Itinerary help! Cinque Terre, Lucca and Tuscany

We will be visiting Italy this May, and we are staying in the places you are planning to visit except for Pisa. So I can't speak from firsthand experience but I can give you a few suggestions based on my research and our itinerary.

We are staying in Manarola for 3 nights. Manarola was recommended to me by several people, and it's considered one of the prettiest CT towns but not quite as crowded as Rick's favorite, Vernazza. We are staying at the Hotel Marina Piccola, in case you are interested in checking it out.

We are spending 3 nights in Lucca at Hotel Palazzo Alexander. For sightseeing, I have walking the walls, Piazza dell Anfiteatro, cilmb to the top of Torre Guinigi, the Cattedrale di San Martino (Duomo), and Orto Botanico. There are other churches, too, and there are some villas outside of Lucca.

In addition to staying in Lucca, which is in Tuscany, we are also spending 3 nights in Siena. Plan to stop in San Gimignano on the way to Siena. And while in Siena, will drive and explore the Val D'Orcia. And for Siena itself, there is the Piazza del Campo, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, Piazza del Duomo, and the Pinacoteca Nazionale (art museum).

I hope this helps.

Yes that helps! Will you have a car in Lucca? We may not end up staying in Pisa if my son can get to the airport from Lucca early. My plan was to rent a car after Lucca to drive around Tuscany.

You won't need or want a car in Lucca. Inside the wall is almost all pedestrian and parking is a pain.

We spent 1 night in Pisa (after Lucca as well) it just worked best for our itinerary and I am glad we did
Those gorgeous buildings all lit up at night were magical.
Leave Lucca later in day- or enough time to do whatever you want in Pisa- and stay the night.
I would not want the risk of a morning train ride to airport- even though it seems close enough. Stuff happens.
They should be at airport by 8:30 as that flight is likely not going to US.

You'll have a better selection of rental cars in Pisa- especially if you need an automatic. Also better open hours at agencies- 9/27 is a Saturday.

Where are you flying home from? Where will you drop the car?

We will be flying in and out of Pisa. Do you have a suggestion for where to stay in Pisa and where to rent a car from?

We are taking the train from La Spezia to Lucca. So we won't have a car when we arrive. But we are picking up our rental car on the morning of our last full day in Lucca so that we can explore the countryside outside of Lucca. Then the next day we drive to Siena. Our daughter and her family spent several weeks in Lucca in May several years ago. They had a rental car, and they told me they always found parking outside of the walls. So that is what we plan on doing for one night.

Perfect sounds like we will not need a car!

I have stayed in Lucca, no car, and flown home from Pisa. Very easy.

Charlotte

For a 10:30am flight out of Pisa could I get a car to take us from Lucca to the airport?

It's less than 30 minutes, so a cab is certainly a possibility for Lucca-Pisa. It takes roughly twice the time by public transport.