Train from Livorno to Cinque Terre?

[ronswife]

How long is the train ride from Livorno to Cinque Terre? Is the train station in Livorno close to the dock (Celebrity Eclipse) - walk or taxi? Or should we book a private car (10 of us) to take us there and back.

[euro cruiser]

By train from Livorno Centrale to Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five villages, is about an hour and a half. There is a train from Livorno Centrale at 8:43 AM that arrives in La Spezia at 9:51; here you change trains and leave at 10:01, arriving in Riomaggiore at 10:08.

 

The train station in Livorno isn't really walking distance from the port, and you are not allowed to walk inside the port at any rate. Your choices are a taxi from the ship to the train station (the best option, in my opinion), or a bus from the ship into town, changing there to a local bus or a taxi to the train station.

 

A car and driver would be far more expensive, but certainly would be the easiest method.

[ronswife]

If we did get a car, would it tke about the same amount of time to drive it as the train would? (traffic, light signals, etc vs. train stops)

[euro cruiser]

If you have a car and driver, it will probably save you at least a half hour each way, maybe more. Driving from the port to Riomaggiore takes about an hour and a half, with no dramatic traffic problems, not getting lost, etc.

 

If you rent a car and drive it yourself, allowing time for paperwork and getting yourself oriented, it will probably take about the same amount of time as the train, maybe a few minutes less.

 

Remember that with the train, you need to add about a half hour (to be safe) for getting to and from the train station in Livorno.