After an upcoming RS tour which ends in Rome, I want to add 3 nights in Tuscany region at an agritourismo and 3 nights in Cinque Terra. The map looks like a train from Rome to Tuscany is closer then a train to Cinque Terra. My questions are:
Should I take the train to Tuscany or is a car rental necessary to enjoy the region?
Logistically, does it make sense to go to Tuscany first and finish in Cinque Terra?
What is the distance from Rome into the Tuscany region?
Thanks for your help.
First, it is the Cinque Terre. Note an "e" on the end, not an a. It means "The Five Lands" so using the definitive "the" is correct.
Depends on what you want to do in Tuscany. With only 3 nights I recommend you stay one place. Will you already have visited Florence? Do you want to see the smaller villages? If you want to see the smaller towns, a car is advised. If you want to visit only Florence or Siena, you do not need a car. One nice area is the Val d'Orcia. You can stay in Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco and day trip to Montalcino by way of Pienza for a nice day.
I would take a train from Rome to the Cinque Terre. There is a direct high-speed train from Rome to La Spezia. I believe it takes about 4 hours. Then rent a car in La Spezia when you are ready to drive to wherever you decide in Tuscany. When you complete your Tuscan stay will you fly out of Rome? If so, either drive back to Rome or drop the car in Florence, Siena, or Orvieto and go back to Rome by train.
An agriturismo is usually (always?) a farm house that's been converted to a guest house, often with a swimming pool. If you want to relax and enjoy local cooking and hiking around the farm - maybe even a town that's a km or 2 away, so walking distance, that's definitely an option without a car, though you'd have to arrange transportation to/from the farm.
Train to le 5 terre,
Train back to Lucca (base)
Then trains to Pisa, Florence, Montecatini
Then to departure city
Or, rent a car at La Spezia and drive sround
In order to provide the best answer to your question, it would help to know where in "Tuscany" you want to travel? That will have some bearing on which place to see first. It would also help to have some idea which of the five towns of the Cinque Terre you want to stay?
