Recommended places to visit and hotel

[Celestine]

hi Donna


appreciate for your comment,

unfortunately , the hotel already book for Cinque terre on the date as above itenary, i try contact them but they cant change it for me. i try to change the hotel but none is qualified as the first book.
so i think i must stick with first plan.

if i drive to countryside from chianti up to san gimignano and end up in sienna, drop the car in there, and get train to CT from Sienna is possible ?
is it more easy from Sienna ?

and after im done in CT, i can get catch train to Rome ?


thanks a lot

[Celestine]

hi lourdes,

now im confused with my trip ,
1. I read article said about doing CT day trip from milan, do you think i better do it from Milan ? or do it from Florence / tuscany region ?
2.how long you think i need to stay in milan ?
3. Was Lake Como worth to see it ?
4.after CT i will go to Rome, im planning go Paris and barcelona (last minute added), do you think i should go from Rome - barcelona first, or Rome - Paris and end up on Barcelona ?

thanks a lot

[DonnaDenise]

Hi

can definitely do CT from Milan. You would take a train from the Milano centro station to Monterosso, there is an Intercity train which is fairly fast (3 hours more or less) and the prices if you book ahead can be as low as 9 Euro (that is a good deal!)

then from here you can train it over to Florence from La Spezia... stay and then pick up your car to for Tuscany --- or even pick up a car in La Spezia do Tuscany and then drop it in Florence before heading towards Rome.

Donna Denise

[Lourdes]

Now I'm confused: you said you couldn't move the dates of CT above so they are in the middle of your time in Italy and you arrive and depart from Milan. So can you give us an update and tell us what your current itinerary looks like and what is booked already?

How many days TOTAL are you in Europe? Trying to figure out whether you should cut back on something - Paris and Barcelona added in your current itinerary or in addition to the days you're in Italy?

[Celestine]

Hi Lourdes,

yes im still negotiate the CT trip,
and yes it must in and out from Milan
i have about total 11 days in Italy, out of barcelona and paris. i might need to cut paris and choose barcelona, total i have 17-18 days.

im searching too much information now and make me confused

im checking some tours from Viator and interested with some day trip to CT from florence, but i couldnt contact them to ask more specific info such as is it possible for elderly in wheelchair, as i discuss with my mom, she is okay if just choose place to sit and not following the whole hiking thing, ( are the hiking / walking will be back to the first entrance or we keep moving and didnt comeback to original places )

thanks for any advise.

[Lourdes]

Ciao Celestine,

I looked back and checked all of your various posts to get a better picture of your entire itinerary and realized/remembered only now that you're traveling with "elderly" and your mother is in a wheelchair. So are you traveling with other companions who are elderly but not in a wheelchair who can help you out? or is it just the two of you?

While I am sure you are not willingly not telling us everything, you've been asking pieces of info here and there since January about staying in Chianti, then Florence and more... and both Donna and I have been giving you replies based on your questions as you've asked them.
We would like to help you out in a more complete way since you said you're getting confused and we do not want to give you contrasting information. So any information about your travel companions would also help us offer better recommendations.... also whether you're willing to drive more than just a day or not?

I saw another post today where you ask about traveling by bus from Siena to Rome. I really feel at this point that the info would not be correct if we don't know more. Our recommendations change drastically if you tell us you're just you and your mom in a wheelchair or it is you, your mom and someone else.

Just a small example: I would not recommend doing Cinque Terre via train with a wheelchair if you're just two of you. There is NO service to help you get on or off the trains in any of the 5 towns. But if you have another companion that can help get the wheelchair and luggage on and off the train, then it might be doable. But you can still visit CT in two with a car rental. See how my recommendations change?

We really do not want to make your planning more confusing, and I understand that English might not be your native language, so just keep things simple and try to give us more information so we can provide suggestions for your entire trip! We're here to help as much as we are able You can also just post here in this thread, to keep all the questions and answers in one spot.

[Celestine]

hi Lourdes,


thanks alot for the reply,and sorry for causing trouble for my trip

yes , its just me and my mom whose in wheelchair, and i have discuss few information with her regarding the trip tp CT.

at this moment im still stick to first plan, from Milan took train to CT and stay at Monterosso for 2 nights, and i wont force to bring her follow me to hiking for another villages, as she will prefer just sat in one nice spot having coffee , she interested also to see CT the colorfull houses.
perhaps i can bring her see the whole villages just from the boat ? i wont push too much activities as i bring her, so more to relax sit back.

and after done with CT , we are heading to Florence and stay for 1-2 nights. we will try see local tour while in florence.
and then the next day rent car and drive out to chianti - san gimignano and book the farmhouse.
as for the next day again, should i drive up to siena drop the car there, and go to Rome by train ?
or i must drive back to florence and take train from there ?

im open for any suggestion and thanks alot again for yours and Donna replies.

[Lourdes]

Ciao Celestine,

We just want to make sure you and your mom love Italy and Tuscany and have a wonderful trip! Once I realized you were posting various questions here and there, I realized we weren't replying offering the BEST advice for your particular situation and so now that you've told us a bit more, these are MY thoughts:

- Milan and then CT staying at Monterosso sound fine! I think you should be able to get her on the boats and have a good tour of the five towns that way, without any hiking --- the ONLY consideration to keep in mind is that March is off-season for the area, so boat service might be very limited and based a lot on weather conditions. I would suggest you contact the hotel where you are staying at to ask whether they can confirm whether the boats are running in mid-March and whether they can help you arrive at their hotel from the train with your mom and luggage in tow.

- I would suggest 2 nights in Florence

- Once you rent a car to head into Chianti, consider staying put for another 2-3 nights in the same place.

- You can drop off the car in Siena and then take the bus to Rome - you can check the timetable here: http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html
An alternative, once you have the car, is to drive down and return the car in Rome.

- Have you considered renting a car from the start and just having it the entire time, from Milan to Rome?

- I would recommend dropping Barcelona off the itinerary, you already have a lot planned for the trip and, to be honest, you'll need more time to move around and see things with your mom. I highly recommend taking the time to soak in the atmosphere of each place, not rushing, and letting your mom enjoy the places without getting too tired. Consider that there are a lot of streets with cobblestones and it will be tough with the wheelchair and, if you can, book hotels close to the main sights in Rome and Florence so that you can also take breaks during the day.

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you still have questions!

[Celestine]

Ciao Lourdes,

thank you so much for every information you shared.
i will try contact the hotel side, but they havnt reply me.

i heard driving enter the Florence is crazy as for the traffic, so i dont think to rent the car all the way from Milan until there, is it ?
maybe only from out florence.
1.you know which website for renting car ? and is it very easy to drop off at appointed area ? do you know which spot easy to drop the car and take bus ?

anyway as im heading rome, i heard its near to Easter holiday, ( i just aware the easter is coming ) reading at the viator they said 24th-26th the tour will be close due to easter holiday,
2. can you share any information about it, as my only intention to go Rome is to see vatican city ( st.Peter basilica for sure )

3. back to the train station, is there any lift in most train station from city - city , like from Milan - CT ? or from CT- Firenze, ? or its better i can have the link.


thanks alot

Ciao Celestine,

We just want to make sure you and your mom love Italy and Tuscany and have a wonderful trip! Once I realized you were posting various questions here and there, I realized we weren't replying offering the BEST advice for your particular situation and so now that you've told us a bit more, these are MY thoughts:

- Milan and then CT staying at Monterosso sound fine! I think you should be able to get her on the boats and have a good tour of the five towns that way, without any hiking --- the ONLY consideration to keep in mind is that March is off-season for the area, so boat service might be very limited and based a lot on weather conditions. I would suggest you contact the hotel where you are staying at to ask whether they can confirm whether the boats are running in mid-March and whether they can help you arrive at their hotel from the train with your mom and luggage in tow.

- I would suggest 2 nights in Florence

- Once you rent a car to head into Chianti, consider staying put for another 2-3 nights in the same place.

- You can drop off the car in Siena and then take the bus to Rome - you can check the timetable here: http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html
An alternative, once you have the car, is to drive down and return the car in Rome.

- Have you considered renting a car from the start and just having it the entire time, from Milan to Rome?

- I would recommend dropping Barcelona off the itinerary, you already have a lot planned for the trip and, to be honest, you'll need more time to move around and see things with your mom. I highly recommend taking the time to soak in the atmosphere of each place, not rushing, and letting your mom enjoy the places without getting too tired. Consider that there are a lot of streets with cobblestones and it will be tough with the wheelchair and, if you can, book hotels close to the main sights in Rome and Florence so that you can also take breaks during the day.

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you still have questions!