Private Boat Tour of Cinque Terre - Recommendations?

[USVIcruizer]

Husband & I would love to see Cinque Terre by boat from La Spezia cruise ship port.
We want to avoid trains, hikes, etc.  We're mobile, but don't want to do a lot of walking, rather enjoy the sights from the water.
2-3 villages, with time to briefly walk around for shopping, a quick gelato, photos, etc.  
Something like this one, or open to other recommendations - thanks in advance!


https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187824-d17515525-or5-Half_day_Round_Trip_from_La_Spezia-La_Spezia_Province_of_La_Spezia_Liguria.html

[jelayne]

A google search turned up some small boat tours although you may need to take the train the the starting point.

[JohnGinPBG]

We stayed in Monterosso for 3 nights in October. My suggestion - train to Monterosso, ferry to Riomaggiore, a little time in each town and then train back to La Spezia. Vernazza was very crowded and not worth it.

 

 

[TMLAalum]

As did John in the above post, we also spent 3 nights in Monterosso before we boarded a Celebrity cruise out of Civitavecchia with our first port-of-call being La Spezia. Our land visit to the Cinque Terre was disappointing due to crowds in all the villages during the day. It was more enjoyable in the evenings when the cruisers had departed.

 

This is my recommendation for LaSpezia. Don't try to visit the main Cinque Terre villages. Instead head to Portovenere!

We took the public bus to/from LaSpezia, although you could take a ferry. In Portovenere we took a one hour 3 Island boat tour, walked to the church & fort atop the hill, had lunch at a small bistro and enjoyed the relaxed pace of our day.

Here is a link to a Forbes article on Portovenere:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherinesabino/2019/07/14/9-reasons-to-visit-the-cinque-terres-gorgeous-sixth-townportovenere/#7a176e330264

[Bruin Steve]

We have three nights booked in Porto Venere this July (1-2-3) prior to our cruise out of Civitavecchia on July 5.

We'll be driving down from Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland on the First, so probably not that much left in the day on the First...But, we'll have at least two full days along with the three nights,

 

We haven't really made any specific plans on how to spend those two days...maybe take the boats up to the Cinque Terre towns the first full day and spend the second in and around Porto Venere itself?  We'll have a car, but thought we'd leave it parked at the hotel while there.  Any recommendations?  Thanks...

[Travel To Be Free]

On 2/9/2020 at 11:39 AM, TMLAalum said:

As did John in the above post, we also spent 3 nights in Monterosso before we boarded a Celebrity cruise out of Civitavecchia with our first port-of-call being La Spezia. Our land visit to the Cinque Terre was disappointing due to crowds in all the villages during the day. It was more enjoyable in the evenings when the cruisers had departed.

 

This is my recommendation for LaSpezia. Don't try to visit the main Cinque Terre villages. Instead head to Portovenere!

We took the public bus to/from LaSpezia, although you could take a ferry. In Portovenere we took a one hour 3 Island boat tour, walked to the church & fort atop the hill, had lunch at a small bistro and enjoyed the relaxed pace of our day.

Here is a link to a Forbes article on Portovenere:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherinesabino/2019/07/14/9-reasons-to-visit-the-cinque-terres-gorgeous-sixth-townportovenere/#7a176e330264

 

The boat tour...  we would love a 2-3 hour boat tour of the Cinque Terre and then back to La Spezia from Portovenere.  Do you have a recommendation and approximate price?

[TMLAalum]

3 hours ago, Travel To Be Free said:

 

The boat tour...  we would love a 2-3 hour boat tour of the Cinque Terre and then back to La Spezia from Portovenere.  Do you have a recommendation and approximate price?

 

This is the website I used to help me plan. It has all the links you might need, including ferry schedule & Pricing!

https://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/06/complete-cinque-terre-portovenere-la.html

[Bruin Steve]

31 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

 

This is the website I used to help me plan. It has all the links you might need, including ferry schedule & Pricing!

https://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/06/complete-cinque-terre-portovenere-la.html

 

Thanks for the great link...

 

I guess our tentative plan would be to purchase the full day round trip fare and take an early boat to Monterosso, then make it back down to Portovenere stop by stop on that first full day we have there...It looks like we could fit in all five towns in a full day, correct?

 

Then, the second day, we might try that 3 Islands boat tour, but otherwise just explore Portovenere for the day...

[TMLAalum]

@Bruin Steve

The one town that may be skippable is Corniglia. We took the train there, but the village is atop an extremely steep hill. There is a path to the top, but we opted for a shuttle bus to transport us up & down from the station. I suspect the same issue applies to the ferry boat landing, although maybe the path to the town is less steep? Nevertheless, time & logistics to get to this small village, IMHO are not worth it for including in a one day trip to all villages.. 

 

For those staying longer in the Cinque Terre, one of the highlights of our time there was a concert at Oratory Chapel of St. Trinita in Vernazza. in past years the hour-long opera highlight performances were scheduled for Wednesday & Friday evenings. Here is a link:

https://cinqueterreriviera.com/vernazza-opera-festival/

Edited February 13, 2020 by TMLAalum

[Travel To Be Free]

If we decide to go by ferry, is there a danger of planning to catch the last ferry from PortoVenere at 17:20 (5:20)  to LaSpezia?    

If there is a danger, how readily available are the taxis in front of the Grand Hotel?