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Itinerary advice: Milan-Cinque Terre-Tuscany

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Hello Everyone. I'm taking a 2 week trip in mid August with family and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding on how many days to spend in Cinque Terre. We are a group of 5 adults and everything is booked but there is some room to adjust. The itinerary is:
Milan 3 nights (2 full days in Milan, 1 day trip to Lake Como)
Train to La Spezia , 2 nights (1 full day for Cinque Terre)
Grab rental car, drive to Siena 3 nights (2 full days)
Drive to Montepulciano 2 nights (almost 2 full days)
Drive to Molise to visit family and we continue with that until we head to Rome to leave. Is one full day enough to visit Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Monterosso? Staying in La Spezia, I also have to consider the travel in and out to CT. I've been told Porto Venere is also lovely so I'm debating adding that second CT day to maybe visit.

Thank you in advance for any input!!

New edition: Found a place that can accommodate 5 guests in Levanto and a place in Vernazza. Is one preferred? If I stay here, then I think I'll only do 2 nights, 1 day in CT.

Posted by
4811 posts

I would put the CT nights toward Tuscany, as it is such a brief time that could go far in your other stays. Partial days are rarely as full as you think they are going to be.
Why not stay in CT? The villages take mere minutes to see--it is the scenery that is the draw, but a more leisurely approach is better--what month?
So, Molise does exist! (some of you will get that joke)

Posted by
8 posts

We booked La Spezia for affordability and availability for 5 people. We have an apartment with 3 bedrooms plus AC. That was a big draw. I've still been keeping an eye out for places in the villages. I just hear from some people that you have to stay more than a day and others that a day is enough. I'm concerned that the trains will be too busy in August to allow us to visit more than one place.

Posted by
5330 posts

If you want to spend 2 nights in the CT, then spend them IN fhe CT, not La Spezia, which is by no means either picturesque or charming. One day could be enough to visit those villages. Much depends on what you want to see and do and, especially, what month you will be visiting. By staying in la Spezia, you become just one more of the thousands of other day trippers who flood the villages from late morning to mid afternoon. By staying in one of the villages, you can enjoy the golden hours of early morning and late afternoon/evening. If Corniglia isn't on your must see list, consider taking the ferry between villages.

I will question why you want to use a rental car to travel from CT to Siena, when the trip can be done by train, and you won't need the car while in Siena. Consider waiting until you leave Siena to pick up the rental car.

Posted by
4811 posts

It really just depends on what you want out of it, but when I arrive in a beautiful place, I want to soak it all in. Arriving in CT in late morning will be the opposite experience--crowds galore and too hot to hike.
I'd skip it entirely, go to Tellaro and hit the beach.

Posted by
8 posts

There is a car rental in La Spezia and since that's where we were originally staying, we thought it would be easy to pick up a car from there.

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