Towns between Florence and Cinque Terre?

Florence is better as a base to visit villages in Tuscany, like riding the train to Lucca, Bologna, or Siena.

I would NOT suggest you use Florence as the home for trips to Venice or Cinque Terre. Try to add days so you can stay in Venice and/or stay in the Cinque Terre region.

I understand if this is your allotted time you have for this trip to Italy, but visiting the five villages of Cinque Terre and hiking between them will take more than a day trip, including extra stops to visit OTHER towns on the way.

Please be aware that 3 nights is actually only 2 full days not 4.
If n=nights and D=days
nDnDn
what you can have before and after is only 2 half days (H)
HnDnDnH
But half days are for the most part wasted days, because much of it goes into check in/out, unpacking/packing, transportation to/from hotel, getting oriented, getting ready for transport to the next destination.
So if you take a day trip to Venice in one of the D's above and one to the Cinque Terre on the other D, then all you have left for Florence is 2 Hs (one afternoon and one morning). Are you kidding me? What are you going to see in Florence in that length of time? Florence needs a couple of days just to scratch the surface. All you can take is 1 (one) day trip, not 2, in one of the D's, and you might be still short changing Florence.

So the question is: if you go to Florence for 3 nights to actually visit places 2.5/3 hours away during 2 days, why go to Florence in the first place?

Alecica, if you only have 3 nights, then you only have 2 full days for Florence + day trips. I'm guessing arrival day is night #1 and only a partial, and you leave the morning after night #3? With only 2 full days to work with, I'd leave the partial+ 1 full day for Florence itself and the other for a day trip. There is plenty to see in the city to fill a big chunk of the time you're staying there (and more.)

I don't know as I'd choose Venice for just a day? That's 4 hours, total, spent on a train and the Cinque Terre will involve about the same, although there is that one morning train - mentioned in one of your previous posts - that can get you there in closer to 90 minutes.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/train-from-florence-to-cinque-terre-7038cec7-b870-4a64-a5bd-9ccce4ba4508

I agree with the others that you're trying to see too many far-flung destinations in too little time. If you're only staying 3 nights in Florence, at the most I would take a day trip to nearby Tuscan towns such as San Gemignano and Volterra. You can do this on your own by public transport (RS guide gives details) or with a van tour. Or, as you say, rent a car for a day, but have you driven in Italy? There's so much to see and do in Florence itself that it doesn't make sense to make it your base for just 3 nights and then go off on an all-day excursion to Venice or CT.

Thanks to all for your comments, thoughts and suggestions. As you can see, I am all over the board with planning our trip. I am totally torn between hitting the "must do" check list and adventuring out to visit and discover less touristy areas. We will be arriving first thing in the morning on a Wednesday to Florence, (via train), staying three nights, then flying out the evening of our last day (Saturday). This is why I felt like we would truly have 4 full days. However, I see we need to limit our day trips to one or possibly two. Thanks so much!!

We will be arriving first thing in the morning on a Wednesday to Florence, (via train), staying three nights, then flying out the evening of our last day (Saturday).

It's the eternal dilemma of quantity vs quality. Here is my suggestion:

Wednesday - arrive Florence. Check in or at least drop your luggage at hotel. Wednesday afternoon, take Walks of Italy tour of Uffizi.

Thursday - Full day in Florence Perhaps climb to the top of the Duomo.

Friday - Take wine tour in Tuscany (full day)

Saturday - Morning - more Florence. Afternoon - prepare for flight home, including getting to the airport. I don't know when your flight leaves, but plan on at least four hours to get from Florence to the airport and to check in.

You're going to find out time goes a lot faster than you imagine. As you might guess, I'd much rather immerse myself in an area than fly past it, exhausting myself hurdling from bucket list site to another.

DougMac, great suggestions! I actually was just looking at Walks of Italy tours. Might take their sienna and wine tour (don't remember what it's called) one full day. They also offer a new evening tour of Florence, which sounds like a great way to familiarize with the city our first evening. Too many choices and so little time!!

You arrive in the morning, but once you find your way to the hotel, check-in, unpack, shower, change, get oriented, have lunch, you are left with one afternoon.
Your flight is in the evening, but once you pack, get ready, check-out process, leave luggage with receptionist, you are left with just a few hours for sightseeing. The airport is close by (4 miles from city center), but in the evening you are going to hit the commute traffic heading out in the same direction, so give yourself 30 min. One hour is enough to check in in FLR, but I'm sure you want to be safe and comfortable, so you need to leave the hotel at least 2 hours prior to departure. I don't know what time your flight out is, but I guess you don't have more than 4 hours for sightseeing on the day of departure.

In your shoes, I'd take only one day trip from Florence, but I wouldn't venture too far. There are hundreds of famous places in Tuscany just within 50 miles radius from Florence (Chianti hills, Siena, San Gimignano, etc.).