Cinque Terre from Livorno

[Astro Flyer]

We are considering touring Cinque Terre independently during a 12 hour port of call at Livorno.

 

Has anyone tried to do it...or would it be best experienced on a ship's excursion?

 

We previously visited Florence & Pisa during a land tour and have read a lot of good things about Cinque Terre so we want to visit there during our cruise.

 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated...Grazie Mille. :)

[bobalink]

We are considering touring Cinque Terre independently during a 12 hour port of call at Livorno.

 

Has anyone tried to do it...or would it be best experienced on a ship's excursion?

 

We previously visited Florence & Pisa during a land tour and have read a lot of good things about Cinque Terre so we want to visit there during our cruise.

 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated...Grazie Mille. :)

 

I did some research recently on Cinque Terre. We actually did not have enough time to go there on our recent trip to Italy, so I have added it to our Bucket List.

 

I found this very informational:

 

http://www.eportreviews.com/Europe/Italy/Cinque_Terra_Riomaggiore.htm

 

Have fun planning your trip!

[Hlitner]

You have several options. You could rent a car (Sifracar.com, the local Hertz dealer will deliver a car right to the port) and drive yourselves to Riomaggiore (the closest Cinque Terre Village) where you can park the car. At that point you can take the Lovers Walk up to the next town and use the train and/or ferries to explore as must as works for you. The drive is a little less then 1 1/2 hours each way. Another possibility is to use the trains, but the schedule is tight and a bit of pain..since you still need to get a taxi to the Livorno train station (usually about 25 Euros per taxi). The other option is to take a tour (either ship or private). If your cruise ship has a reasonably priced excursion this might be a very good option. Personally, we prefer to rent a car (and usually do) but perhaps that is because I love driving in Italy :)

 

Hank

[elaine5]

timing is key. Our ship docked from 6am-6pm, but 1st train we could get was 8am+, so that really cut down on our time. If you had an 8-8 port time, you could do it, maybe even with a 7-7. It is VERY hard to park in CT---you really need to take the train into the region--esp. for the smaller towns. We usually NEVER take ships' tours, but If your ship offers a tour, I would take it--and if it is on Princess, it's not a regular "cruise bus tour"--more like pre-arranged connections to get from a-b-c-d-e and back to ship, with brief walking tour and then time to explore. We went by bus, walking the path of love, large ferry, small motor boat, walking and then bus via hairpins turns--DH said no way would he ever drive that. We stopped in 4 towns--with plenty of time to walk around--they are very small, and 2.5 hrs in the last town--you could go to the beach or eat lunch, buy wine, etc. Also, it depends on where your next port is--if you can easily reach by train, then go for it DIY (take your passports, $ and CC) and just plan to take the train to the next port and stay in a cheap hotel that night if you miss the boat. Elaine

[Eileen G]

We have gone to Cinque Terre from Livorno using the trains. We had a long port day 7-8 so we had plenty of time. We had to take the train to Pisa and change trains to La Spezia then change again to Riomaggiore. You need to get to La Spezia before 10 to catch the train to Riomaggiore because it is a long time before the next one. Here is my report of what we did.

 

We left the ship and took a taxi to the train station then three trains to Cinque Terre. This is a group of five villages all along the coast. There is a trail along the water that connects all five towns. We got off the train at the first town Riomaggiore and walked around down by the water before we took the Via della Amore trail to the next town. This is the easiest of all the trails and we passed a lot of ship’s tours on this part. The trail hugs the mountain and the views are beautiful. At the second town Manarola we had lunch at a little sandwich and pizza place.

We then took the second trail which is a little harder and longer to the third town Cornigla. Cornigla sits up on a hill and there is a switch back trail up to it. We didn’t need to climb it since we were going to take the train to the next town and fortunately the train station in at the bottom of the hill. The trail between Cornigla and the fourth town, Vernazza is much longer and more difficult. It is only a five minute train ride to Vernazza where we had 45 minutes to look around before catching the train to the last town Monterosso. The towns are small and the train stations are right in the middle of everything so catching the trains is easy.

Monterosso is a beautiful seaside town with a very nice beach surrounded by cliffs. We walked along the road just above the beach and had a gelato. We caught the 3:43 train that was supposed to go straight back to the Livorno with no changes but when we checked the schedule, Pisa and Livorno were scratched off. We had no train schedule so we had to figure out which trains to take. The 3:45 train was 10 minutes late and when we got to La Spezia we had to find a train to Pisa. That train was also 10 minutes late and we just hopped on and it left before we even found a seat. Now we could relax a little because we knew there were a lot of trains from Pisa to Livorno. We easily found a train to Livorno which was also 10 minutes late and took a taxi back to the ship.

This day was quite an adventure. The train rides were part of the fun. We passed by the marble mines of Carrera where the marble Michelangelo used to carve David came from. It is way up in the mountains and it looks like snow but we realized it was marble shinning not snow. We also saw huge blocks of marble standing in yards along the tracks. The trains are very comfortable and a great way to travel. It was a long day though, we left the ship at 7:30 and didn’t return until 6:30.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their informative posts with me!

 

Elaine5...We're on a Princess cruise & found your insights very interesting.

 

Once again, thanks for all of the great info...it will give us plenty to consider along with info from Rick Steves new Mediterranean Cruise Ports book.

[phillygirl63]

I'm not into DIY and I'm not too fond of booking excursions through the ship, because they are generally very overpriced. I much prefer to book private tour companies where it makes sense just to simplify things. However, for Cinque Terre, I would recommend the ship's excursion. Ours was not overly expensive and was basically bus transportation. We did have a guide to accompany us on the ferries and take us from one town to the next. The guide and the ferry transfers were included in the price. We had a wonderful time and did not have to stress over timing, etc.

[deadzone1003]

We visited Cinque Terre from Livorno in May 2010, strictly by train. We visited 4 of the 5 towns though at a quick pace in order to meet the train schedule. We walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola along the trail which is a must-do. Our favorite towns were Riomaggiore and Vernazza. Our least favorite was Monterosso. The town we did not tour was Corniglia as we plan to visit the Field of Miracles in Pisa so we had limited time for the day. The train from La Spezia to Pisa stopped at a stop near the Field of Miracles before the main station at Pisa. So, it was just a two block walk to the Field of Miracles. We took the bus to the main station and hop on a train to return to Livorno. However, we recommend a more relaxed pace at Cinque Terre and not visit Pisa.

 

If you are to visit the Cinque Terre by train, most important thing is being one of the first ones to leave the ship, so you can catch a cab to the train station. Don't hesitate to share a cab. This is the unknown factor in your trip. Once you are at the train station then the train schedule will determine how long you can spend at each town. So, go to http://www.raileurope.com and determine if the train schedule fits your needs. Good Luck!

[elaine5]

Astro Flyer--since you are on Princess, this is one place I would take the ship's tour--we are DIYers, but decided that the # of train connections and the risk of trains being delayed (and there are not that many trains) was just too risky. It is not a cattle-herd bus tour--though you do use a bus to get to/from CT area. I thought $129 for all day was a decent price vs. other ship tours where you can save a lot DIY and have fun exploring.

In case you have similar ports--our DIY: Monaco (bus from Monaco to Eze-Nice-Monaco is total of 3 euros PP), Santorini (bus to Oia was 2 euros or so), Naples (circumvensia RT to Pompeii and Ercolano 8.6 euros--entrance fee 11 euros each site), Mykonos-bus to Paradise beach 1.6 euros--umbrella+2 chairs 12 euros, Rome--BIRG ticket about 9 euros--but tickets for Colo at Palatine Hill to the right of the Arch--no line ever. Then tour Palatine and Forum before Colo.

[Wildblue]

bobalink, thanks so much for that link to cinque terra ideas!

 

I think you just convinced me on what to do with our port stop in Livorno!

[bobalink]

bobalink, thanks so much for that link to cinque terra ideas!

 

I think you just convinced me on what to do with our port stop in Livorno!

 

You are welcome! I always appreciate the information that others have shared on these boards. I have learned so much here.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip to Cinque Terre.

[vegasgirl702]

You are welcome! I always appreciate the information that others have shared on these boards. I have learned so much here.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip to Cinque Terre.

 

 

You have convinced me too! Enjoyed reading that link you shared!