RCCL Livorno to Cinque Terre Excursion ?

[RossHaven]

On Brilliance in September and would like to see Cinque Terre.

 

Has anyone done this particular excursion? What exactly does it entail? Do you have a guide with you every step of the way? How many villages do you actually see and is the Park Pass included?

 

From the vague discription on RCCL I think you get a bus trip there and back, a map and a place to meet. Please tell me all you can so we can make an informed choice.

 

Thanks

[skyboy]

You start in Manarola and then walk along the "street of love" which is a spectacular path along the sea that leads you to Rio Maggiore. Here you board a motorboat for a short cruise to Vernazza, a picturesque fishing village. You have some free time here The guide will take the walk with you and be sure everyone gets on and off the boats. You then take a boat to Monterosso al Mare - After a guided introduction of the village, you have free time to explore the tiny shops and the nice restaurants. We had a great lunch in a restaurant on the beach there. Be sure to have the pesto pasta or the pesto pizza as they are known for their great pesto!! From there you walk a short distance and meet back at the bus. It was a great day!!

[RossHaven]

skyboy

 

Thanks for your help and a few more questions.

 

Do you recall the amount of time alloted to each village and how long did it take you to reach Cinque Terre from Livorno by bus?

[skyboy]

I don't remember the amount of time on the bus, I think it was about an hour. I also don't remember the amout of time in each town but there is never enough time in the towns when you do this as a day trip from a cruise ship. I loved it anyway and next time we go we will have to stay there for a few days!!

[slidergirl]

I stayed a couple of days in Vernazza last month. A really cool little village. Walk a little up the hiking path toward Corniglia to get a fantastic view of the village. I can't remember if the good view was before or after the checkpoint for the park. You can buy the Park pass at the train station. The restaurant Vulnetia is very good. Their pasta dish, trofie with pesto, is excellent. I split a seafood risotto with my other friend - it was fantastic. It's in the far corner of the harbor square.

Be sure to wear VERY comfortable walking shoes for this one - no cute strappy sandals!!!

[Clarabel]

We have just returned from a week's cruise from Barcelona which included the ports of Livorno and Civitavecchia. Having already visited Rome and Pisa/Florence we chose the Bracciano Lake/wine tasting tour from Civitavecchia and the Cinqueterre tour from Livorno. We booked the ship's excursions well in advance on line. We were informed at 6pm the night before these excursions that they had both been cancelled due to lack of participation. We were offered alternative tours (more expensive) and not what we wanted. It was too late at this stage to book a private excursion. We were informed at the 'explorations desk' that cancellations often happened in ports such as these where most people wanted to visit the famous cities. If this was the case, why could we have not been warned earlier? My advice would be to book privately or be prepared to have your plans changed.

 

This has not put us off cruising but we will be booking private excursions in future wherever possible.

[RossHaven]

Thank you for that info. I wondered if Cinque Terre was as popular as Florence. Have already begun research for an on our own day in CT.

[sammyowl]

On Brilliance in September and would like to see Cinque Terre.

 

Has anyone done this particular excursion? What exactly does it entail? Do you have a guide with you every step of the way? How many villages do you actually see and is the Park Pass included?

 

From the vague discription on RCCL I think you get a bus trip there and back, a map and a place to meet. Please tell me all you can so we can make an informed choice.

 

Thanks

We took this shore excursion on Celebrity in May 2009. It was a a very busy holiday weekend and the villages were packed. The guides were with us the whole way, but the members of our tour wandered, so we spent way too much time waiting, while they were being herded. The two of us finally rebelled and stayed on the boat, skipping a village where we were told we would only stop for 11 minutes, to have a very rushed lunch in the last village. And then we waited again for the tardy members of our tour. And the bus was late picking us up. A terrible tour. Again, I would go with a private tour, smaller group.

[slidergirl]

CT is one of those where you should be able to do on your own. Train from Livorno to Pisa (maybe 15 minutes). At Pisa Centrale, take the train to La Spezia (1 hr to 1.5 hours, depending on which train). Change in La Spezia to the regional train, which will take you to the CT. It's really easy to do. At each station, the schedules for all trains are posted in display cases for you to look at. Just buy your tickets and GET THEM VALIDATED at one of the yellow validation stations. You can stop at whatever village you want, stay as long as you want, leave when you want. I honestly don't see the need to go on a tour, or even have a guide. I was just there for some days in May. I stayed in Vernazza and hiked to all the villages, and took the train several times between the villages to do shopping or dining. I mean, there's maybe 5-10 minutes between the villages via train.