floridababa Posted July 23 #1 Share Posted July 23 Anyone gone on HAL and stopped in Florence and took an excursion to Cinque Terre? 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare VMax1700 Posted July 23 #2 Share Posted July 23 In one day? Florence itself is worth more than one day. Are you asking about a tour to Florence and then Cinque Terre and then back to the ship? You do realise that you dock in Livorno and that Florence is a two hour drive from the port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted July 23 #3 Share Posted July 23 I am confused about the question. Cruise ship's do not "stop in Florence" and the nearest ports to Cinque Terre are La Spezia and Livorno. From either of those ports, given a typically full port day, one could choose to go to at least some of the villages of Cinque Terre. If the question is whether one could do a day trip to both Florence and Cinque Terre, we would say that although it is physically possible to get to both Florence and one or more of the Cinque Terre Villages, there would be very little time to enjoy either. If one is considering such a port day, our short answer would be "forget about it!" Hank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaMatesNYC Posted July 23 #4 Share Posted July 23 There are Shorex from Livorno that give you a taste of a few of the villages. You can also combine with drive by tours of the Pisa monuments (tower, cathedral). Personally, from Livorno I would choose a tour of one or more hill towns like Volterra and San Gemignano and get some Tuscan countryside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozcruizer Posted July 23 #5 Share Posted July 23 We had a stop in Livorno and did a private tour to the Cinque Terre. We didn’t have time to see all of the villages but we did take a train between at least two of the villages. One of the best excursions we’ve done and I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDSONJAMN Posted July 23 #6 Share Posted July 23 It wasn't on HAL but I did take an excursion to CINQUE TERRE through NCL---I loved it--Basically it was by BUS and FERRY and I think we hit 3 of the island villages out of the 5-- I bet it would be similar---I took the same cruise for 2 weeks so one week while at LIVORNO I did FLORENCE and the NEXT week I did CINQUE TERRE--Really hard to pick-- I remember eating in CINQUE TERRE REGION the best PESTO on some GNOCCHI I have ever had--supposed to be invented there-- I also love ART and bought the best leather goods and scarfs in FLORENCE as well as the MUSEUMS--You can't go wrong--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlaMariner Posted July 23 #7 Share Posted July 23 We were on the Oosterdam in April...... For the Livorno port stop, we toured Cinque Terre. Our friends toured Florence/Pisa. No way to do both in one day. We all used www.italytours.eu for the tours in Livorno and other Italian ports also. Small group. Great guides. Fantastic price. Enjoy Italy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highland cruiser Posted July 23 #8 Share Posted July 23 We took a HAL tour to Cinque Terre last October when we were on the Oosterdam. Used HAL as we had the HIA shore excursion promo. It was a 10 hour tour from the port of Livorno and was one of the best we have had with HAL. Logistics of travel were all taken care of. Because of the rainy weather at the start we could not take the ferry ride from on village to another but used the train instead. Train travel went well and actually gave us more time in the villages. Our large HAL group was divided into 2 smaller groups with local guides at each town giving us a better experience. Visited Portovenere, Vernazza, and Monterosso with free time in each including time in one for finding a lunch venue. We enjoyed an Italian pizza...one of the best we have ever had. The tour gave us a great feel for the villages and have talked about doing our own road trip to Italy and visiting Cinque Terre on our own. Would be great fun walk the trail between villages (this option wasn't available to us obviously and some trails were closed due to the wet weather) and also stay overnight in the villages. We usually prefer using private tours but given the time frame of the tour and the deviation with the weather, we were glad we used HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridababa Posted July 24 Author #9 Share Posted July 24 Thank you for all of the great suggestions. Definitely will try to book Cinque Terre 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairgarth Posted July 24 #10 Share Posted July 24 I see a news report today that 'via dell'amore' is due to reopen on July 27th. It has been closed for twelve years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairgarth Posted July 24 #11 Share Posted July 24 I see a news report today that 'via dell'amore' is due to reopen on July 27th. It has been closed for twelve years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schelliebach Posted July 30 #12 Share Posted July 30 On 7/23/2024 at 8:32 AM, ozcruizer said: We had a stop in Livorno and did a private tour to the Cinque Terre. We didn’t have time to see all of the villages but we did take a train between at least two of the villages. One of the best excursions we’ve done and I highly recommend it. can i ask who you did your tour through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozcruizer Posted July 31 #13 Share Posted July 31 5 hours ago, Schelliebach said: can i ask who you did your tour through? I'm sorry but I didn't organise the tour and very sadly, the lady who did, has since passed away. Also, it was back in 2014 so the tour organisers may have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schelliebach Posted July 31 #14 Share Posted July 31 11 hours ago, ozcruizer said: I'm sorry but I didn't organise the tour and very sadly, the lady who did, has since passed away. Also, it was back in 2014 so the tour organisers may have changed. Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm glad it was a great excursion and experience for you, though. We have a private excursion of CT booked thru Bella Italia Tours that we're looking forward to - so I was just wondering who you went with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreestyleNovice Posted August 3 #15 Share Posted August 3 Cinque Terre on your own from La Spezia: Ahead: Buy a train ticket online: https://www.trenitalia.com/en/services/travel-around-5-terre.html Be sure to buy the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card to get to and from La Spezia Centrale. Print the QR ticket or save it on your mobile phone. This ticket is park entrance and valid all day for the Cinque Terre rail road, in any direction. More about the card at: https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/page.php?id=158 On the day itself: Disembark. Take the mandatory cruise line/port bus to the La Spezia Cruise Terminal (Largo Michele Fiorillo, 19124 La Spezia). You will see a taxi cue opposite the "terminal". A one way taxi to La Spezia Centrale is €15,- and takes 5 minutes. Check the timetable, aim for a 9am-ish northbound local train and pick Vernazza for example as one of the first before it gets busy. Keep right and go up the stairs and hill in Vernazza and pass the small park booth and be rewarded with this view (credit to Google Streetview): Head back to the train station and work your way through the other villages in an order that works best for you with the train, you can hop on and hop off as much as you like. Early morning is the best time, after noon it gets crazy and you will need to count in extra time to get back to La Spezia Centrale. You could do all five in this way but four or three may be a more leisurely pace, have a coffee, get lunch etc. Methods of transportation: Most of the towns are not easy accessible by car, to get the most of your Cinque Terre experience I would really recommend train and foot. Keep in mind that the train runs through a lot of tunnels. The trains are air conditioned and are a good moment to rest a bit in between towns. Stay clear from the tracks when waiting for the next train as intercity trains will pass you at high speed on the track closest to the platform. The hike trail along the coast is also a no-go for most cruise passengers as it too time consuming and you won't have enough time. Cinque Terre on your own is easy and is very rewarding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted August 4 #16 Share Posted August 4 Cinque Terre from Portofino? Does this make any sense to do if you have never been to Cinque Terre or (Portofino for that matter)?. It is offered as a shore excursion, but would hope to do private. I realize that it is almost 1 1/2 hours each way, so any recommendations would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreestyleNovice Posted August 4 #17 Share Posted August 4 The disadvantages of Portofino are that it is a tender port and being more remote which will cost you time. If you can get to Rapallo train station by taxi/car and then get to Levanto station and start with the "5 Terre Express" at Levanto and work your way down to all the villages or train all the way down to Riomaggiore and go back up, that could work if you have enough time and patience. But.. it will take a lot of time and in the afternoon the train gets crazy full.. I would pre-choose two villages to visit, kinda beat the crowd by visiting first the in between ones in the morning and have a relaxed pace and be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted August 7 #18 Share Posted August 7 Thank you FreestyleNovice for this input. It sounds like either a private tour, a ship excursion (which I wouldn’t want to do if possible), or skipping Cinque Terre and finding an alternative. I appreciate this information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare marazul Posted August 7 #19 Share Posted August 7 3 hours ago, Vineyard View said: Thank you FreestyleNovice for this input. It sounds like either a private tour, a ship excursion (which I wouldn’t want to do if possible), or skipping Cinque Terre and finding an alternative. I appreciate this information. I would stick with Portofino. From there take the little ferry that takes you around the coast to San Fruttuoso and Camogli. On the return, keep going to Santa Margherita and then back to Portofino. Check the routes and your time in port. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted August 8 #20 Share Posted August 8 Thank you, again, marazul. Having never been I had hoped it would be easier. I will explore this suggestion! I appreciate your knowledge very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now