Itinerary Help for Northern Italy

Vernazza is the outlier

Why not pick a location in Northern Italy ?
Verona for example

Or spend more time in Bologna with a few day trips-Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma etc

For a 9 night trip i would choose just 3 locations

I would go to Verona instead of Vernazza. We enjoyed it a lot and much closer to Bologna.

I might spend 3 nights in Bologna and only one in Milan. There are lots of interesting things nearby. We spent 4 nights and did not see everything we would have liked.

I have been to Milan a number of times and there are a few stellar sites but not as many as many other places.

We're all different so take your replies with a grain of salt. I'm working on an itinerary for the South of France and Northern Italy next September/October. By then I'll be 72 and my wife 70, so we're slowing down a little bit, but both of us are in excellent health and capable of walking several miles. So we've done the Europe trip before staying in several places for two to three days each. But it seems like you spend half your time packing, unpacking, and taking trains between cities when you really haven't taken the time to see everything or relax a little bit. So now I look to book hotels for mostly 4 days in each location. For example next Fall we'll have 19 days in Italy, so only in Cinque Terre will we stay for 3 nights, but Milan, Florence, Venice, and Lake Como (Bellagio) will be four nights each. I really wanted to spend time in the Dolomites too, but decided it would have to be another trip since the travel times in the mountains are sometimes much longer and we didn't want to spend all day on a train (7 hrs Bellagio to Bolzano). So my only suggestion is you might want to consider cutting out a location and spending more time in one or more locations. For example you have two nights in Varenna, which really gives you one day of sightseeing before you're packing up for Vernazza and a 6 to 7 hour train journey. And across the lake from Varenna are Menaggio and Bellagio, both very cute towns with lots of things to do. From there you can also take a side trip to Lugano in Switzerland or the town of Como.

These are all trade-offs and tough decisions. I can't tell you what the best plan is for you, but know that whatever you decide you'll have a great time and wish for more. Good luck!

Don't miss Verona and Ravenna.

I agree with the suggestions to drop Vernazza for this trip because it entails to much travel for just 9 nights. and add a day to Varenna and Bologna. If you were looking for scenic hiking/walking trails from Vernazza, there are hikes/walks you could probably do around Lake Como. Ravenna was my most memorable daytrip from Bologna but I also enjoyed Parma and Faenza, Padua also could be a daytrip from Verona or Bologna.

You don't mention where you're flying from but MXP is about an hour from the city and Varenna is at least another hour after changing in Milan so you're at least 2.5 hours from getting out of immigration and getting into Varenna. It currently looks like 7:00pm is the latest that you'll be able to do this - arriving at 9:30pm - so keep all that in mind.

With 9 nights I would look at a closer geographical cluster and - as others have said - drop the outlier and long travel associated with Vernazza. If you were to consider switching to Lake Garda this would group all your travel into one area. You could go from Milan to Verona (1:15 on the fast train) and then onto someplace like Malcesine with the upper lake ferry. (Unfortunately I don't think the cable car to Mount Baldo starts back up until mid April.)

The only downside to this plan is that the upper lake is only reachable by bus or ferry since the train only serves the very base of the lake. But maybe April is early enough that the lower lakes won't be that crowded and you could train and then ferry to one or more towns.

Verona is a good location for exploring if you want to do day trips but 9 days isn't that many so plan carefully to minimize your travel times.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod