Second trip to Italy - looking for some advice on day trips

I am contemplating a similar trip, so I look forward to the answers to your questions. Walks of Italy tour guide in Rome mentioned that Ciao Florence guys could put together a private itinerary to drive you around Tuscany. And their tours look fabulous!

I have never been to Pisa or Lucca, but I have to say that the Cinque Terre did not live up to the hype for me - the crowds reminded me of the crush at Old Faithful in Yellowstone - it would have magical with 1/10th of the people. Plus, you already have a long day trip to Venice.

I just realized that our trip to Florence was ten years ago - April 2014. But that won't stop me from recommending the Chianti Day Trip offered by Tuscan Trails. They are still getting great reviews on TripAdvisor.

https://tuscantrails.com/

Day 4: Venice, I know its a long day trip but its a bucket list city for us and not sure when we will be back to Italy
Day 5: Florence to recover from that long day trip and just enjoy the city

Why not spend the night if the next day is just 'recovery', anyway. Make for a better experience all around

Opinions on Pisa/Lucca vs Cinque Terre. Which seems like a better day trip? Is Cinque Terre worth the longer travel to visit the towns? How does Cinque Terre compare to the Almafi Coast?

I was in the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre within 3 weeks of each other last month and I can't say I liked one better than the other, small hilly towns with beautiful coastal views. Both areas are great. In Pisa, the square of miracles area is very beautiful. I think a day trip to Cinque Terre is worth it if you leave Florence by 7am and return in the evening. That would give you time to take the ferry for coastal views and a few hours to walk around the towns. But if you leave Florence at 10am then it wouldn't make sense.

Good idea about going to Siena on your own for the entire day vs taking a tour.

I would do Florence and then pack up and head to Venice via train and then home. Explore those two places and get a feel of them in the early morning and in the evening. They are different places at different times of the day. Venice at night if wonderful—lots of the crowds are gone and it is more peaceful.

PS. Venice is not a day trip away from Florence. Will spend most of the day in the train. It is a 3 to 4 hour train trip to and another 3-4 hours back, if you are lucky!
Enjoy your time. Leave something to come back to…

Thanks everyone, I was thinking Venice was like a 2 hour train ride from Florence but maybe you have to get a water taxi to get to the city from the train station? We may spend a night or two there to get the most out of it but we really enjoy waking up and sleeping in Florence.

If one gets a 'zero changes' train, its 2.25 hrs from Florence to Venice.

Even adding time to get a boat to the central island area and it is still well less than 4 hrs.

Still best to do at least an overnight

I would skip the Cinque Terre as a day trip and concentrate on Lucca. Pisa is, IMO, a one trick town and not worth the time. Walk the wall in Lucca, stroll the streets, enjoy it thoroughly and only go to Pisa if you run out of things to do in Lucca.

Your thought about spending a night or two is Venice is a very good one. It is a truly unique place and really needs more than a day trip to do it justice. The only problem with going to Venice, is that one always leaves wanting to return. If you decide to stay there, we can give you some info about getting around and such.

Agree with skipping Venice - too far unless you stay there. We spent a week in Florence in 2016, so it may be different now, but we felt that was barely enough time to see all of the museums, etc. We took a one day trip from Florence to Cinque Terre thru Viator and LOVED it. The tour went to all 5 towns and required strenuous walking between towns, up and down hills, often walking on uneven paths and rocky surfaces. It also included a train ride between two cities and boat ride (that runs when the sea is calm enough) to return from Monterosso to Riomagiore, where the tour started. We were in our 60’s and in good shape. Well worth the full day in our opinion.

We will definitely see Venice even if we can only do a day trip but we will try to spend a night if possible. We did a day trip to Amsterdam last month so I assume it would be similar. It was 36k steps and a long day but definitely glad we went. The difference is the shorter train ride for sure.

For the day I wanted to get out to a winery we might visit a Tuscan city like Cortona or San Gimignano instead. Any opinions on these two as a day trip using public transportation or would a different city be better ? We are definitely seeing Siena and Lucca. I wish Volterra was possible but don't think so with public transportation.