What to do after cinque terre?

Hello cathleen.alcantara, and welcome to the forum!

How many nights do you have after your visit to CT before you fly out of Pisa?

=Tod

OP, either of your choices could work. But did you overlook Florence?

I should have mentioned we have already done Florence. Thinking of adding 3 to 4 more days.

Lucca would be fine without a car, and there are some vineyards close enough that you could probably use a taxi or bus to get there (would have to google that aspect).

Would you recommend we rent a car if we wanted to do Lucca, some vineyards and Sienna? We could probably rent on in Pisa.

My original reply was based on "We do not plan to rent a car." For rural countryside, a car is better, but for wine tastings, you might want a driver anyway, so it just depends on the overall plan.

If you want to rent a car to tour vineyards, realize that the driver won't be able to partake in any tastings. BAC limit in Italy is only 0.5%. 0.0 for anyone who has had a license less than 3 years.
Lucca and Siena are trainable.

We went to a number of towns nearby - Siena (recommend), Florence, Turin. But there are so many wonderful places in Italy. Read Rick's guidebook about that area.

Flat Tuscany north of Florence - Lucca, Pisa area - does not need a car to be explored and a car in generally an expensive burden and it is well served by train. But getting to tiny towns and/or specific places - like wineries or sagras - can be hard without a car. Northern Tuscany is also not the Tuscany of film and photos with the rolling hills and cypress trees. Most of that area lies south of Florence in and around Siena and then further south from there.

Given that you have a few days I would suggest traveling to Siena - train to Florence and then to Siena - and stay there for a few days. Siena is popular place for arranging travel to wineries, farms and smaller Tuscan towns in the area so you shouldn't have any issues both seeing one of the great hilltowns and getting a taste (literally) of the Tuscan countryside.

Rural Tuscany is difficult to visit and takes quite a bit of time. I think this is a good way to see and sample some of it and decide if you want to explore it further or move onto something else.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod

Tod,

Now I want to go to the Tuscany that you see in the movies! I have not booked anything yet. How many days and where would you suggest to get to Tuscany in the movies. I can fly into Pisa and go to Cinque Terre and fly out of another airport. Thank you for the help!

If Pisa is available to you it is a good airport since it is already in Tuscany.

This is a good overview map to what is reachable in Tuscany by train.
https://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/images/tuscany-rail-map.png

With exception of Volterra and Greve nearly all the smaller places on the map are well know tourist places.
- Cortona (of Under the Tuscan Sun fame) is reachable by train and then a bus up the hill and is routinely voted one of Tuscany most beautiful towns.
- Siena is the "big city" of Tuscan hill towns and is amazing and beautiful and very well visited.
- San Gimignano is tiny and amazing looking and touristy, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth seeing.
https://www.discovertuscany.com/san-gimignano/

I suggested Siena because it is a city well worth seeing and is the center of many chances to arrange tours from there to see SG and Volterra or go wine tasting. Having someone else drive is crucial for good wine tasting because while Italy is a drinking culture they have zero tolerance for drinking and driving. (And Italian roads are hard enough sober.)

Other options:
Greve in Chianti is an example of a tiny town surrounded by some amazing vineyards - a couple of my favorites - and it is easily reachable by bus from Florence.
Arezzo is a larger city like Siena but more a mix of modern (on the flat near the train station) and then older as you hike up the hill. It has an amazing central piazza and is fun to explore. I find it more day to day Italian life and less touristy than Siena but the older parts are smaller and it is less picturesque since nearly all is Siena is ancient. Easily reachable by train from Florence and 1:15 bus from Siena.

Search any of these places and get the feel for what to expect. With a few days I would allow at least 1 full day for Siena and then a couple of day trips as your time allows. Siena has an amazing cathedral, central piazza, and climb the old unfinished cathedral facade for an amazing look at the city and countryside. I have to say that a spritz on El Campo while twilight creeps over the family activity in the piazza is one of Italy's great moments.

September is busy time in Tuscany - check for festivals or celebrations you might be able to join in. The are commonly harvest festivals and celebrations of specific products - called "sagra" - for things like figs, mushrooms or other highly seasonal things.
https://www.discovertuscany.com/eating-and-drinking-in-tuscany/what-to-expect-of-sagre-in-tuscany.html

One of the problems with a quick visit to Tuscany is that part of the whole experience is falling into the slower lifestyle and gentle pace of life. I recommend checking it out and if it speaks to you then plan a longer "soaking it in" trip dedicated to Tuscany. If it doesn't then move onto something else. If you don't go you won't know.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Tod,

If we based ourselves in sienna and decided not to get a car, would you recommend taking day trips with a tour group to wineries? If so which ones?

I would recommend searching the forum for other people's tour recommendations. Tours by Roberto https://www.toursbyroberto.com/ is an often repeated recommendation.

San Gimignano is very lovely and very touristy but is surrounded by some beautiful wineries with great lunch opportunities. The area is so full of wineries that you're spoiled for choice and I would trust your guide. Volterra is an interesting town because it is not touristy like SG so something like SG, winery lunch and the Volterra sounds like a good day.

Also keep in mind that most places have tasting rooms where you can kind the wines you like versus what a specific winery makes - this is true of Siena as well. Some of my favorite wines come from Greve in Chianti but that's my taste not necessarily anyone else's.

Many years ago we stayed outside Castellina in Chianti and just stopped in at winery - Castellare - that was on the road to town we passed everyday. I checked in on them and they are now on Top 10 wineries in Chianti to visit lists. I have a feeling their tasting has progressed from the small shack I tasted in in so many years ago.

I guess what I'm saying is you can't really go wrong. Have a great trip!
=Tod