Honeymoon

takes,

First of all, congratulations!

I have a few initial thoughts to offer, and will try to provide more suggestions later when I have more time.....

• 9/27 - I'd suggest travel to Florence earlier in the day, so that you have time to get oriented and have a nice dinner in your new location. Also, some accommodations may not have staff on duty in the evenings, so they prefer guests to arrive earlier.
• 9/29 - what type of "hiking" are you considering in the Cinque Terre? Note that two of the four Sentiero Azzurro trails are currently closed and will remain closed for the rest of the year. There are lots of trails there, but many go higher in the hills and are a more robust hiking experience.

I'd suggest packing along a copy of the RS Italy guidebook as it will be a good reference source during your trip. Also, as you haven't been to Italy before, there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit. If you need more information on that, post another note here.

Hi. Cinque Terre is great, but also somewhat similar to Amalfi Coast. If you want to go to CT, you might want to alter your schedule slightly and train from Rome to CT, spend two nights there, then train to Florence from CT. CT is especially nice in mornings and evenings, and going there only as a day trip wouldn't be ideal. Enjoy your trip!

I like it. You have given yourself enough time to really see things and you will enjoy Rome. Go to Piazza Navona one evening for dinner and romantic passeggiata.

A day trip from Florence to 5 Terre is one long day and you may not want to hike plus some trails are closed. There is plenty to see in Florence so you may consider not going to 5 Terre. I know everyone wants to see it. There are lots of other day trips that are easier, like Lucca, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, even Siena (easy from Florence) that might be better for you. Think about it.

Revello is a great little town as is Positano. Amalfi is ok, and easy to see. Capri is fun, take the funicular from the marina up the hill.

Now, let me say you have picked a great time of year to go. I like the spring and late September in Italy. The weather is good and the crowds smaller. Congratulations and have a wonderful time.

Hi all,
Thank you for the replies! We are considering an all day trip to CT through Viator. We realize it would be an all day trip (12 hours) and perhaps walking through the area and climbing stairs is more accurate than hiking. A friend mentioned we may want to consider hiking in the Almafi Coast instead.

I haven't had a chance to look into train information - is it mostly booking in advance? If there is any specific advice that isn't too labor intensive to write about, let me know, however I can also look for that myself.

Does anyone have recommendations about renting a car given that we want to stay in Praiano? We are looking at airbnb accommodations and parking seems scarce; at the same time we have read reports that sometimes the buses running between Positano and Almafi skip Praiano due to being overcrowded. We are not sure what the best plan would be. If we rent a car to explore the area on our own time, will we be able to find parking?

We drove from Florence to Positano. Mistake. We took the car back to Naples as it was just too big a hassle to drive the Amalfi Coast. We used boats and buses instead and saw all the towns. Praiano might be a bit isolated, I have not stayed there, only driven through. It isn't very big with only a couple of thousand people. Sounds idyllic.

In short, I wouldn't hassle with a car.

I am doubtful as to whether there is any advantage to taking a bus tour of the Cinque Terre as opposed to just hopping on a train yourself. There are frequent trains connecting the towns. I believe there are also some coastal boats, weather permitting, but I don't know how often they run in the fall. A tour will not provide you much flexibility to hike, and you might need to book a few days or more in advance. A do-it-yourself trip by train can be arranged at the last minute (when you know what the weather will be like), is more flexible and should be substantially cheaper. I think bus tours are primarily useful (and financially justified) for stringing together a bunch of small destinations that are not connected by public transportation, which is not the case here.

I agree that it would be far better to spend a night or two in CT than to try to make it a very rushed day trip which will have you in the area at the same time as (probably) thousands of cruise passengers.

Hi thank you for your reply. This tour would include a hike built in (https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Cinque-Terre-Hiking-Day-Trip-from-Florence/d519-5070CINQUE) but we will consider your advice and may very well skip it altogether.

Thank you @Gordan! It seems that everyone has a different opinion on the car vs. bus issue, but we are also leaning towards not having a car.