Cinque Terre advice please

[mwf7501]

The last full day on the Onward Oct 10 cruise is in La Spezia (0730--1700).  It looks like the port is a short taxi ride to the La Spezia central train station, which is the hub for the Cinque Terre regional trains (a day pass covering the various Cinque Terre stops is only about $20pp).

 

AZ is offering a few different excursions, generally involving bus(es) and/or a ferry ride from Portovenere to Monterosso.

 

I am seeking advice, pros/cons, for taking the day by ourselves via the trains, versus an AZ excursion.   I think I understand the generic pros/cons (eg the ship will not wait if we're delayed), but was wondering about Cinque Terre in particular.  We're generally skeptical of tours with significant bus time.    For any who've taken it, is the Portovenere ferry ride notable?   In October I'm hoping the Cinque Terre crowds will be reduced, is this likely true?   From what I read on the google machine, the trains are pretty clean,  reliable, and frequent.

 

We are in our mid-60s and reasonably healthy/fit.   This will be our first trip to Italy, and first to the Med for that matter.

 

Any thoughts appreciated, thank you in advance.

 

Mark and Diane

[blag]

As an Italian resident I can tell you that things here are pretty much back to normal. Although October is just off-season, people here are making-up for lost time, but I think that the crowds are likely to be pretty much as normal.

Italian trains are, generally-speaking, efficient and reliable. I advise booking through the Trenitalia app - if you register you may qualify for discounts, too!

As for your specific destinations, and the ferry to which you refer, I am unable to provide insight.

But instead of Cinque Terre, why not go to Pisa, or, even better, to Lucca, both if which are much more accessible than Cinque Terre. It also depends on which day of the week you intend to travel. Italian towns are much less lively on Mondays.

I have been to La Spezia, but It was over twenty years ago. From what I recall, being a Naval port, it is pretty 'gritty'.

Don't expect the locals to speak much English! If you forge your own way, be prepared with phrases etc.

As to whether a do-it-yourself vs an Azamara excursion will be best for you, it very much depends on how intrepid and resourceful you are, and how much research you are prepared to do in advance. You alone can be the judge.

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by blag
Expansion

[suec12]

well others may have more recent experience but in the past the CT trains were not particularly on time / reliable. I would suggest NOT taking the last train scheduled to get you there on time. It might be a place where a ship's excursion is not a bad idea. Part of the issue with the trains is that they are regional ("milk runs") and not the intercity trains which would tend to be more reliable as to their time tables.

Edited August 13, 2022 by suec12

[blag]

13 minutes ago, suec12 said:

well others may have more recent experience but in the past the CT trains were not particularly on time / reliable. I would suggest NOT taking the last train scheduled to get you there on time. It might be a place where a ship's excursion is not a bad idea. Part of the issue with the trains is that they are regional ("milk runs") and not the intercity trains which would tend to be more reliable as to their time tables.

As a resident, with several years of experience, I would disagree with you. Many people rely on trains here and I have found that, in fact, regional trains are more reliable than the intercity 'freccie' trains.

Nevertheless, I agree, in a situation such as this, it is prudent to allow for problems.

Edited August 13, 2022 by blag

[QueenP]

Portovenere is pretty, the ferry is likely to be the local one which pops into all of the 5 towns. It's not particularly spectacular except when coming in to each port and they have a long siesta in the middle of the day where the ferry doesn't run.

[blobby113]

We are also on the same cruise. We were going to catch the ferry to the furthest town, and come back by train, stopping at each town on the way. It looks doable.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We did this in 2019 on an MSC cruise that docked in La Spezia from 7:30 to 6:30, and we had plenty of time to enjoy Cinque Terre without fear of being left behind.  I had planned the day based on Rick Steves Italy and found it quite easy.  (Rick is sorry that he created the monster of overtourism in Cinque Terre, but his books still tell you how to do it.)

 

We took the free shuttle bus out of the port, then a taxi to La Spezia Centrale train station where we bought a combo ticket (train pass plus Trekking Card to allow us to hike).  The train was standing room only for the first 10 minutes, but lots of people got off at the first stop (Riomaggiore).  We got off at the second stop (Corniglia) and hiked the Volastra Trail (which was steeper than we expected).  From Volastra a free shuttle bus took us down to Manarola, where we had lunch at Capon Magru (highly recommended, and not listed in Rick Steves).  We considered taking the train further to Vernazza, but the hike had tired us out so instead we went back to La Spezia and walked back to the port (interesting sights include the Garibaldi Fountain, Santa Maria del Assunta church, Castello di San Giorgio, and especially the Cathedral of Christ the King (very modern).  We had left the ship a little before 9:00 and were back on board by 4:00.  

 

We enjoyed the hike (even though the first stretch was very strenuous), and felt that the combination of towns and walking through vineyards gave us the full flavor of Cinque Terre.  If you don't do the hike, you would easily have time to visit as many of the five towns as you like.  If the weather is nice and the seas are calm, the ferry is another option – but the train is quicker.  We had heard that Cinque Terre is extremely crowded (thanks to Rick Steves!), and were worried because our MSC ship is one of those behemoths with over 4,000 passengers – but out early start meant that Corniglia wasn't crowded, and the need to hike to Vernazza kept it quite empty; Manarola was crowded but still enjoyable.

 

In any case, I would strongly suggest you read the section in Rick Steves Italy (you can find it at your local library).  He gives a good description of each town and of the options to get from one to another.  Without that you are just stumbling blindly in a crowd of tourists.

[Janet&Carl]

 

we have found Italy one of the easiest countries in Europe to get around by train and have taken many DIY day trips from our Med cruises.  The trains are delightful and easy.  The ticket machines are multi lingual and you press the button for English and everything is simple.

[Fairgarth]

We have taken lots of trains in Italy and they work well.  There is frequent service along that coast line so you can just hop on and hop off the next one along.  Stations are only about two minutes apart.  Just watch that the train is longer than one of the stations (can't remember which one) so when it stops and you are in a dark tunnel, yup, you are there so get off.  Yes, there are five of them but in one day don't overdo it.  I would skip Corniglia - it's up high and not on the railway line - and Monterosso al Mare IMHO not as picturesque as the other three.  So that leaves Riomaggiore, Manarolo and Vernazza.  Just my opinion.

[TERRIER1]

On an Oceania cruise we docked at La Spezia. We walked from where the boat was docked to the train station about 1.25 miles and purchased a Cinque Terra Card.  It The Cinque Terre Train Card gives you access to the hiking trails together with unlimited train travel on the Cinque Terre Express trains. We took the train to the farthest town Monterrosa and then hopped on and off at each Cinque Terra towns. There are no roads through these villages. The road is above. There is only one village that lies on top. The train was reliable and quick when we there on the shoulder season in Spring. The ship offered a ferry excursion and it was cancelled due to swells and winds so we are glad we didn't go.

[mwf7501]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice.

 

Will get the Rick Steves book today, should have already done so.

 

Mark and Diane

[Marmaduke]

Like Terrier 1 we also walked to the  La Spezia train station from the dock, it took us about 20 mins. 

We also bought the Cinque Terre Train card from the Cinque Terre tour office at the station where they gave us information and a timetable.  We took the train to the first village, Riomaggiore then walked along the paved costal path to Manarola which took about 20 min, although I am not sure whether this path is currently open has they had a rock fall a few years back.  From Manarola we took the train to Corniglia and walked up the hill to the village, after which we took the train on to Vernazza and finally Monterosso where we got a fast non stop train back to La Spezia.  We managed to do all five villages in one day whereas the ships excusion usually only  goes to two of the villages.