8 days in Italy- Tuscany, pompei and cinque terre?

J

JHS

New member
Hello-

We have about 8 days in Italy in May and are thinking of spending it flying into Naples (see pompei) and then splt the rest of the time between cinque terre and Tuscany (Id love to see sienna and the countryside). I'm wondering if three locations is too much - or if we'd be better off sticking to fewer? We're less interested in Musueums and more in exploring the area, food, culture

For Tuscany - would you recommend we take the train into sienna and then rent a car? Perhaps staying in a smaller village or farmhouse? Or stay in sienna and take day trips to see the area?

Is cinque terre worth 2-3 day in May? I've heard so many good things and love the photos I've seen but also heard several people say it wasn't worth it? I guess we could also substitute the Almafi coast (since it's close to pompei) and see that instead- are they comparable?

Is pompei with seeing (know this is a Tuscany forum so understand if that's out of scope :)

Thanks!!
 
Along the Italian Coast

Buongiorno,

I would suggest dividing your time as 2 days in Pompeii, 4 days in Tuscany and 2 days in Cinque Terre - which by the way is totally worth the visit. And while in Pompeii - and if you really enjoy the archelogical park you may want to look into Ercolano (Herculaneum). I loved it, the same set-up as Pompeii but perhaps not as touristy.

If you are looking at renting a car, then I would train it to Florence from Naples - no train changing required and then maybe a day in Florence and three days visit Chianti, Siena, Val d'Orcia, come back north to San Gimignano, Certaldo, Pisa and then ... well you could leave your car in Florence and train it to CT because you can't really use your car in Cinque Terre.

Where are you flying out of ?

Buon Viaggi
 
Thanks for your input - I really appreciate it! We actually leave out of Bologna (flights were cheaper)- but Weve already allocated a day at the end to get there and leave. I have a few follow up questions for you though if that's ok :)
- is 2 days in cinque terre enough? I've just read several notes on not going unless you have enough time?
- is it easier to do cinque terre after tuscany? Or other way around?
- for Tuscany - do you recommend staying in a base city and then doing day trips? Or moving around in the smaller towns? And if a base city is better- is Florence or sienna better?
- we travel in May - do we need to have everything booked ahead of time or could we do some of it when we get there?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
 
JHS said:
Thanks for your input - I really appreciate it! We actually leave out of Bologna (flights were cheaper)- but Weve already allocated a day at the end to get there and leave. I have a few follow up questions for you though if that's ok :)
- is 2 days in cinque terre enough? I've just read several notes on not going unless you have enough time?
- is it easier to do cinque terre after tuscany? Or other way around?
- for Tuscany - do you recommend staying in a base city and then doing day trips? Or moving around in the smaller towns? And if a base city is better- is Florence or sienna better?
- we travel in May - do we need to have everything booked ahead of time or could we do some of it when we get there?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
Click to expand...

Of course, everyone is different and has different expectations when traveling...so it is a bit difficult to say 2 days is enough. However, given you calendar and your desire to see Cinque Terre along with everything else, I believe 2 days will be perfect. Sure you can stay a month and still not see everything but in 2 days you will see all of the 5 towns have a chance to have dinner in one of them, see a sunset, taste their delicious pesto pizza, hike part of the trail, take a boat taxi from one town to another and travel the train....and do all of this at a relaxed pace.

I would put CT at the end of Tuscany. When you leave CT and in order to get to Bologna (via train) you will have to pass through Florence but the train from Florence to Bologna is quick only about 30 min.

So is Florence better than Siena? You are really putting me on the spot here :-) ... they are both wonderful places to stay. However, if you are traveling by train then Florence is the most convenient, use it as a base and then either take day tours into Tuscany or train where ever you want to go.

This site has a good tour to Siena & Chianti:
http://www.partner.viator.com/en/13618/travel-tips/Wine-Tasting-Tours-in-Chianti-Tuscany/ttd

If you are talking about booking trains then you can do it when you get here. But if you are talking about booking tours and museums, then I would look into that ahead of time.

Buon Viaggio
 
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