Small Group Shore Excursion from Livorno to Cinque Terre

[Lost in Italy]

Anyone have recommendations for a private small group tour of Cinque Terre from Livorno. Our ship will be in the port of Livorno overnight so we would not have the stress of “missing the boat”.  I realize this is a full day tour.  Looking forward to your suggestions. 

[Hlitner]

You have two issues.  1.  You need to put together or join a small group and 2. Somebody in your group needs to arrange for a private vehicle/driver/guide,  A good starting place is the CC Roll Call board for your specific cruise.  If nobody has already proposed a tour, you might want to post your idea and see if you can get some other folks to show an interest.  At that point you can look for a tour provider.  Many of us here on CC have had good results with Romeinlimo.com, but there are certainly other companies.

 

Another option is to simply rent a car (we have often suggested using Sifracar.com) and simply driving yourself (or a small group) to Riomaggiore.  At that town, there is free parking along the approach road (although you might have quite a hike into town) or paid parking at an indoor garage/parking lot located near where the road enters town.  

 

We have never seen a reason to have a guide at Cinque Terre.  You are talking about 5 relatively small villages that are all overrun with tourists.  They are connected by a train line (you can buy a day pass or individual tickets) and there are also some small ferry boats that can be used to get around between the villages.  There are also some hiking trails (that connect the villages) although few cruisers are that ambitious.  Trying to do all 5 villages on a port day is, in our opinion, madness, so we suggest you plan on going to 2 or 3 of the villages.  Once in any of these villages, the only way to get around is walking!  

 

If you do hire a car/driver, they can drive you to several of the villages (so you do not need to use the train or a ferry).  I have done this with our own rental car.  But, there is a lot to say about just parking at Riomaggiore and using the train.  There is also a lot of parking at the far end of the villages (Monterosso al Mare) but this is much further from Livorno.  Parking at (or even near) the other villages can be quite difficult which is why we like to park at one of the end villages and use the train.

 

I feel obligated to add a comment about overtourism.  When we were last at Cinque Terre (this past April) even we were surprised at the large crowds in all the villages we visited.  This was at the edge of the shoulder season, but the crowds rivaled what we used to see during the prime summer season.  Although the settings are still beautiful, a lot of the charm (especially in Riomaggiore) has been lost to the big crowds, touristy shops/cafes, etc.  We tried to "adjust" by going to Corniglia, which is the least visited village because of the difficulty in getting to the town (you need a shuttle bus from the train station or a long hike).  But even Corniglia was pretty crowded!  Argh!

 

Hank

[CruiserBruce]

Another vote for Rome in Limo...huge thread just down the board.

[vinonme2]

We will be on a Med. cruise and in Livorno in November and have booked "Best of Cinque Terre" with Italytours.eu.  

This will be our first excursion with them but they have very positive reviews and have been very responsive to my questions. 

[Lost in Italy]

On 7/8/2024 at 7:08 PM, Hlitner said:

You have two issues.  1.  You need to put together or join a small group and 2. Somebody in your group needs to arrange for a private vehicle/driver/guide,  A good starting place is the CC Roll Call board for your specific cruise.  If nobody has already proposed a tour, you might want to post your idea and see if you can get some other folks to show an interest.  At that point you can look for a tour provider.  Many of us here on CC have had good results with Romeinlimo.com, but there are certainly other companies.

 

Another option is to simply rent a car (we have often suggested using Sifracar.com) and simply driving yourself (or a small group) to Riomaggiore.  At that town, there is free parking along the approach road (although you might have quite a hike into town) or paid parking at an indoor garage/parking lot located near where the road enters town.  

 

We have never seen a reason to have a guide at Cinque Terre.  You are talking about 5 relatively small villages that are all overrun with tourists.  They are connected by a train line (you can buy a day pass or individual tickets) and there are also some small ferry boats that can be used to get around between the villages.  There are also some hiking trails (that connect the villages) although few cruisers are that ambitious.  Trying to do all 5 villages on a port day is, in our opinion, madness, so we suggest you plan on going to 2 or 3 of the villages.  Once in any of these villages, the only way to get around is walking!  

 

If you do hire a car/driver, they can drive you to several of the villages (so you do not need to use the train or a ferry).  I have done this with our own rental car.  But, there is a lot to say about just parking at Riomaggiore and using the train.  There is also a lot of parking at the far end of the villages (Monterosso al Mare) but this is much further from Livorno.  Parking at (or even near) the other villages can be quite difficult which is why we like to park at one of the end villages and use the train.

 

I feel obligated to add a comment about overtourism.  When we were last at Cinque Terre (this past April) even we were surprised at the large crowds in all the villages we visited.  This was at the edge of the shoulder season, but the crowds rivaled what we used to see during the prime summer season.  Although the settings are still beautiful, a lot of the charm (especially in Riomaggiore) has been lost to the big crowds, touristy shops/cafes, etc.  We tried to "adjust" by going to Corniglia, which is the least visited village because of the difficulty in getting to the town (you need a shuttle bus from the train station or a long hike).  But even Corniglia was pretty crowded!  Argh!

 

Hank

Thank you for such detail. Will probably join an independent small group tour.