Hello, my family of four are traveling to Italy for the first time. My plan was to fly into Florence stay 1 night, head to Tuscany for 3 nights, and then to the coast for remaining 4 nights (thinking Cinque Terre)?. We have never been to Europe, so are at a complete loss of where to start, stay and transportation. Both of my children are college age and very easy going. They love beautiful surroundings, food and drinks. My husband likes comfort so that’s why I want to pick two nice locations to base ourselves and explore from there. The more detailed help the better. Thank you!!
Posted by
5429 posts
Do you have a guide book yet? Even with dozens of trips under my belt, that is where I always start! Make each person pick their top three or so sights, then see where you all overlap.
Just some general forum tips: include the month (it can make a big difference) and indicate if any flights are purchased yet, and if not, where you are likely to fly in/out of.
My first impressions: it's way too early to pin down any itinerary until you read up a bit. There is no rule you have to see Florence exhaustively, but one day is very short. Rural Tuscany is best seen with a car (and that is not the big deal some make it out to be, but you might also not want to do it the first visit). Cinque Terre is gorgeous, but it is very crowded and it takes several hours to get to and from Florence from there--are you going for nature or for art/history/etc? That is for your family to mull over, but once you all start thinking about what you want to see, it will get easy, I promise!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7473 posts
With just 8 nights I’d stick to 2 locations.
Florence deserves much more than a jet lagged arrival day.
You will need to be in city of departure flight the night before so maybe go to CT first, then back to Florence for final 4 nights.
You can day trip from Florence to a number of Tuscan hill towns either on your own- bus or train, or with a guided bus tour.
You might find Pisa offers more flight choices
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1272 posts
Hello shelly115, and welcome to the boards,
I think your instinct to stay in two places with 8 nights is right on - I certainly wouldn't do more than that in that time.
It would help if you were to lis the time of year and your travel connections on each end of your stay whether it is flying in and out or flying and then going somewhere else etc. Also whether you intend to depend on public transportation or are open to renting a car. I ask because "Tuscany" is a big place and while some cities and towns are easily accessible by train/bus some others are not.
I'm sure there will be a lot information coming your way, but these details will really help that,
=Tod
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We are looking to arrive end of May 2023. We have not booked flights but we are coming from California and will fly out of LAX. We are more leisure and foodies and will not be trekking through the countryside. I would consider renting a car for Tuscany if that makes more sense and am very open to hiring a personal driver. We would not want to go on all day guided tours.
The Tuscany area is a must for my husband but he is very open on exactly where in Tuscany and the kids and I would love the Amalfi Coast such as a base of Sorrento or similar but I think it may be to far? Again I need ease and not chaos getting from one home base to the next. Thank you!!
Posted by
5429 posts
Late May is absolutely lovely, that is when I have always traveled. The Amalfi coast is indeed too far, but there are other gorgeous parts of the Tuscan and Ligurian coasts aside from Cinque Terre--that's where that guide book can come in very handy. If you are going to have a car anyway for rural-village Tuscany (you should), then you can use the car for the coast and go somewhere not so crowded. Just something to consider, because if you are not going to be hiking, then why put up with crowds for something you can practically have to yourself elsewhere?
First decide what you want to see in Florence, as once you know how long you need there, the rest will be more clear. Get a Tuscany regional guide, not an "Italy" book--it will have much more detail.
Posted by
Sunriver
1321 posts
Welcome.... spend some time on this site including looking at what's listed on the EXPLORE EUROPE link on the left. So, you have your arrival night and 7 more nights - I would definitely stick to two locations. Florence is not a major airport in Italy so flights might be limited. But that said we have done that a couple times. Will you have car? Cars make visiting the Tuscan countryside much easier but as suggested you can also look at tours to take you for day trips. What time of year will make our suggestions for you more targeted. I'd avoid the CT from June to August as it is a tourist hot spot. Flying into Milan gives you access by train to Lake Maggiore and Lake Como which would be good replacements for the CT. Flying into Venice would give you access to Lake Garda by train and would be a great place to stay for 4 nights. You could do split the trip between Venice and Lake Garda. Taking the train to and from Venice for flights in and out. You could fly into Rome and train to the Amalfi coast. Flying into Rome and out of Naples.