Side trip from Florence

The only other way to se CT is by boat. However it is weather dependent. In Oct. it may be too rough.
So there are other walkable towns nrby ie. santa Margarita Ligure.
Re nr. Venice there is verona and Padua. Both on train route and walkable.
Unfotunately in Montepulciano is very hilly, Pienza nrby is fairly flat however. Have u considered Orvieto?
Also walkable.

The day trips you're considering are a long way from Florence. Be aware that you'll spend several hours traveling to and from them. You might consider closer destinations that are relatively flat, such as Pistoia, Lucca or Bologna. If Cinque Terre is a must-see, then it's probably best to go all the way to Monterosso and backtrack south by either boat or local train to Riomaggiore and ultimately La Spezia. You might also look into organized day tours to Cinque Terre, provided they're still offered that time of year and wouldn't be too strenuous for your sister. Staying one night in Cinque Terre doesn't save you any travel time and it adds a hotel change, so I'd skip that option.

Thank you for the replies. Your point is well taken that we should not stay one night in Monterosso as it would be a hotel change causing additional concerns. I'll look into the day private tours from Florence to CT. Of course we won't see too much, but I think may be worth the effort to get a glimpse.

I'm not sure how well a day-trip to the Cinque Terre will work for someone who has some mobility challenges. The towns are basically pedestrianized, so to see them if not from a boat at sea, considerable walking will be necessary. I haven't been to that area recently, so I'm not going to try to give you specifics on the various towns. Rather, I suggest that you Google for photos of each town and see what you think. Note how much level ground there is, or is not.

Hi Amy,

I traveled this past June with two people with mobility issues, one recovering from back surgery and the other who was having knee surgery when we returned. All the cities you are visiting require walking, with Venice the most strenuous for our travelers. We did go to the Cinque Terre and I loved it. Surprising, it was the least of an issue with my friend’s knees (we didn’t hike). That said, I would recommend a day trip from Florence for two reasons: (1) you won’t have to carry luggage (2) the train ride from Cinque Terre to Venice can take almost 6 hours with 2-3 stops.

There are 20 daily trains from Florence to Monterosso (taking you about 2 hours, 11 minutes) with one stop (Pisa). If you go in the morning, then you have a couple of options. You can explore all 5 of the towns by train, stopping briefly in each or you can secure a boat tour and see them from the sea. Note, you also have the option of taking the ferry which runs even if the weather is too choppy for the tour boats.

• Monterosso is relatively flat, the beauty is in the old town which is a short walk (10 minutes from the train station with slight elevation) or you can take a taxi. RS guide book has a short walking tour.
• Vernazza is quite hilly, but the train station is right at the center of town and you can explore the town and walk down by the sea and it is not strenous.
• Corgnilia is has a shuttle that takes you into town. Loved this small city.
• Manorola is where we did the most walking (mainly uphill, but not steps). My husband and I took our college-aged girls on a hike through the vineyards and our friends had some wine on a terrace overlooking the town.
• Riomaggiore: we actually didn’t make it to here, ran out of time due a boat tour we were taking at 5:00, if we didn’t have the boat tour, we would have had plenty of time to visit.

If you don’t want to take a train, you can look for guided tours. However, check the tour as it may not save you much on walking.

Have a great trip,
Sandy

Thanks to al for taking the time with such specific information - it is so helpful and I appreciate it. Thank you for letting me know you did it and it was, in fact, doable! I will look into a semi private tour and look at the details to make sure there isn't a ton of walking. Love your idea about sitting on a terrace with wine (lol). And I agree it's best for a day trip in our case so we don't have to take luggage and change hotels.

If we do the train and stop in each town, do the train stations have many stairs (I'm thinking of Paris where it's difficult to get up to street level)

Hi Amy,

The stairs in the train stations are manageable. The key is to pace yourself. The value of traveling independently is that you can determine when you want to rest and if you want to cut the trip short if your sister is tired of walking. If you take a tour, make sure that that they will have flexibility for you to adjust your schedule to your needs.

Sandy

hi amy
if it’s something she really wants to see go for it. I looked at some tours: florencetown.com, getyourguide.com, viator.com. A long day, a bus load of people, follow guide, do lots of walking and what they want, cost, etc... if I were you catch an early train (look at trainline.eu or trenitalia.com) train station names, between 2-3 hour ride and you can stop in couple towns, walk around, people watch, have a glass of wine, seafood lunch maybe boat ride or take a dip in water haha. You’re at your own relaxed pace, when you’ve had enough hop and train and ride back to Florence. I think you’ll both be happy to at least see it. Get a map and paper guide. Hope this helps, please let us know what you do.
Aloha

Following up on SandyO's comment about Venice being most strenuous of your sites, what is most important is the location of your hotel relative to your transportation and the sights you want to see. The first year we were there, I thought I had recovered from ankle/foot surgery done previous year. BUT having to continually go up and down canal bridges wore on me. Now we know, and I book hotels that require NO bridge crossing to reach from the vaporetto stop (whichever one is nearest). Plus you can look at maps for alternate routes that may look farther but are easier to walk. From Venice we went to Paris, and yes that was worse, to get up those steps at the metro stops!

Thank you so much to everyone for all of the advice and encouragement!