Cinque Terra by ship?

[DaveC426913]

We put off a trip to Cinque Terra many years ago because of the quake there. I'd like to get there eventually. Ideally, this spring/summer, for our 25th anniversary.

 

I'd like to maximize the time we can spend visiting as many of the 5 cities as feasible.

 

I've looked around at cruises and it seems to me there's only one port - La Spezia - and they only stop there for 12 hours.

 

I saw this:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?startDate=2017-01&endDate=2017-07&portofcall=6632

But it's not as much help as I'd have liked.

 

If there are any cruises that stop over for longer than 12 hours, maybe we can get to more than one or two of them.

 

On the other hand, if we started or ended our cruise near Cinque Terra, we could spend as long as we can afford on land before/after the flight.

 

 

Suggestions?

Edited September 2, 2016 by DaveC426913

[CruiserBruce]

Ideally 2-4 days would be a good time there, so I would do a land trip before or after your cruise.

[Langoustine]

Ideally 2-4 days would be a good time there, so I would do a land trip before or after your cruise.

 

Yes, and you will have a much better time in the Cinque Terre towns if you time your visit for days when cruise ships are not in La Spezia. The sheer numbers of cruise ship passengers simply overwhelm the towns during the day. To spend the night (or several) there is still pretty magical.

[Hlitner]

The answer to the OP's question is simply NO! If you want to experience a specific part of Italy (or any other place) in depth....a cruise is not a good way. You need to simply take a land trip and spend as many days as you please in one of the villages....or perhaps nearby at a larger town such as La Spezia. Cruises are a great way to get the feel of a place and a quick overview...but cannot replace spending meaningful time on a land trip. So book a flight to Milan, rent a car...and you are ready to go :).

 

Hank

[DaveC426913]

Yes, and you will have a much better time in the Cinque Terre towns if you time your visit for days when cruise ships are not in La Spezia. The sheer numbers of cruise ship passengers simply overwhelm the towns during the day. To spend the night (or several) there is still pretty magical.

Good point. Got to figure out what days crusie ships are not there though...

 

 

The answer to the OP's question is simply NO! If you want to experience a specific part of Italy (or any other place) in depth....a cruise is not a good way. You need to simply take a land trip and spend as many days as you please in one of the villages....or perhaps nearby at a larger town such as La Spezia. Cruises are a great way to get the feel of a place and a quick overview...but cannot replace spending meaningful time on a land trip. So book a flight to Milan, rent a car...and you are ready to go :).

 

Hank

I know, I know. But it's always a balance between seeing a few places in-depth and seeing many places.

 

We are also seriously considering staying at a B&B and making day-trips. (Or better yet, a couple of different B&B's over the week, so we're not limited in our travel radius.)

 

There's almost no way you can go wrong finding things to see in Italy!

 

It would be cool to do Italy off-the-beaten-track. My wife has an Italian heritage and dreams of going there for a month, renting a small place and just going to the local markets for stuff to cook.

 

I'd welcome suggestions on where/how to do this.

Edited September 6, 2016 by DaveC426913

[Viv0828]

Several years ago we ended a cruise in Venice and took the train to the cinque terre. We spent 5 days wandering the area. We rented a small apartment on vrbo.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited September 6, 2016 by Viv0828

[Langoustine]

It would be cool to do Italy off-the-beaten-track. My wife has an Italian heritage and dreams of going there for a month, renting a small place and just going to the local markets for stuff to cook.

 

I'd welcome suggestions on where/how to do this.

 

Look at VRBO or just google apartment rentals Italy and see what looks good (and affordable). Things get much cheaper in the off-season, especially the farther south you go.

[Islandgirl4242]

Good point. Got to figure out what days crusie ships are not there though...

I know, I know. But it's always a balance between seeing a few places in-depth and seeing many places.

 

We are also seriously considering staying at a B&B and making day-trips. (Or better yet, a couple of different B&B's over the week, so we're not limited in our travel radius.)

 

There's almost no way you can go wrong finding things to see in Italy!

 

It would be cool to do Italy off-the-beaten-track. My wife has an Italian heritage and dreams of going there for a month, renting a small place and just going to the local markets for stuff to cook.

 

I'd welcome suggestions on where/how to do this.

We're on a W Med cruise next month ending in Civi. We're taking the train to Cinque Terre and have booked 4 nights at a BnB in Vernazza with plans to hike the trails and also take the train between villages. At the end of our visit we're taking the train to Rome for a couple of days before flying home.

 

I cannot imagine being in Cinque Terre with a cruise ship docked in LaSpezia...these are small villages that would be overwhelmed. Actually the Italian government has been writing articles about limiting the number of visitors to Cinque Terre in hopes of preserving the trails and natural beauty of the area. I hope it doesn't come to that.

 

Whatever you decide to do in Italy have a wonderful celebration of your 25th anniversary!! ~~Judy

[Hlitner]

Good point. Got to figure out what days crusie ships are not there though...

 

 

 

I know, I know. But it's always a balance between seeing a few places in-depth and seeing many places.

 

We are also seriously considering staying at a B&B and making day-trips. (Or better yet, a couple of different B&B's over the week, so we're not limited in our travel radius.)

 

There's almost no way you can go wrong finding things to see in Italy!

 

It would be cool to do Italy off-the-beaten-track. My wife has an Italian heritage and dreams of going there for a month, renting a small place and just going to the local markets for stuff to cook.

 

I'd welcome suggestions on where/how to do this.

 

Now you are speaking my language :). We are avid cruisers and have spent more then 3 years of our lives aboard cruise ships. But we also love land trips....especially DIY European driving trips. Over the years we have rented several apartments in various parts of France...and its been great fun. We have also driven more then 10,000 miles within Italy...which has also been great fun. But, although we know the areas we would love to rent...Italy continues to elude our efforts to find ideal rentals (for only a couple) in our favorite areas. One ideal area (for us) would be to rent a place somewhere within 15 minutes of San Gimignano (where we have spent weeks in hotels). With a car, we think its an ideal base for exploring much of Tuscany (we love this region). And if one wants to head into Florence one evening for dinner, you can simply park (for free) at Certaldo and take the train into town (avoiding dealing with the parking issues in Florence).

 

As to Cinque Terre...its a charming area...but now that Italy has opened up the port of La Spezia for large cruise ships...they have gone a long way to ruining the entire area :(. And the Italian government, showing the stupidity that we see from most world governments....wants to implement a new plan to limit the road traffic into Cinque Terre. So, the idiots allowed the area to be overwhelmed with large cruise ships...and now want to penalize Italians (and others) by limited road traffic? And another very sad fact is that although it is now nearly 5 years since the horrific mud slides....the Italian authorities have been very slow to repair the damage in the 5 villages. The famed Lovers Walk (between Riomaggiore and Manarola) continues to be closed....with no prospect of it being repaired in the near future. Several other villages still show lots of damage (some of it is hidden just outside the major tourist sections) with repairs taking far longer then one would expect.

 

But the reality of Cinque Terre is that these small villages cannot handle the additional tourist traffic from the large ships that now call at La Spezia. When a large ship is docked in Livorno...folks go to several different places (especially Florence). But when a 4000 passenger ship calls at La Spezia...nearly all head to the small village of Riomaggiore. This past April (before the high season) we saw tourists packed several rows deep...waiting for the train at both Riomaggiore and Vernazza. What charm there was....was mitigated by hoards of cruisers (mixed with other tourists) and DW and I quickly decided to head back to our car and move on to a different area.

 

Personally, we think that the Italian government needs to either close La Spezia to all cruise ships..or at the very least limit it to no more then 1 ship per day....and only during weekdays. You would think they would have learned their lesson with the Port of Venice (which has become a political hot potato in Italy) but noooo....they cannot make the decision to turn down cruise ship revenue...even as they are aware it is ruining entire regions of their country. In our hemisphere we have seen the cruise industry ruin some Caribbean Islands (St Thomas quickly comes to mind) and turn rural Alaska into a summer "Times Square." Our praise goes to Charleston, SC...where the locals really put their foot down on limiting cruise ship visits.

 

Hank

[DipBrat]

Now you are speaking my language :). We are avid cruisers and have spent more then 3 years of our lives aboard cruise ships. But we also love land trips....especially DIY European driving trips. Over the years we have rented several apartments in various parts of France...and its been great fun. We have also driven more then 10,000 miles within Italy...which has also been great fun. But, although we know the areas we would love to rent...Italy continues to elude our efforts to find ideal rentals (for only a couple) in our favorite areas. One ideal area (for us) would be to rent a place somewhere within 15 minutes of San Gimignano (where we have spent weeks in hotels). With a car, we think its an ideal base for exploring much of Tuscany (we love this region). And if one wants to head into Florence one evening for dinner, you can simply park (for free) at Certaldo and take the train into town (avoiding dealing with the parking issues in Florence).

 

As to Cinque Terre...its a charming area...but now that Italy has opened up the port of La Spezia for large cruise ships...they have gone a long way to ruining the entire area :(. And the Italian government, showing the stupidity that we see from most world governments....wants to implement a new plan to limit the road traffic into Cinque Terre. So, the idiots allowed the area to be overwhelmed with large cruise ships...and now want to penalize Italians (and others) by limited road traffic? And another very sad fact is that although it is now nearly 5 years since the horrific mud slides....the Italian authorities have been very slow to repair the damage in the 5 villages. The famed Lovers Walk (between Riomaggiore and Manarola) continues to be closed....with no prospect of it being repaired in the near future. Several other villages still show lots of damage (some of it is hidden just outside the major tourist sections) with repairs taking far longer then one would expect.

 

But the reality of Cinque Terre is that these small villages cannot handle the additional tourist traffic from the large ships that now call at La Spezia. When a large ship is docked in Livorno...folks go to several different places (especially Florence). But when a 4000 passenger ship calls at La Spezia...nearly all head to the small village of Riomaggiore. This past April (before the high season) we saw tourists packed several rows deep...waiting for the train at both Riomaggiore and Vernazza. What charm there was....was mitigated by hoards of cruisers (mixed with other tourists) and DW and I quickly decided to head back to our car and move on to a different area.

 

Personally, we think that the Italian government needs to either close La Spezia to all cruise ships..or at the very least limit it to no more then 1 ship per day....and only during weekdays. You would think they would have learned their lesson with the Port of Venice (which has become a political hot potato in Italy) but noooo....they cannot make the decision to turn down cruise ship revenue...even as they are aware it is ruining entire regions of their country. In our hemisphere we have seen the cruise industry ruin some Caribbean Islands (St Thomas quickly comes to mind) and turn rural Alaska into a summer "Times Square." Our praise goes to Charleston, SC...where the locals really put their foot down on limiting cruise ship visits.

 

Hank

 

I don't think it has been ruined and Venice would be as busy as Times Square even without cruise ships.

 

I first visited Cinque Terra by cruise ship and in 2014 went back and spent a week there. For me the highlight of the trip was hiking between the towns. Even on a busy cruise ship day when most of the towns can get overrun (Corniglia is an exception as it is a 15 minute hike up the hill from the train.) five minutes outside of each town you are hiking past vineyards and enjoying beautiful views of the town.

 

There are still great days to be had off a big ship from La Spezia for example:

Take the train to Corniglia and hike to Vernazza. Skip the rest of the towns and enjoy a nice seafood dinner in Vernazza. Probably still one of the best days off a ship you can have.

[Hlitner]

I don't think it has been ruined and Venice would be as busy as Times Square even without cruise ships.

 

I first visited Cinque Terra by cruise ship and in 2014 went back and spent a week there. For me the highlight of the trip was hiking between the towns. Even on a busy cruise ship day when most of the towns can get overrun (Corniglia is an exception as it is a 15 minute hike up the hill from the train.) five minutes outside of each town you are hiking past vineyards and enjoying beautiful views of the town.

 

There are still great days to be had off a big ship from La Spezia for example:

Take the train to Corniglia and hike to Vernazza. Skip the rest of the towns and enjoy a nice seafood dinner in Vernazza. Probably still one of the best days off a ship you can have.

 

We agree with you about hiking between Corniglia and Vernazza...and also enjoy hiking the other open trails. But most cruise ship passengers consider "hiking" down a flight of steps on a ship to be overexertion...and will continue to pack into Riomaggiore! Here is an interesting magazine article that sums up some of the local issues:

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-02-17/italys-cinque-terre-to-begin-limiting-tourists

 

The issue is actually very controversial with locals and is commonly discussed in local/regional newspapers. In fact, when we last visited (this past April) the headlines in the regional papers were about new government efforts to control the crowds.

 

Hank

[DipBrat]

We agree with you about hiking between Corniglia and Vernazza...and also enjoy hiking the other open trails. But most cruise ship passengers consider "hiking" down a flight of steps on a ship to be overexertion...and will continue to pack into Riomaggiore! Here is an interesting magazine article that sums up some of the local issues:

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-02-17/italys-cinque-terre-to-begin-limiting-tourists

 

The issue is actually very controversial with locals and is commonly discussed in local/regional newspapers. In fact, when we last visited (this past April) the headlines in the regional papers were about new government efforts to control the crowds.

 

Hank

 

Not sure what you can do about crowds. It is really a love hate relationship. I imagine the 10000 cruise passengers still spend more than a 1000 overnight guests. Hard to believe they were once sleepy fishing towns.

 

My then 5 year old actually hiked all 4 sections. But yest currently all the sections are challenging. It's too bad the leisurely walk between the first two towns was washed out.

 

While you are right about "most" passengers there are still lots of active cruisers of all ages.

[KiwiGal117]

We were part of that last week when Harmony was docked in La Spezia. We booked a private tour of Cinque Terre and found the villages to be magical, charming and not particularly over run. There was only one cruise ship in port that day though, and many we spoke to onboard were doing the trek to Florence or Lucca. I can understand the need to regulate the number of people going to these places, but how you do that effectively is a bit of a mystery to me. However, it was the highlight of our trip (which is saying something as it was a wonderful trip all around). I would love to go back and stay sometime.

[Jerica21]

Due to time constraints, we are having to choose between Corniglia and the Panoramic drive versus Monterosso. Can anyone provide feedback/input on which option you would pick? Thanks in advance for the response.

[DipBrat]

Personally I would recommend Corniglia. Monterosso is probably the least picturesque of the towns, but has the only beach. Corniglia is not strikingly beautiful like Vernazza, but seems a little bit more authentic. If you go all the way to the end of the town towards the water you can see the other 4 towns.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Hlitner]

Due to time constraints, we are having to choose between Corniglia and the Panoramic drive versus Monterosso. Can anyone provide feedback/input on which option you would pick? Thanks in advance for the response.

 

Given those choices we would reject both...and simply go the villages on our own :). Monterosso al Mare is the Northern most village and where we will often go with our car because it has lots of parking. As a stand-alone village it would rank as our least favorite of the 5. If you have the time (or are on your own) you can use this village as a jumping off point to the other villages...by simply using the train or a small ferry.

 

Hank

Edited September 18, 2016 by Hlitner

[Jerica21]

Thank you both so much for the replies.

[TMLAalum]

We will now spend 3 nights in Cinque Terre pre-cruise that departs from Rome. Using AA ff miies to either Milan or Genoa, taking the train to one of the villages, and then taking the train to Civitavecchia to embark on our cruise.

 

Best of the villages for a base? Hotel or apartment? Recommendations for either?

At this moment we are very fit septuagenarians and hopefully will be so in October '17.

 

Thanks!

[Hlitner]

We will now spend 3 nights in Cinque Terre pre-cruise that departs from Rome. Using AA ff miies to either Milan or Genoa, taking the train to one of the villages, and then taking the train to Civitavecchia to embark on our cruise.

 

Best of the villages for a base? Hotel or apartment? Recommendations for either?

At this moment we are very fit septuagenarians and hopefully will be so in October '17.

 

Thanks!

 

WOW! You would probably get folks suggesting each village depending on their own experience and preference. 3 Nights is a long time in the villages..unless you enjoy hiking. If you are planning on going elsewhere (other then the 5 villages) we would look at Riomaggiore because of its close location to La Spezia (and its train station). If we planned on simply spending all those days in the 5 villages..we would be looking very hard for the perfect place to stay in Vernazza.

 

Hank

[Viv0828]

We spent 5 nights after a cruise ending in venice in an apartment in manarola. We hiked to all the other villages and took the train and ferry to portofino for one day and Porto nuovo another day. We had a great time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app