Florence - Volterra - Lucca - Cinque Terre

This schedule looks good to me. It's a great way to relax and use your time. While in Florence or Volterra, I would recommend a daytrip to Siena.

In terms of going from Volterra to Lucca, another option would be training up the west coast. You can bus to the Volterra/Saline train station which is about a 20-25 minute ride I think, west of town. From there you can train to Cecina (probably less than 30 min), then up the coast to Lucca (about 1 hr. 15 min.), probably changing in Pisa, which you could see on the way if you wanted. If it sounds complex, it's not. But it would save you some time as opposed to going back to Florence (also getting to stop by Pisa if you wanted).

Enjoy your travels!

Another option to get from Volterra to Lucca is take bus #500 to Pontedera and train the rest of the way. Bus arrives a short block from the Pontedera train station. There are about 10 buses on weekdays, but avoid the 13:05 bus which will be packed with overenergetic school kids (I say that from experience). There are 8 or 9 buses on Saturdays, but only 1 or 2 on Sundays. Check bus schedule at www.cpt.pisa.it/orari/extra/linea500.htm. From Pontedera, it's a short train ride to Pisa and another short train ride from Pisa to Lucca. With a little planning, you may be able to complete the trip in about 2.5 hours. That's much faster than going via Florence.

You can get good bus service from Florence to Volterra. www.sitabus.it has the bus schedule. If you can't find it, I can link it.

For Volterra to Lucca, I like Stuart's answer but I do see a train run on www.trenitalia.com from Volterra to Lucca. What I can't confirm is that there is a train station in Volterra.

CLICK HERE to see what I see.

Thanks to all for your helpful advice.

I'm now considering some adjustments to my itinerary that involves flying into Rome and out of Milan.

3 nights in Siena (with a day trip to Pienza)

4 nights in Florence (with a day trip to Volterra)

2 nights in Lucca

2 nights in Cinque Terre

last night in Milan

Is this a better itinerary than my first one? I'm a little concerned that I'd be spending a lot of time staying in larger cities. Would it be better to stay in Pienza and day trip to Siena? Or should I stay in Volterra a couple of nights before heading to Florence? Am I just trying to do too much in too little time?

Sorry...

In the first itinerary, I was planning to fly in and out of Milan, but I suppose I could fly into Rome just as well.

Sometimes "open jaw" flights make sense, but in this case, it may be that the lowest airfare will decide it. Comparing your 1st itinerary with your 2nd itinerary, this is what I'm asking: Flying into Rome in 2nd itinerary, versus flying into Milan: what's your thinking there? The station to station train time from Milan to Florence is 2hrs 10min, compared to 1 hr 40mins from Rome to Florence (these are the fastest trains). That's only about 30 mins difference, such a small difference in time (Malpensa to Milano Centrale versus FCO to Termini doesn't change the time comparison too much). With no huge difference time-wise, the airfare comparison may decide it, if there's a significant difference in airfare between into and out of Milan versus into Rome and out of Milan.

I like your 2nd itinerary a little better, as the transportation connections are easier whether flying into Rome or Milan. While I love Volterra, 5 base cities in 12 nights is about the max before feeling rushed. But if you really have your heart set on Volterra, a night between Siena and Florence would be easily doable. Your only big cities are Florence and Milan. Both Siena and Lucca are smaller towns and all of the Cinque Terre towns are small. Siena with a day trip to Pienza is the better option.

I would suggest staying in Siena, given your circumstances. Pienza is lovely, but very small. You only need to visit so many cheese shops before you're ready for new adventures. So, if you stay in Pienza it's likely you will make multiple day trips to Siena.

Conversely, you will not run out of things to do in Siena even if you don't use your time to visit Pienza. So, if you stay in Siena, you will only need to make one day trip out of town.

I'd stay in the smaller towns; as Rick says, it's much better after the tour buses leave. And the bus trips to the small towns can be time-consuming; I bused to San Gimignano last summer, and it took much longer than it looked on the schedule; I had to change buses, which meant waiting for a bus both ways. Lucca can be seen in a day, but it's fun to have time for a walk or bike ride on the walls, and the walled town is magical at night. You might consider, if you've not been, stopping off at Pisa enroute to the CT, depending on your train route; just be sure to get off at the main station or you'll have a not terribly interesting hike to the Leaning Tower. Try to catch the acoustic demo in the Baptistry. It can be a short stop, and I'd passed it by several times, but enjoyed seeing it more than I expected. If you've time, Stresa on Lake Maggiore is quite close to Malapensa - I spent my first night there after flying in, and then went on to Florence; you could do something similar on your way home. Stresa is a small lakeside town, with 3 gorgeous islands to visit, and a fun town to just walk in. Have fun!

Wow, I'm really impressed by the great responses. Since I've gotten a lot of divergent advice, I feel pretty confident that I can't go wrong. (Either that, or no matter what I do, I'll be disappointed. But who wants to think that way???)

Anyway, I've decided on 4 nights in Siena (with day trips), 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Lucca, and 2 nights in Cinque Terre.

I would love some advice on where to base myself for my 2 nights in Cinque Terre. What are the advantages/disadvantages to each locale?

Thanks again!

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