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Should I try to squeeze in a Cinque Terre day?

Posted by on

Hi all! My husband (M39) and I (F32) are traveling to Italy for the first time in May.

We'll have 13 full days outside of flight days.

I have been considering trying to squeeze in a night at Cinque Terre because I love to hike and would love to see a coastal town, but I'm wondering if I should plan to do that for a future trip. If we squeezed it in, we would do it on May 17 (see itinerary below)

Here is the itinerary (I welcome other types of feedback in addition to the question about Cinque Terre:

Monday, May 11

Rome

Arrive to the airport at 4:45.
Get settled in and go to dinner

Tuesday, May 12
Rome
Get our bearings, go see quick outdoor sights like Trevi founatain
Go to Travestere in the evening

Wednesday, May 13

Rome

Colosseum tour (we have tix and can cancel until the week before) or day trip to Naples
If we go do the Colosseum tour in the morning, we can consider going to Naples for dinner (my family is from there so I would love at least see it for a few hours)

Thursday, May 14

Rome

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Basilica tour 10:30am (tickets booked)
Maybe a pasta making class

Friday - May 15
Rome-Florence

Travel day, spent majority of day in Florence

Saturday - May 16

Florence

Boboli gardens, maybe statue of David, bop around

Sunday - May 17
Florence

Visit Bologna (which is supposed to have amazing food) or Cinque Terre if we're up to it, which is beautiful (but a very, very long day)
*Potentially spend the night in La Spezia if we go to Florence but keep our main hotel

Monday - May 18
Florence

Tuscan wine tour or rest day (bop around leisurely)

Tuesday - May 19

Florence-Venice
Travel day

Wednesday - May 20
Venice

Walk around and get acclimated, Ride a gondola, go see Doge Palace

Thursday - May 21

Venice

Day trip to Verona or Murano/Burano

Friday - May 22
Venice

Walking tour, see sights

Saturday - May 23

Venice-Fly home

About us: The biggest things we are looking forward to are food and learning more about Italy's culture, followed by seeing beautiful architecture/sights and touring some historical sites. We love being by the water which and enjoy nature, which is why I thought Cinque Terre would be nice.

Thanks for your feedback!

Posted by
749 posts

I think it is doable, because the rest of your itinerary does not look rushed. But I would only do it if you are staying overnight in one of the villages. Othewise you are just spending a day in a crowded village and leaving with all the other daytrippers. AND hiking with all of them. Personally I would not stay in La Spezia.

You could consider a night in Manarola. We stayed there and one late afternoon took the bus up to Volastra, then hiked down to Corniglia, had. a lovely sunset snack and then walked down the steps to the train and back to Manarola. This hike was very quiet with lovely views. There is also an easier hike around the village you could do in the morning before heading back to Florence

Regarding you Rome time, you are planning the busy spots. You might want to consider Testaccio instead of Trastevere for dinner. I would probably give more time to seeing more of Rome and skip Naples.

Posted by
1366 posts

Yes! But don't do it as a day trip from Florence. Instead, go from Rome to CT; spend 3 nights in CT, then go to Florence, then Venice. May is a great time for CT. Spectacular scenery. Spend 3 nights so you can explore and relax. You can easily cut a day or 2 from Florence, and a day from Venice. Have a great trip!

Posted by
1568 posts

IMO, I would pass on Cinque Terre unless you stay at least 2 nights, but then you would have to cut nights from the rest of your trip which already looks pretty good. We visited CT as a day trip in May, 11 years ago, from Livorno. It takes a long time to travel to and from CT. During the day, it was crowded with tourists. There was barely enough time for quick visits to 3 towns. No time for any hike.

PS. I count only 13 nights, which is only 12 full days. Keep in mind, you will lose almost half a day each time you change cities

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