La Spezia Port, visit Pisa, or Cinque Terre or Portifino

[gam888]

Will be going on a cruise visiting Naples and La Spezia, and Rome and other ports. Plan to visit the Amalfi coast when we are in Naples. Been there over 23 years ago and remember it was stunning. Wonder if we visit it again, and when we get to La Spezia, would Cinque Terre look pale by comparison. I have only seen pictures of it and the villages look more rustic and not as spectacular as the coast line of Amalfi. We are also not into hiking. Pisa is an hour by train away, but since we are travelling with our 3 older teens who have never been to Europe, I thought Pisa although touristy, is more a symbolic site for them to experience. How about Portifino? Is it nice? We plan to do these excursion on our own, (but we are hiring a tour company for the Amalfi coast because of the distance it covers). Please share your ideas how to get to these places. Heard you can take the train to the Cinque Terre villages. If we go to Pisa in the morning, would we have time to visit one or two of these village in the afternoon? Which one or two are the largest, most interesting and easy to get to by train? Thank you.

[euro cruiser]

You can do both in one day, but it means an awful lot of time on trains.

 

The train from La Spezia to Pisa San Rossore in the morning takes about an hour. From this station it's only a ten minute walk to the Piazza dei Miracoli, where the leaning tower and the duomo are located.

 

From Pisa San Rossore to Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five villages, is nearly two hours by train, with a couple of changes. From Riomaggiore back to La Spezia is only a few minutes, by train or by boat: http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/home.asp?lang=eng

[Susan-M]

With a few ports in Italy, and wanting to do some on your own, I think you would find this guidebook a big help in your planning and for touring while you are there. Many people here are fans of RS guidebooks because of the practical info (eg. transportation), info on sites, and the interesting walking tours.

[NewbieKWSK2012]

gam888, would you be able to share your experiences? I am also going to the Amalfi Coast, and not keen on Cinque Terre only because I have an elderly mother and 2 young kids and unsure about all the slopes/walking/hopping on and off the ferry. On the other hand Pisa/Lucca is a long drive away from the La Spezia port.

[gam888]

gam888, would you be able to share your experiences? I am also going to the Amalfi Coast, and not keen on Cinque Terre only because I have an elderly mother and 2 young kids and unsure about all the slopes/walking/hopping on and off the ferry. On the other hand Pisa/Lucca is a long drive away from the La Spezia port.

 

We took a train to Pisa after we got off the ship. It was a long walk (More than 20 minutes on flat ground) from the dock to the train station. But I think you might be able to take a taxi. We visited the leaning tower for about an hour, walked back to the small town, had a quick lunch, then took a train from there to Cinque Terre. Forgot the name of the town, I think it was the second one. We didn't do the cliff walk knowing we wouldn't have time. So can't comment on the slope but I imagine it would be a bit difficult for an elderly person. But I must say the view and ambience was really great just walking around that small town. I think the name might be Venazza? We rushed through it cos we didn't want to miss the train going back to the ship. We didn't use the ferry cos it would only be worthwhile if you have a whole day or half a day to spend in that area which we didn't. Both places are nice but Cinque Terre is more unique. The leaning tower is more of an icon. So it depends on which one is more convenient for you. Hope this helps.

[NewbieKWSK2012]

thanks very much gam888. I booked a private tour but the long drive to Pisa/Lucca (75 mins to Pisa, 40 mins to Lucca, then 1 hour back to port) was a deterrent, so I was just weighing my options in relation to Cinque Terre (hmm... now i'm wondering if i should skip Lucca and do Pisa followed by CT as what you've done).

[TigerLadyK]

La Spezia is where you catch the Cinque Terre train. You are right there. We ported there once when we were supposed to go to Livorno, but couldn't because of high winds. I didn't realize that La Spezia was the where the Cinque Terre train starts and instead went with my original plan to go into Florence. If I were ever to find myself in La Spezia again I would definately just do Cinque Terre on my own

[maryann ns]

Cinque Terra are more rustic than the Amalfi Coast, but just as spectacular and beautiful You do not need to hike. We like to take the ferry which hops between the villages. You can also take the train. Vernazza was severely damaged in floods and landslides in October, but there will be a few places open this season.

 

Rick Steves guide is excellent.