to overlook the sights in the cities we live in. For example I rode the San Francisco cable car for the first time 15 years after living here. But having not climbed the Arnolfo tower is particularly absurd for me, because not only did I live in Florence for the first 27 years of my life, but for a few years of that period I was a City employee, therefore I never visited the bell tower of the building where I was working. When I tell that to people, they don’t believe it.

Anyhow, this is a list of the top 50 things to do in Florence. I doubt you can cover the first 10 in your 4 days.

https://the-travel-dreamer.com/diary-of-a-wanderluster/top-50-places-to-visit-in-florence-italy/

But if you manage to cover it all, here are 75:

https://www.ourescapeclause.com/things-to-do-in-florence/

...it should be boring for people in the non-hiking group since they
have to wait for hiking group especially that they didn't mention
about the bus to the top at all.

No, non-hikers wouldn't be "waiting around". Based on how the itinerary is worded on Walkabout's website, the ENTIRE group would climb the Lardarina from train station up to the village. The hikers would go on via trail to Vernazza; the rest of the group would return to the train station after browsing the village and go onward by rail. That aside, I'd still just stay in Florence.

But are they significant except Uffizi, Accademia Gallery and Duomo? I
doubt.

There are enough 'significant' museums and historic structures in this "cradle of the Italian Renaissance" city to make your head spin!!! Christine named some of those and I'll agree.

Museums:
Museo San Marco, Bargello and Pitti Palace/Palatine Gallery are top-end of this category:
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/pitti-palace.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/bargello.html
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/san-marco.html

Important churches; just a few on the top-tier list are Brancacci Chapel (is under restoration), Santa Croce, San Miniato al Monte (a must!) and Santa Maria Novella, although there are others of importance that are well worth seeing.
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/

Brancacci Chapel brochure in English and ticketing/reservation website:
https://cultura.comune.fi.it/system/files/2022-01/CB_Depliant_eng-LR.pdf
https://ticketsmuseums.comune.fi.it/4_cappella-brancacci/

'Significant' piazzas; these are all walk-throughs:
Piazza della Signoria, including the important sculpture collection in open-air Loggia dei Lanzi
Piazza SS Annunziata (the church on this piazza has some frescos by notable renaissance painters)
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazzale Michelangelo: for the view. If you visit San Miniato al Monte, this is right below the church
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-monuments/

And there's more..... :O)
There is no 'castle' of the Medici family. There is a former 15-century palace - Palazzo Medici Riccardi - that was built by Cosimo the Elder, and underwent many interior overhauls after it was sold to the Riccardi family. Its "Chapel of the Magi" has an important original fresco portraying members of the Medici family.

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/chapel-of-magi-benozzo-gozzoli.html

jyung, with no offense intended at all, since every single one of us has our own set of priorities when we travel, I think that yours are not the same as many posters here. Therefore you are going to get opinions that do not coincide with yours. This is clear on all your questions.

There is nothing wrong with either set of priorities or opinions. I think you should just do your own research and reading and then trust your own judgements of what you want to see and do. Your decisions are as good for you as anyone else’s. No one knows your desires like you do.

If you want to see the Cinque Terre on a day trip, there’s nothing wrong with that - go for it! If weather would bother you, then don’t. Both are fine choices. If you are only interested in a few places in Florence, that’s fine, too. We all know we can’t see or do everything - and that’s ok. But really, if you don’t want or like the information or advice you are receiving, I can’t see a point to asking. Your opinion for yourself is more valid than a stranger’s opinion on your behalf. Trust yourself and go enjoy!

Personally, I find the Cinque Terre overrated, even in summer. There are so many much nicer places to visit instead.

There is enough to do in Florence to last a lifetime. Or you can just hang out and enjoy living la dolce vita.

Thank for all of you. I wouldn't go Cinque Terre and will stay in Florence.

By the way, Siena and Pisa in a day feels a bit rushed.
A guide is absolutely unneeded for Pisa: you could visit Pisa as a long half-day with the time saved not going to the 5 Terre, and I would aim to spend most of the day in Siena.

Take that daytrip. The 5 hour bus trip will be a relaxing break from your itinerary.

Thank you for all of you. The trip to Cinque Terre is cancelled.