La Spezia to Cinque Terre

[mjaruse]

I keep going back and forth about if I can visit Cinque Terre without going through RCI. Since I already have three days planned with RCI or Rome in Limo I would prefer to attempt this by myself.

 

My plan is to take a taxi from the ship to the train station and head to the northern part of Cinque Terre and make my way back (either by ferry or train). Thoughts?

 

Is the transportation reliable? Any suggestions?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

You can do it and there is a train from Livorno to LeSpezia and then you transfer to the local train that takes you to Riomaggiore. You need to get to the train station then the trains will take about 2 hours with transfers.

 

I can put a plug in for the ship tour though. I loved it.

[mjaruse]

You can do it and there is a train from Livorno to LeSpezia and then you transfer to the local train that takes you to Riomaggiore. You need to get to the train station then the trains will take about 2 hours with transfers.

 

I can put a plug in for the ship tour though. I loved it.

 

We are docked in La Spezia - from my research it should only take 25 minutes to the northern most town in Cinque terre. Correct?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Oh from LaSpezia yes- definitely do the Cinque Terre! You'll love it and the local train (20 minutes) does take you to Riomaggiore and then you can walk to Manarola. This was my favorite experience there- walking along the "Walk of Love".

[euro cruiser]

Worst case is 30 minutes from La Spezia Centrale to Monterosso, the northernmost village. Best case is 15 minutes if you get an express train.

 

I've only arrived into La Spezia on a ferry boat, not a cruise ship, so I don't know if my experience is relevant. If they do use the same dock (which is quite likely), the dock is 1.1 miles from La Spezia Centrale. We walked to the train station from the dock; I don't remember seeing cabs there but I wasn't looking for them.

[nparmelee]

We tendered in La Spezia a couple of years ago and decided to take the ferry up to Monterosso, we then hiked to Vernaza and then did the train for the rest of the villages. The fun part of doing I this way was seeing the villages from the sea and from the land. We also took a short stop off the ferry in Portovenere. Whichever option you pick, the CT is very easy to do on your own from La Spezia.

[slidergirl]

You did my favorite part of the hike, Monterosso to Vernazza. Well, I did it in reverse. I hiked between all five villages. But, I also took the train between La Spezia and Vernazza and then at times between the villages (if we were going to eat in another village).

From La Spezia, it's pretty darn easy to train. Just be aware that the trains can be packed to the gills with tourists and you might end up standing from time to time.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Check the ferry schedules because I did the ferry to Riomaggoire and there are ferries to all of the villages too.

[Hlitner]

From La Spezia (the OPs question) the train to Riomaggiore works quite fine and a ferry might work (depending on the timing). From Livorno (mentioned in another post) the train is not a very good option because of the schedule. In many cases you will spend a lot of time on the train (plus about 50 Euros for round trip taxi to the Livorno train station) and not have much time at the Cinque Terre villages. From Livorno our favorite way of getting to Riomaggiore is to simply rent a car for the day. With a pier pick-up we can be parked at Riomaggiore by 9:30 (once made it by 9) and often do not need to leave Riomaggiore before 4 (assuming a 7pm departure by the ship). Its also possible to cut our time in Cinque Terre a little short to make a quick stop in Pisa (did this for another couple who shared our car and had never seen the Leaning Tower).

 

Hank

[rebeccalouiseagain]

From LaSpezia there are the two ways- ferry and train. I think while in port she may find it easy to do the ferry and since time isn't really an obstacle- she could ferry one way (very scenic) and train back. As for walking- it really depends on the heat. I think it might be a bit taxing in summer. I did do the "Walk of Love" and it is flat and really worth it! What a great view.