Laid Back Italy trip,Itinerary help

Are you flying back out of Milan? If so, perhaps somewhere in Piedmont wine country? I have been doing a ton of research on Piedmont for our trip in May. We are wine and food lovers, so we are planning to stay in Alba. We were going back and forth also on Camogli or Santa Margherita Ligue and decided on SML. Camogli looks great though also.

Yes flying out of Milan. We are food and wine lovers too. Will check out Alba thank you.

This website has been really helpful for my wine country research.

http://www.travellanghe.com/index.html

It’s your first time in Italy and you are going basically at the end of winter, in March, a month that has notoriously unpredictable weather, but is the wettest time of the year along with early November. Temperatures could go from cool to very cold.

Given these circumstances, I would spend more time in cities rather than lake or sea resorts, which I guarantee you will be largely deserted, including the Cinque Terre. I would definitely decrease your nights both on the lake and in Liguria to no more than a couple nights each.

Also my opinion is that a first timer to Italy, who, in your case, focuses on northern Italy, should include both Florence and Venice in the visit. Both are popular destinations but in March crowds are not that bad, and certainly better than in the April to October period. This is of course just my two cents, but you do what you please. De gustibus non disputandum est.

April,
Thanks for the suggestion of Alba booked 3 nights there looks!, great happy travels.

Fantastic! I’m sure you will have an incredible first visit to Italy! You are visiting some wonderful places. Although I agree with Roberto about Florence, all of Italy has its own charm. Please do report back on your adventures.

What made you pick the places. These are third tier places. Bologna is OK, but pales compared to a dozen other cities in Italy. CT is very nice, don't be afraid of tourists. The reason that the great places like Rome, Florence, Venice and CT have a lot of tourists is that they are great places to visit.

Don't know Camogli.
For research on what to do in a city, go to TripAdvisor and put in the name of the city and Things to Do.

Lucca is very nice, but you can see it in one full day. Bologna for 4 nights! have you researched this trip?

We have stayed in Bologna, Camogli, and Alba for 4 or 5 nights each and loved them. Lucca, too, but I forget how many nights. Also many other towns that are not the big three. True, not on our first trip, but it sounds to me like the poster knows what he or she wants and it's not to see major art and not to be surrounded by tourists. Likes food, perhaps.

Last November, we spent 5 nights in Genoa and loved it, even going back to it by train from Camogli to spend one more day. I would return to Genoa tomorrow just to eat there.

Do what makes you happy! And return to Italy.

Hey I would suggest a hired private walking tour your first day in Lucca. Money well spent for my wife and I as many of the cool things about Lucca were pointed out that first day and our guide's insights were great. We used Wanda Martinelli. If you enjoy hiking there is a nice hike up the Punta Manara at Sestri Levante that we enjoyed. Sestri Levante is a few train stops south of Camogli. We also did an easy but cool hike from Rapallo out to Portofino and then took the ferry back, pretty cool. We used all trains and stayed in B&B's along the way, four nights in Moneglia, north a bit from the Cinque Terre. Give this site a look if you are not familiar with trains over there.
https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm

We loved staying in Alba. The Piemonte is much less touristed than Tuscany, a delight.
Camogli and Santa Margherita Ligure are wonderful places to visit, not off the tourist track by any means, but good choices. Are you still going there? It would work driving from SML to Alba to MXP for flights.

Yes we are still going there. We are not driving we will be taking the train.

If it is just a few nights, maybe not so much of an issue, but Alba without a car will not be ideal. You can take a bus to pretty little Neive, the next town over. You might want to check with the tourist office to see what excursions will be on offer, and also check the transit options.
So the order is Varnna, Bologna, Lucca, Camogli, Alba, Milan?

Yes this is the order. Would rather hire a guide than deal with a car seems like a head ache trying to park from what I've read. We did a car on our last trip to France and don't really want that responsibility.

You definitely won't need the car anywhere else on your itinerary, but I would get an IDP just in case since it is only 20 bucks, then you have the option for an independent day trip while in Alba (unless it was a wine tour you were interested in, in which case obviously a driver would be better). The driving in the Piedmont will be easy--it would be rural drives and small towns. I visited just as a brief stop and it was before we had ever rented a car before, so we made do without one. Our goal was hiking and we had nearly constant rain, so it did not end up making a difference, but when I return to the Piedmont I will definitely rent a car.
Your trip sounds lovely--Camogli and Alba are two places I have especially liked. enjoy!

What is an IDP?

International Drivers Permit. It is simply a translation of your drivers license and you can get it at an AAA office (just need a passport size photo). Required for car rental in Italy.
https://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html