We have approximately 6-8 nights in the above referenced areas.
1. Is three nights in Florence, two nights in Tuscany (Sienna. Volterra) and two nights in Cinque Terra an appropriate amount of time for each.
2. We heard that you can take a boat to Cinque Terre. Where can you catch such boat and how much is it?
3. Would you recommend us staying four nights in Lucca, or something more central to both the Cinque Terre and the Tuscan Hill towns.
4. If we do not rent a car, would Lucca be a nice place by train and stay there for 2-4nights or would Lucca and Cinque Terre for 2 nights each be good by train and skipping Sienna and hill towns?
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1743 posts
I did a very similar itinerary in 2009, but I had 11 nights:
4 nights Siena (I used Siena as my base for exploring the hill towns with a rental car for two days)
3 nights Florence
2 nights Lucca
2 nights Cinque Terre
If I had to cut three nights from this itinerary, I'd cut 1 from Siena and 2 from Lucca (though maybe stop in Lucca for a few hours on the way from Florence to CT). I'd cut my hill-town exploration to one full day out of Siena.
If I only had 6 nights, I'd do 3 in Sienna and 3 in Florence, or maybe 4 in Florence and 2 in CT (with Siena as a day-trip from Florence).
I hope this helps.
Oh, and I don't know anything about taking a boat to CT. I only know about boats that connect the villages of the CT.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
gold,
Just to clarify, Florence is in Tuscany (it's the capital).
A few thoughts on your questions......
- A longer time would be better in each place, but if that's all you have that should be fine. Two nights will only provide about a 1.5 days for actual touring, so you won't have much time to really see much.
- Travel to the Cinque Terre by train will be easier and more reliable. The boats are subject to weather so may not be running the day you travel there. From the south you'll access the Cinque Terre via La Spezia, and it's only about nine minutes from there to the nearest town (Riomaggiore). You'll first have to decide which of the five towns you want to stay in. If you need any other information on the C.T., post another note.
- That's somewhat a matter of personal opinion. Your original plan would be better (IMO). I prefer Siena to Lucca.
- Yes, you could substitute Lucca for Siena, and two nights there would be about right.
All of the places on your list are easily accessible by train, so there's no need to rent a car. There are potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of both when renting cars as well as travelling by train and other public transit. You'll need to be aware of those. You might find it helpful to pick up a copy of the Italy 2015 guidebook, as that will provide lots of good information to help your trip go smoothly.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I would start with 3 nights in Florence, giving you 2 full days for the sights.
Train to CT, perhaps with a stop in Lucca or Pisa. Two nights here gives you a full day to walk the trails.
Train to Siena for 3 nights, allowing you a day to see Siena, and another for San Gimignano (+Volterra).