Itinerary Help- Cinque Terre Or No Cinque Terre

3 or 4--sort of, I would actually add both nights to Varenna/Lake Como--but do you need a night in Milan, or can you get to the airport for your flight out without another hotel change?
It is not the ideal time of year for CT--you will get much more out of spending longer somewhere, I can come close to guaranteeing you! I am seeing a lot of reports of CT being even more crowded than usual, and you are losing so much time on trains if you do not make this change. Two nights is practically nothing if you have long train rides on either end of it. Four nights in one place at the end of a trip sounds about right to me.

but I haven't secured an international drivers license yet and we
leave in under a month

This doesn't take long- usually same day service at your local AAA.

But I'd either just suck it up, leave itinerary as is and take the train.
Or stay in Rapallo- we were just in Santa Margherita and loved our time there. It was May but there were no tourist crowds AT ALL.
Just not willing to spend so much on a car rental.

It usually takes ten minutes at a local AAA to get an International Driving Permit. Bring correct size photo or have AAA take them for you. You are given your IDP before you leave.
Skip the CT this trip and give the time to Tuscany
( Siena or a Chianti village) and/or Lake Como.

Skip CT. The dreamy CT Rick Steves shows in his videos sadly no longer exists now that cruise ships have put the region on their itinerary. You've actually got a very full schedule without it. Use that time in Florence. 1.5 days is not nearly enough time.

Another vote to skip the CT. If CT is important to you, see it on another trip when it isn't wall to wall tourists and the weather isn't stifling hot and humid. What time is your flight out of Milan? Bear in mind the trains to the airport from Varenna are at least 2 hours, and you will want to be there 3 hours before your flight if it is direct to the US. If its a morning flight, you would probably want to stay near the airport the night before.

You have a lot of moving around and short 2-night stays. Renting a car would not fix that, and adds problems of its own, as well as expense (high rental and gas prices).

I’d say cutting Cinque Terre is your best option. That is a long way to travel for what amounts to one full day there, whether you go by car or train. And Riomaggiore is not the best place to stay right now, as the Via dell’Amore coastal path is not yet open. So to leave Riomaggiore and visit other villages, you would have to take a longer, higher path to Manarola, ride a boat, or take the very crowded local train.

I will add that many people (including all of my extended family members, two of whom have lived in Tialy and returned many times since) find the Cinque Terre overrated and overcrowded these days. That was our opinion 12 years ago, and it has only become more crowded since then. Our experience taking the train from Vernazza back to Manarola after our hike was so unpleasant we will not return.

Here is what I would suggest instead., based on your starting point in Luzern. This is the perfect opportunity to take an enjoyable, scenic train over the Alps, instead of the fast train which goes through Europe’s longest and deepest tunnel (57 km long and 2.3 km deep), with no scenery. The Treno Gottardo direct train from Luzern to Locarno uses the older route over the Gotthard Pass, passing through a short tunnel near the top, and a couple of interesting spiral tunnels on the way down. But it stays mostly above ground, with views of peaks and hanging glaciers, as well as villages along the route.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/treno-gottardo/

You can spend the night in Locarno at one of several lakeside hotels within blocks of the train station, with the afternoon to explore the town and the lake. Then continue to Florence the following day. This is a journey of 4h 40 minutes with a single change ( Milano), or 4h 9 minutes with 2 changes. Add the night you save by not going to Riomaggiore to your time in Florence.

To paraphrase Yogi Berra

"5-Terre? Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"

Thank you all! This was the reassurance I needed to make the change. Sad to hear that CT isn’t what it used to be, but glad to not add further to the tourist crowd. We will likely add a day to Florence and a day to LC and see more in the surrounding areas. Our flight isn’t until 3:10 PM from Milan so not too worried about getting from Varenna to the airport.

Agree - skip CT and add to Lake Como.... you won't regret it.

Good advice up thread. We were last in CT in 2006. It was great then, but “been there done that!” ;) Lake Como should be lovely. Enjoy.

I could easily spend a week around Lake Como.

CT was very crowded when I was last there five years ago and much less relaxing than 25 hears ago now. I cannot imagine how it is now with cruise ships docking every day during season.

Rick pretty much admits that he has helped CT to be loved to death

Based on my travel to Italy, I would add extra time in Florence or add a day in Milan. I would much rather see The Last Supper than a lake or an ocean front.
Although, I don't travel to Europe for the scenery. I enjoy the scenery, but I want to be where history happened. So neither CT norLake Como will see the likes of me again.

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your trip!

Take the train from Florence to Varenna. No need to rent a car....