Cinque Terre or Lucca Excursion?

[newtocruise_rj]

Hi all! Looking at potential cruise itineraries for this summer and one of the ones we're keen on docks at Livorno. However, as we already have explored both Florence & Pisa previously, we were researching what other excursions were available from Livorno. The Cinque Terre one looks lovely but seems quite a long distance from Livorno (nearly 2 hours each way). Has anyone does this trip and is it worth the long drive? Also, has anyone ventured to Lucca from Livorno? Any other suggestions on where to explore from Livorno are also welcome (we are also considering just staying at exploring Livorno itself)!
Thanks in advance!

[jeanlyon]

We went to Lucca by train and really enjoyed it.  Really easy.  I think it was 4 euros on the train, we spent the day in Lucca, had lunch and were back 1.5 hours before we needed to be.  Because the ship excursions are long, the ship doesn't leave early.

[smj777]

Hi, Can't comment on the Cinque Terre excursion as after we booked it we were told that as there wasn't enough demand, the trip had been cancelled. Lucca though is a lovely old walled city, very interesting buildings, churches etc. There are lots of good cafes and restaurants - but hide the credit cards, the shops are excellent but there is also a very up market area - clothes, shoes, jewellery and so on. We intend to go back.

[jeanlyon]

This might help  https://shorebee.com/en/italy/lucca/from-livorno-cruise-port-to-lucca/train

[annieuk]

We've had a holiday in Cinque Terre.  I would say it's somewhere to go not on a cruise.  You can only travel between the five villages either by walking or by train.  No cars etc can go between the villages.  It is certainly a lovely area to visit but how much you would be able to do on a ship's excursion I don't know - very little I suspect.  I would put it on your list as somewhere to go another time.

[silkworms]

Cinque Terre is a fabulous excursion and not to be missed, but we went from La Spezia so much nearer than Livorno. Each village is visited by boat. Glorious scenery.

lunch at a fabulous quayside restaurant.

 

Our guide was not too good, in fact I complained to P and O about how uninteresting she was, but we made the most of it and would love to return.

[mickey89]

We visited the Cinqueterre  by getting 4 couples off our roll call and arranging a tour van from Livorno pier direct to Manarola. We left at 8.00am and were strolling down the narrow street into Manarola by 9.15am. We intended to take the ferry on to Monterosa but sea was rough and the ferries were cancelled which happens frequently. So took the train about 5 mins to Vernazza  had lunch then took train again about 10mins to Montarosa which is the largest of the 5 villages. The tour van picked us up in Montarosa about 3.30pm and we were back aboard the ship by 5pm.  We used www.tuscanytastetours.com they were excellent and cost us €550 split between the 8 of us, a great day with lots of memories.

[ollienbertsmum]

I have done both.  

 

We did Cinque Terre from Livorno.   I am not a fan of ship excursions (I think we have done 6 on 12 cruises) but we took a tour this time because of the distance.  It was really enjoyable because you were constantly looking at different scenery.  We did it mid July and managed to swim in one of the stops.    I would recommend.  

 

We have stopped at Livorno numerous times.  This time we needed something different.  We took the ship transfer to the train station, got the train, changing at Pisa and walked from Lucca train station into town.  I was gutted to find out that we had hit Lucca Comicon.  It was not the stroll round a walled town that I expected.  This was first week of November.  

 

Despite the place being overrun, I loved it.  I would like to visit outside the Comicon but  I have not yet had the opportunity.  The architecture is wonderful, the whole character of the place is so beautiful - does not have the tacky feel of a place full of tourists.  It is easy to get to (and you don't need to get up at crazy o'clock to get there), and it is the perfect size for a day trip.  There is time to walk the walls, see the piazzas, have a snack and catch the trains back.  I would recommend.  

 

So both are great.  The first is for scenery, the second is for architecture.  Which is your priority???