Cinque terre (la Spezia) DIY or ?

[markshale]

Really would be interested in the best way to do Cinque Terre. Please advise. We are there from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Thanks.

 

Mark

[potterhill]

Absolutely do-it-yourself. Take the train from la Spezia. you can walk between the villages or take the train or take the ferry. It's a great place.

 

It's been a while since we were there but I'm sure others will be along to fill in more details.

 

We were visiting friends who were posted to the NATO facility there so we had a guided tour, and a lovely day. Would love to go back and spend more time there.

 

Mo

[JimandStan]

Really would be interested in the best way to do Cinque Terre. Please advise. We are there from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Thanks.

 

Mark

 

Before you make any plans to visit Cinque Terre, please make certain that the day that you visit does not fall on a Weekend or an Italian Holiday. :eek:

European Day-trippers and students completely overrun the five towns on those days.

 

Even with the crowds, the scenery is still glorious, but this area was decidedly not developed with any kind of crowd control in mind.

 

Early last June, we wound up walking the five towns with about ten thousand of our closest friends. Despite the pleasant company of our jaunty shipmates, it was disaster.

 

The bottlenecks caused by the Ferry waits were uncomfortable, bordering on the dangerous. It really was a miracle that no one was hurt.

 

The locals were obviously overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people and there was no one with the authority to control the influx.

 

We actually had to hole up in the Restaurant on top of the Fort in Vernazza, in order to salvage at least part of the day.

 

Still, the Calamari was superb and the portions gargantuan. -this is Stan wrestling with it:

[caribbeansun]

That calamari is doing a great imitation of an octopus if I do say so myself ;)

 

Still, the Calamari was superb and the portions gargantuan. -this is Stan wrestling with it:

[brian_uk]

If you could only visit ONE of the 5 towns (in my case because I cannot walk the distances) Which one would you choose and why ?

 

Steep climbs are out for me but Jean and I would like to see at least something thiis time round.

 

Brian

[TERRIER1]

We popped off and on the train through the five towns starting at the farthest Monterosso (?) and only walked the Via del Amore. In the middle we had a lovely lunch. There is a pass you can purchase that includes the train and walking the path.

[orchestrapal]

It would be hard to avoid steps in the towns or going between them.

You could take a train to the furthest town Vernazza and just remain in the town center.

[caribbeansun]

Haven't been there yet myself - per Rick Steeves the trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola and then Corniglia are the easiest with the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso the most challenging.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

We popped off and on the train through the five towns starting at the farthest Monterosso (?) and only walked the Via del Amore. In the middle we had a lovely lunch. There is a pass you can purchase that includes the train and walking the path.

 

The pass no longer covers trains - just the trails, the elevator at Riomaggiore and the shuttle bus to and from Corneglia and its train station.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

If you could only visit ONE of the 5 towns (in my case because I cannot walk the distances) Which one would you choose and why ?

 

Steep climbs are out for me but Jean and I would like to see at least something thiis time round.

 

Brian

 

Without doing a whole lot of walking, you can easily visit Riomaggiore (the southern-most town), either take the train or do the 20 minute walk to Manarola, then take the train to Vernazza. Manarola and Vernazza both have nice restaurants right on the waterfront - great for lunch.

 

Corneglia is the only one of the 5 towns that is NOT situated right at the water's edge. To avoid taking the hundreds of stairs from the train station to the town, use the shuttle bus (free if you've purchased the Cinque Terre day pass). The town itself is very small - you can cover walk from one end to the other in a 15 minute stroll.

 

Monterosso (the northern-most town) is more commercial with a number of hotels. The train stops in the "new" section and it's at least a 10-15 minute walk to the "old" section.

 

IMO, the towns with the most charm are Vernazza, Riomaggiore and Manarola.

 

If you are using trains to get from one town to another, be sure to pick up one of the train schedules (at the station). Be aware that while all trains stop at Riomaggiore and Monterosso, the 3 towns in between are serviced much less frequently. It pays to put a bit of thought into how much time you are going to spend in a specific town.

 

You will love this area! We were there a year ago on a land trip and stayed 5 days in Vernazza. We can't wait to go back again!

[TKS]

I agree with all the points made by others in this thread. You must decide for yourself, but this is a magical area with some of the most beautiful scenery in all Italy, and it's well worth putting yourself out a bit to see.

 

The walk along the sea is wonderful, and not too steep in most places, but if walking is really difficult for you just take the train and follow the trail a short ways from each town to get the views of the sea and of the towns. We saw it in November, 2008, and can't wait to have the opportunity to visit again. Have a wonderful cruise!

Kay

[ladysail2]

Have enjoyed reading all the suggestions....and have a few questions. I've tried to find answers elsewhere to no avail....

I'll be in Livorno twice...once on a Sunday..7am to 7pm, and then on a Tuesday from 7am to 7pm. Both times are in October

It has been advised to not go to Cinque Terre on a weekend....okay, I won't!!

Can I take the train from Livorno port to Cinque Terre, walk the five towns then take the train back? I'm not sure where La Spezia is in relation to Livorno.

From looking at a train schedule, it looked like it took the train 3.5 hours one way from Livorno to the first town. Was I looking at something incorrectly?

Some folks are lining up private tours and I'd rather do this on my own, but not if the train uses 7 of my 12 hours of port time.

Thank you so much for any help.

BTW, this is not on my Oceania cruise in January, but on a Med cruise with another cruiseline.

Cheers,

Joyce

[TKS]

Hi Joyce,

We were in Livorno in November, 2008, and took the train to La Spezia and on to walk between all the Cinque Terre villages in one day. We spent about 5-6 hours walking between the villages and having lunch, then caught the train back from the last village to La Spezia and Livorno. We believe it took about 2 hours on the train, but I also remember we had a bit of a wait changing trains, and that may have lengthened the actual train trip more than I remember, or the train schedules may have changed.

The only difference in our trip (and it's an important one) was we had an overnight in Livorno, so we were not struggling against a sailing time. We left about 8AM and we were back on board by 7PM. However, as the trains in Italy are not always reliable, with only one day in port, I'm not sure I'd trust the situation. Possibly a private tour, or even the ship's bus tour to the villages may be less stressful given the tight time frame.

Don't give up on the trip, however, it is one of our favorite places in Italy from three separate visits to the country (one for two weeks), and not to be missed if a visit is at all feasible. The weather was beautiful and balmy, even mid-November, the vistas of the cliffs and the ocean are stunning, and the villages are each unique and special.

Good luck!

Kay

[ladysail2]

Thank you, Kay! I appreciate your input. I'm definitely going to Cinque Terre, just couldn't decide how. I am half-way signed up for a tour from Livorno as part of a private tour...and I think that's the best route to take considering the time limits.

I'd love to take the train just for the experience...but it's not worth missing the ship...certainly don't want that experience.... :eek: LOL

I hope to see the view from the water too, but will be glad just to be there and enjoy the walking.

Thank you, again!! :D

Joyce

[Archie's Mom]

Will a Saturday in November still be a crowd-filled day? We are in La Speza on Sat., Nov 6 and had planned to visit the towns via train.

[JimandStan]

Will a Saturday in November still be a crowd-filled day? We are in La Speza on Sat.' date=' Nov 6 and had planned to visit the towns via train.[/quote']

 

Who can really tell? November is supposedlly at the tail end the end of their high season but it's not as if the five towns are a specific attraction that reports attendance figures.

 

I'd suggest that you do the following, before setting your plans in stone:

 

#1 Confirm that the weekend in question is not a three day weekend in either Italy or France.

#2 Check the local port calendars to confirm that one or more of those 4000 pax behemoths are not scheduled on the date in question,

#3 Have a backup plan, just in case

 

Have a great trip

[Archie's Mom]

Good ideas. We are the only ship in port in La Spezia; the next holiday is Armistice Day on the 11th. Should be good to go.

[Imagineer]

...didn't notice it being mentioned, but when we were there on the Regatta, one of the tours offered was a cruise aboard a small ferry that left from La Spezia and cruised all along the Cinque Terre coastline. You get to view all of the villages from the sea and we stopped at Vernaza and Monterosso, we truly enjoyed seeing the coastline, very scenic all on its own, and it really enables you to appreciate just how these small villages cling to the rocky shorelines...

...if we go there again, that is the way we'll want to visit this area, in our opinion it can't be beat...

 

cheers,

 

The Imagineer

[Paulchili]

...didn't notice it being mentioned, but when we were there on the Regatta, one of the tours offered was a cruise aboard a small ferry that left from La Spezia and cruised all along the Cinque Terre coastline. You get to view all of the villages from the sea and we stopped at Vernaza and Monterosso, we truly enjoyed seeing the coastline, very scenic all on its own, and it really enables you to appreciate just how these small villages cling to the rocky shorelines...

...if we go there again, that is the way we'll want to visit this area, in our opinion it can't be beat...

 

cheers,

 

The Imagineer

 

You do not necessarily need to take a ship excursion to do that. You can take the train to the last stop and then work your way back with a combination of walking the trails and taking ther ferry from town to town; then train again to ship.

Note: this requires a lot of advanced planning for train/ferry schedules but is doable. Back up plans are recommended.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

You do not necessarily need to take a ship excursion to do that. You can take the train to the last stop and then work your way back with a combination of walking the trails and taking ther ferry from town to town; then train again to ship.

Note: this requires a lot of advanced planning for train/ferry schedules but is doable. Back up plans are recommended.

 

Keep in mind that the boats run in the spring and summer only.

[Paulchili]

Keep in mind that the boats run in the spring and summer only.

 

Thanks for pointing that out.

Would it therefore be true for Oceania ship excursions as well or would they charter a boat?

[HawkeyeCruisr]

Thanks for pointing that out.

Would it therefore be true for Oceania ship excursions as well or would they charter a boat?

 

Gee, I'm not sure how O handles those types of excursions. We rarely take O's excursions . . . and the 2 times we've been in the Cinque Terre it was in May.

 

CT is well-suited to doing it on your own anyway. For an initial visit there, I would recommend a combination of trains/trails, with a close eye on those train schedules!

 

If you love it as much as we do, you just might end up doing what we did: we were there on a one-day La Spezia port stop and 2 years later did an Italy land trip and stayed in Vernazza for 5 days.

[CintiPam]

Really would be interested in the best way to do Cinque Terre. Please advise. We are there from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Thanks.

 

Mark

 

DIY from La Spezia using the Rick Steves' Cinque Terre guidebook (which is a chapter reprinted as a separate lightweight book from his Italy guidebook) and the excellent trains which run among the villages (except the aforementioned Corniglia).

 

Your question resonates deeply with me, because we were with Jim and Stan a year ago on that weekend visit in June 2009 which absolutely was a mob scene in the area. For that reason, I looked so forward to our weekday La Spezia port day in early May this year.

 

Well, as luck would have it, that was the one day of our 14-night cruise where it poured almost incessantly. My trusty Rick Steves' book thankfully mentioned a museum in La Spezia itself right on the street going up to the train station which was one family's very large and beautiful art collection in a recently-renovated monastery, really first class. After several hours there, there was a break in the downpour, the skies appeared to be clearing, and we trekked on up to the train station where the rains re-commenced as strongly as ever. :(

 

Hopefully, a third time will come someday for us to enjoy this area more happily! :)

[CintiPam]

If you could only visit ONE of the 5 towns (in my case because I cannot walk the distances) Which one would you choose and why ?

 

Steep climbs are out for me but Jean and I would like to see at least something thiis time round.

 

Brian

 

Vernazza, IMO the most beautiful (but I have not seen Corniglia in person yet; see my post immediately preceding this one).

 

Monterosso, the fifth and most northern/western) seems to be like many other seaside towns. The famous path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is a flat easy walk, but Vernazza itself is the loveliest of the towns IMO.