La Spezia to Cinque Terre?

[dougt1957]

We will be in La Spezia from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. next May onboard Oceania Insignia. I'd like to see some of the towns of Cinque Terre without going on a ship tour. Does anyone know the best way to get there? How far is the train station from where the ships dock or the tenders drop off passengers? Is there any other way to get there such as taxis or a shuttle bus? I doubt we will try to see all five towns but I would like to walk the Via De Amore and do a little shopping and eat somewhere with a nice veiw of the ocean.

[Eileen G]

We stopped in La Spezia in Sept. It was very easy to take the train from town to town.

Tendering was very easy and we walked to the IT a few blocks to the left from the tender drop off. We were given a map and told to walk down the pedestrian street to the train station about 15 minutes. We found the parks office along track one at the train station and purchased our CT pass for 8.50 which includes the train and hiking. On our first visit to Cinque Terre we hiked between Riomaggori and Cornigila so this time we were planning to hike from Cornigila to Vernazza. We took the 10:07 train to Corniglia. The 10:00 train only stops at Riomaggori and Montarossa. We walked around Cornigila before taking the trail to Vernazza. Part of the trail right out of Cornigila had been badly burned recently. There are a lot of ups and downs to this section of the trail. It took us 2 hours with frequent stops. We had lunch in Vernazza and went for a swim. We took the train back to Manarola so we could walk the Via Del Amore again. When we reached Riomaggori we got a gelato while we waited for the train back to La Spezia. It was a nice walk back to the tender boats through the pedestrian street.

You should probably should go to Riomaggori first and walk the Via Del Amore to Manarola. Before taking the walk go into the town of Riomaggori which is through the tunnel and take a look around. Walk to Manarola explore a bit than get back on the train and take it to Vernassa where you will find plenty of nice places to eat. If you want after lunch take the train to Montarossa which has a really nice beach. After walking around Montarossa take the train back to La Spezia.

[iancal]

It is a snap. We did it last fall, only we trained to La Spezia from FCO and then caught the local. Trains run frequently. There is NO need to take a tour as you can do this on your own. We were 3 1/2 days in Cinque Terre. It is a beautiful area.

[CalSisters]

The other way to get there is by ferry. We did that the last time we were there on Oceania. The ferry stop is just down the dock from where the Oceania tender lets you off.

 

We took the ferry all the way to Vernazza, looking at the towns along the way. We looked around the town and walked up to the train station. We went back on the ferry, but could have taken the train back to a town to take the walk between towns.

 

It was interesting seeing the towns from the water. I am not sure what you can see from the train.

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

The water route sounds interesting but may not be available in November.

[PhillyCruiser]

Don't make plans to go by tour boat during the off-season. The weather may not be the best; the sea may not be very smooth. The train is a faster, cheaper bet.

 

Joan

[dougt1957]

We will be there in late May, not November. Hopefully this will be early enough to avoid the worst of the summer crowds and late enough for decent weather.

[CintiPam]

We will be there in late May, not November. Hopefully this will be early enough to avoid the worst of the summer crowds and late enough for decent weather.

 

Great time to visit and definitely not off season. Weekends will be more crowded because many locals go there as well.

[harryw]

Are these available online for La Spezia - Cinque Terre? I'll be there in October on the Oceania Marina.

 

Harry

[NCTraveller4]

We just got back from doing an "on your own" excursion when in port at La Spezia. We found the train to Cinque Terre very easy and only 13.5 euros each way for our family of four. There is no real need for a train schedule as they run 2-4 trains in each direction between La Spezia and the five town every hour. Just remember to time stamp your train tickets at the beginning of each way of travel--they can be used to get off and on the train in each village during a three hour time period as long as you travel in the same direction. We went all the way to the furthest of the five towns and then one by one of the way back. Total excursion with lunch was about 4-5 hours.

[austinlw]

18 years ago we hiked from the first town, Riomaggiore, all the way to Vernazza. The first section to Manarola was easy, short, and beautiful. The second section to Corniglia was a little longer, but easy. The section from Corniglia to Vernazza was a whole other story. As someone else said, it was up and down and much longer than I anticipated on a hot day. It also had dangerous dropoffs right by the trail that really bothered my fear of heights. By the time we got to Vernazza we were very hot and tired and didn't have much time to spend there. If I had it to do over again, I would take more time in the first 2 towns, then take the train to Vernazza and spend more time there, and then maybe take the train on to Monterosso if there were time.

[slidergirl]

Yep, the trail between Corniglia and Vernazza is not for the timid or casual hiker. The Vernazza-Monterossa trail is not fun and games, either. Both have what I call "goat trails" - just the little patch of path perched on the ledges. They gave me pause a few times - I don't like driving on mountain road that don't have guardrails and I don't like to get close to edges of cliffs. Two of my friends and I did the trail between all 5 villages in one LONG day. We were staying in Vernazza, so we did Vernazza-Monterossa first, took the train down to Riomaggiore (gelato and juice there), did Riomaggiore-Manarola (lunch there), then Manarola-Corniglia (more juice), then Corniglia-Vernazza. We were dog-tired at the end of the day. Unless you are a seasoned hiker and have good footwear (trail hikers are OK, tennis shoes and flip flop NO), I recommend someone stick to the Riomaggiore-Manorola paved trail. It is easy to navigate between the villages via the trains - no need to get a schedule ahead of time. Just read the schedules that are posted at the stations - they are easy to read. My take on the ferries: We spent 3 days in Vernazza and I never saw a ferry. This was the first week of May, 2010.

[heatherbelle]

If you plan on walking the trails, you will need to get a card from the national park office that is inside the train station, this includes your train fare too.

 

We took the train to the first village, walked through the tunnel to the other part of town, and had some pizza and gelato. We then walked back through the tunnel to the pathway to the second village, this was a lovely stroll and took about 30 mins in blistering heat.

 

We then caught the train to the fourth village which was my fav, had more pizza and gelato:D, had a little walk around and sat and people watched and then headed back to La Spezia on the train. I think we were back on the boat for around 3.00 having left around 9.00.

 

Its really beautiful. I had considered the boats, but decided it took too long to get there by boat and I was travelling with my DS.