We have a short time in Italy, and would like to see Venice, Cinque Terra, Florence and Rome. We are flying into Venice and out of Rome. What order should do Florence and Cinque Terra, to have the easiest transit time?
(also, any thoughts on whether to skip Cinque Terra in February?)
Becky, I don't know what the weather is like in the Cinque Terre for February but...you will want to do Venice, Florence THEN Cinque Terre. The train route is NOT friendly from Venice direct to Cinque Terre.
What is your "short" time. You need at least 2 "full" days in each city to enjoy and not be rushed. We, my husband and I learned from our mistakes.
It also depends on what interests you have and what you and what you want to see. You could spend days in Venice just roaming the alleys and taking the vaporetto to the outer islands or just around the whole island.
Happy travel planning. So much to see!!!
Skip Cinque Terre on a short trip in February. The towns are best enjoyed as a break from a longer vacation but in February most restaurant and hotel owners are still on their own vacations in warmer places.
Becky, you might want to know that the majority of train runs to the CT from Venice actually go through Florence. Also, there is a sensible run from the CT to Rome that skips Florence. However, I agree with Doug that you may want to skip the CT on this trip. I would suggest that you will need a full 3 days each in Venice, Florence and Rome including the travel between the cities. It also depends greatly on what you want to see in each city. IMO, the CT will really take you out of the way and seriously shorten your stay in the other cities.
Thanks for the advice. Here is what we are now planning: 2 nights in Venice, then 4 nights in Florence, then 3 nights in Rome. I figure we can use Florence as a base from which to see smaller cities. What do you recommend for day trips?:
- Take a train to Pisa and Lucca
- Visit some wineries with a tour guide
- Take the "I bike Italy" Chianti tour
- Siena for an evening by bus
- Bus to San Gimignano
- Morning train to Cinque Terre to hike through the cities, and then back to Florence in the same day.
Any comments?
Skip Cinque Terre on this trip. It takes "TIME" to get to these places then you won't have enough time to enjoy it and then be rushed back to Florence. My husband and I were in Italy Oct/Nov for 3 weeks and we were rushed doing Rome 2 nts;Venice 3 nts;Florence 2nts;CT 4 nts; Outside Siena 1 nt; Orvieto 5 nts; Rome 2 nts. If you don't have two "full" days in Venice I'd add a day there. Get the hop-on-hop-off pass in Rome. Try The-Beehive for your B&B. It's two blocks from Termini and right at the bus hub. We walked to Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps - all over.
Becky,
Below is the best website for researching transit times thoughout europe:
http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml
Good Luck!
