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Short trip to Northern Italy

My husband and I are going to Northern Italy for a short trip (24 April to 3 May) and I am a little concerned that we (mostly me) am trying to do and see too much in the short time we have there. I would be most grateful for any comments or suggestions. This is what the holiday is looking like at this stage:

Day 1 - Arrive Genoa from London about noon - train to Chiavari and drop off luggage at hotel - afternoon trip to Portofino and Camogli and late afternoon/evening trip to Bay of Silence

Day 2 - Boat trip to 5T (hopefully a half day trip) and return through the 5T villages on the train (we would like to do some of the short walks between the 5T villages) - not sure if there will be enough time to get to Portovenere and La Spezia but, we would really like to fit it all in.

Day 3 - Train from Chiavari to Firenze (probably change trains in Pisa) - we would like to go to the Duomo, See David and Ponte Vecchio - will spend the night in Firenze - I know this is not a lot of time to be in this amazing city but, it is all we can squeeze in.

Day 4 - Train to Venezia and spend the day wandering around - possibly a trip to Murano but I am not sure there will be enough time to fit that in - overnight in Venezia

Days 4-6 - Spent with Family North of Venezia

Day 7 - Train from Pordenone to Lake Garda - spend the day sightseeing and overnight here

Day 8 - Late morning train to Milano and drop luggage at hotel near Malpensa - afternoon in Milan - no plans yet but may have dinner with our Aunty.

Day 9 - Afternoon flight back to Australia.

Posted by
7175 posts

Yep, you are trying to cram too much in to your days. Save the stress and rushing by being a bit more realistic.
Day 1. Be happy getting to Portofino.
Day 2. Be happy with a boat ride and a 5T walk.
It's a busy schedule but will work if you observe what's realistic.

Posted by
16748 posts

Echoing David here: too much, at least regarding the first two days of your schedule. Portofino may be all you can fit into Day 1, and the boat and a look at a few of the 5 CT villages (not Portovenere or La Spezia) may be all you can fit into day 2.

Be advised that there really aren't any "short walks"between the CT villages, depending on how you might define those? Of the famous "Blue Trail" - the most direct route between them - only two segments will be open this season. One is between Monterosso and Venazza, and the other is between Vernazza and Corniglia, and both involve some steep ascents/descents, take a fair amount of effort, and may be very crowded. They could also close for a time if there's been a lot of decent rain or other sort of damage. Hiking these segments also involves buying the Cinque Terre park pass.

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Ecinque-terre-card.php

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you David and Kathy for your responses and information. I think we will need to review the first part of the trip, so that we can actually enjoy what we do get to see.

Does anyone have any idea where I could find the boat/ferry timetables (especially those that leave from Chiavari)?

Posted by
28462 posts

This may be what you're looking for. (Found by Googling; I've never taken one of those ships.)

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you ACraven - I tried Googling (several times) and didn't come up with this - your help is appreciated :-)