Fine tuning itinerary....first visit to Italy

I think it sounds good! I happen to love Lucca, and would consider spending the night instead of a day trip. You will also be closer to Pisa, and on your way to Florence. Siena is a nice day trip.

I wouldn't want to take a train to Venice after an all day tour. I would feel too rushed. Bologna is worth staying in another night. I took one of those tours, too, and loved it!

My only concern is that many flights out of Venice are early in the morning, and it takes some time to get to the airport. Do you have a flight yet? Or you could fly out of Milan, and if you got a late enough flight, you wouldn't have to give up a night in Venice.

Lucca is one of my favorite cities. I love staying inside the walls and walking the ramparts. I took a wonderful cooking class there in 2012. There is lots to do. My favorite leather shop is there for purchasing purses and there is a branch of the Santa Maria Novella store (Florence is main store) there.
Taking just a carry-on is the way to go. The less luggage you have, the better the trip.
Siena is my all-time favorite city. would recommend staying there. It is magical. Let me know if you need any hotel/restaurant recommendations. I am a "planner" too and planning the trip is almost as much fun as going. I can help with Lucca, Siena, Bologna, Milan, the lakes and Verona. I love Northern Italy.

Your itinerary sounds very good to me.

OK, a bit of rain on the parade, but not much. Lucca is on the direct train line to Florence from 5 Terre. Pisa is not. So, to train to Lucca and Pisa requires a stop and train change a couple of times. Doable, but may inconvenient. Lucca is definitely worth seeing and riding or walking the walls is worth it. I would stay in Lucca and day trip to Pisa if you really wanted to there.

Pisa is also worth seeing I think. I thought the Campo Santo was a spectacular story after reading the book "Saving Italy" about the attempts to preserve art in WWII. It is quite a story.

Venice is expensive. But worth it. If your hotel is in the city then you can arrange for the hotel ot pick you up and Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia or, you can hire your own water taxi from http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/ which is located very close to the train station. This would simplify a late arrival in Venezia. I think the more time in Venice the better and evening is a pretty darn nice time in Venice.

Have fun.

I'd say that Doug reversed the transport options for Pisa and Lucca. Pisa is on the most direct train route between the Cinque Terre and Florence and is often a necessary connection point; there are no truly direct trains (or very rare). Lucca always requires one more train connection than does Pisa when traveling to/from Monterosso. Both Lucca and Pisa have direct trains to/from Florence.

Thank you for your replies. We do not have air purchased yet-I don't anticipate purchasing our tix much before December....I have been watching trends for many months, and the fares recently released for July/August 2016 are several hundred dollars higher than they have been.....so I will keep watching and hoping for a little decrease after September flights are released. Round trip to MXP has not been priced any lower than open jaw from CMH, so I hope to avoid back tracking to Milan. And flights departing VCE to CMH ( via JFK) are scheduled for 1130.....which seems pretty doable.

If the weather is bad, we may opt to skip Pisa and go straight to Florence from Lucca. I did not realize there was a direct train from Lucca to Florence! Thank you, Laura!

Question....trains departing Varenna seem to run late. If we purchase super economy tix from Varenna to Monterosso, what happens if we miss the connecting train in Milan?

Thank you!

I think you need an extra day on Lake Como at the front end of your trip ...
1. Arrive Milan, train to Varenna
2. Varenna
3. Varenna
4. Train to Cinque Terre - probably staying in Monterosso-still up for discussion
5. CT
6. CT
7. Train to Florence, stopping in Pisa for a few hours
8. Florence
9. Florence-day trip to Siena
10. Florence-day trip to Lucca
11. Train to Bologna
12.Bologna (this is the day we will do cheese/vinegar production tour-leaves at 0700, returns 1700
13. Train to Venice
14. Venice
15. Venice
16. Home

If you have a single-journey ticket and your first train arrives too late for your connection, go to the customer service desk to change the second part of the ticket at no cost.

Thank you Zoe for the train info....

Don't neglect the bus service that links Lucca with Pisa - it's a direct 40 mins. ride. In Pisa, the bus stop is directly in front of the Piazza dei Miracoli/Camposanto (on Via Bonanno). The bus starts from Piazzale Verdi in Lucca, a couple of minutes walk from the historic centre. It's much closer at either end than the train stops. The drive in the countryside between the two is quite beautiful too.

There is also a very convenient and direct regular bus service between Lucca and Florence - it leaves from Piazzale Verdi and arrives in front of the SMN station in Florence.

The two, Pisa and Lucca, can be combined as a day trip from Florence (train+bus+bus).

Personally, though, I would prefer staying 2 nights in Lucca. I'd leave early for Pisa and just spend the morning, before returning for lunch in Lucca.

Dlp- I like your suggestion to stay an extra night in Varenna....depending on the day of our flight into Milan, we may need to adjust our schedule by a day so that we don't end up in Bologna for our food tour on a Sunday.

Diane, your idea to spend two nights in Lucca is great! We could take the bus to Pisa and not worry about hauling and storing our bags. Since I now know there is a direct train to Florence from Lucca, this may be a great option!

Thanks everyone!

We flew from Venice to Paris recently and found the airport in Venice to be absolutely wonderful. So easy, smaller & less crowded than other airports (CDG, Heathrow, Rome for example). It took us about an hour to get from our hotel near Rialto Bridge. Venice after dark is beautiful but it would probably be easier to arrive in daylight so you can get your bearings while on the boat (and when you get off too). Enjoy your trip, it sounds wonderful.

It is a direct bus connection between Lucca and Florence - very convenient, fast and comfortable - as well as the train, so yes, it would be great to include your 2 nights between the CT & Florence.

Jill,
Congratulations on your retirement!

Here are some my thoughts on your itinerary:

• Don't underestimate the fact that you may experience jet-lag for a couple of days.

• Varenna is lovely but you are only giving yourself one full day
  there. I'd add one more night to Varenna.

• I hope you realize that it will take you anywhere from 4.5 to 6 hours
  to travel from Varenna to Monterosso, depending on which departure
  time you choose.

• You have 5 destinations, with multiple day trips, a bit much for a 15 night trip, IMO.

Given this information:

We want to stay fairly flexible and have time to relax and soak in the culture.

I'd suggest limiting your day trips, so you actually "have time to relax & soak in the culture"

• Keep in mind that each time you relocate you will lose at least half of that day, packing/unpacking, traveling to/from train station, traveling, getting situated to new location, checking-in/checking out, etc, etc...

Enjoy your trip!

You are correct about the Venice flight departure time. Most flights from Venice to the US connect in a European hub (Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, etc), and these often leave VCE at very early hours, when getting to the airport is difficult and/or expensive. However, there are a few flights that go nonstop to the US from Venice, and these leave at much more convenient times. So, if you're booked VCE-JFK-CMH, you can ignore the usual warning about the early flights out of Venice.

However, do be sure to allow enough time at JFK for the connection. Delta international flights now use Terminal 4, and that's the same one as international arrivals for lots of other airlines. I just flew in there on Monday 9/21, and the immigration lines were much longer and took much more time than I remember from a few years ago (when Delta international flights had their own arrivals terminal). Furthermore, your flight from JFK to CMH will be in Terminal 2, so you'll have to change terminals.

Harold, thank you very much for the information! We will be sure to choose flights with a 2hr minimum connection time. I would rather wander the concourse for a bit than be stressed about missing a connection.

Priscilla, yes, we are aware of the travel time from Varenna to CT. Our flight will most likely arrive in Milan at 0800, so we will have 1 1/2 days in Varenna, and then a several hour train ride to CT-this is our plan to "ease into" the time change...and the only day trip we have planned is from Florence to Sienna. Lucca will be an overnight stay on the way to Florence.

After my experience earlier this week, I'd feel more comfortable with a 3 hour connection at JFK on arrival. It took me over an hour to get through immigration and customs. Then you'll need time to drop your bags at the recheck desk, change terminals, and get to your gate. Of course in these situations, when you have time, you don't need it, and when you don't, everything goes wrong. So, since these days at airports you can either be bored or panicked, I'd choose bored.

Just addressing your flight from Venice. We took a late train from Venice to Verona, stayed near airport and flew home connecting in Amsterdam. I love public transportation, but highly recommend a taxi to airport hotel from Verona train if you go that route.

Forgot to mention, did day trip to Lucca from Portovenere, doable. But why back track to leave the next day anyways. If you have a rainy day in CT you could go to Lucca earlier, that was our spur of the moment trip.