Help with Italy itinerary

Hello shelly.larad, and welcome to the forum,

Assuming you stick to towns on Como served by train and/or ferry (lots of options) this is completely doable without a car. In fact all of these destinations are better without a car.

One issue is that all the destinations you list are far apart from one another and are served by limited infrastructure. Crossing CT to Venice is crossing Italy at nearly its widest point and you should expect 7-8 hours of total travel door to door. Como to CT is probably 5-6 hours of travel. I did it in 2023 and it wasn't terrible but it's probably longer than is interesting.

Assuming you have enough time to dedicate essentially a couple of those days to being travel days and are willing to spent the time this is a doable travel plan.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

3 locations in 2 weeks is certainly reasonable. I dont see any reason for having a car in any of those places.

Depends on when, what your interests are, if you've visited other parts of Italy, and if you're comfortable with driving in Italy. All three locations vary from extremely crowded to somewhat crowded. You'll also miss some of the charming aspects of Italy. Why not add Verona and Parma, and perhaps save Cinque Terre for another trip.

Have you been to Italy before?

I have visited there several times and love the country. Great history, art, cuisine and friendly people.

All three places you mentioned are great to visit.
However, I rate the first two as second tier sites.
First tier sites, in my opinion are Venice, Florence and Rome. Also, the Naples-Sorrento-Pompeii-Capri-Amalfi Coast area.

Consider minimizing your travel time. The high speed train from Venice to Florence to Rome makes it easy to visit all three place, which you can do in two weeks.

Shelly,
It is reasonable. If you are coming from North America, then I would book a flight into Venice, and out of Milan. Arrive in Venice, and enjoy a few days of relaxation and sight seeing. Make your way west, via train, and end your trip in Milan for a flight home.
Milan is not far from the town of Como, about an hour. The other famous ones, Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna, are further up the lake. Check out a map of Lake Como to get a view of the different towns. Between Venice and Milan are some interesting cities you could explore: Vicenza, Verona among others. I was in Manorola (Cinque Terre) many years ago, and it was wonderful. We actually ran into Rick Steves while we were walking along the path. Got a pic of him catching a train!

To fine tune your trip, take a look at some YouTube videos, and peruse a guidebook to determine what's most important to you.
Buon viaggio!

I agree with CJean--a car doesn't seem to be useful at any of those destinations.

Having a car has advantages and Italy is easy to drive in. Except the Amalfi coast. We divided the regions into north, central and south and went three different times.

North Venice, Lake Como, Milan, Lake garda and Lake Maggiori are all delightful.

Central. Florence, Siena, Pisa, Luca, Certaldo, Cortuna (Under the Tusacan Sun) and San Gimiagno.

South Central. Montalcino, Montepulciano (Home of our favorite Brunello wines)

Amalfi Coast, Amazing sites, Sorento, Capri, Ravalo, Priano, Positano etc just beautiful

Have not been to southern Italy, Sicily or Puglia yet. Next trip

I think a car is necessary for the Lake Como region, and very useful to get to Cinque Terra (but investigate where you park while you are there, notorious for break-ins). Cars are not allowed on Venice, but easy (and safe) in the garage. Venice is well served by highspeed train.

So, maybe fly into Milan (or Bergamo - an amazing town), rent car for the lakes and Cinque Terra, then turn in car and take train to Venice. You will also be able to stop at Verona (Opera & Romeo/Juliet) and Padua (University town with the fantastic Scrovegni chapel featuring Giotto frescos).

One rental car tip, they might try to upsell a transponder that pays the tolls. Its expensive ($15 per day), and the toll booths are very easy to use without it (they accept contactless credit cards - or cash).

Shelly,
We did this trip last May and had a wonderful time! We went from Venice to Lake Como to Cinque Terra, then Spello and flew out of Rome. We did it all by train. Here is my trip report. I shortened it a lot not knowing that you can post it in sections. If you want my longer original report, message me and I will send it! Hope you have a wonderful trip, Pam

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-venice-lake-como-cinque-terre-spello-and-rome