In need of some guidance....pls

[COBRA2023]

Good day !

 

Is it possible to do Cinque terre on your own for a day trip ?.....We disembark in Livorno and we are a bit lost, We talked about setting foot and exploring places and Cinque terre looks espectacular, but we have not clue how to get there from the cruise port ( maybe train ? ). The cruise line does not organize any excursion to the area- Could you please help or guide us to any site where we could start ? a million thanks !

[klfrodo]

Most of my research is done on YouTube.

Here's a start then there will be other links or you can drill down the search to be more specific

 

Edited October 5 by klfrodo

[cruisemom42]

Search for Cinque Terre on this forum. There have been some pretty extensive threads on how to get around using the train and/or the ferries.

 

[Hlitner]

Possible?  Yes, and we have done it a few times.  But our solution is not for everyone as we simply rent a car (from Sifracar.com) and they have always been able to deliver our car to the port (usually close to the gangway).  I am not sure if the current port security has changed the rental car pickup.  But we would simply hop in our car and be at Riomaggiore in a little more than an hour.  At Riomaggiore there is a paid parking garage/lot and also free parking along the road (which can involve a long hike along the road to get into town).  On one trip, we took another couple (who split the rental car cost) and left Riomaggiore a little early so we could give them a few minutes at the Leaning Tower (Pisa).

 

Using the train is more complicated and it takes a lot of time.  You must first get to the Livorno train station which is best done with a taxi (assuming you can get a taxi).  The train can take over 2 hours (once you get on the first train) and is not a very efficient way to get to Cinque Terre on a day trip.  

 

As to the cost of renting a car, assuming you can get another couple (usually easy to find on the CC Roll call board) the cost per person is generally about $30 to $35 per person. Once at Riomaggiore, one can move between the villages on the train and/or ferries.

 

Hank

[edinburgher]

17 hours ago, COBRA2023 said:

but we have not clue how to get there from the cruise port ( maybe train ?

As already suggested in post #3, read some of the past threads for information as there are many of them.

 

If you have not already searched for them using the fast and easy SEARCH TOOL which will bring them up in seconds, choose from these.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/search/?q=cinque terre&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464

[COBRA2023]

Thanks you everyone, very helpful !

[edinburgher]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:50 PM, COBRA2023 said:

We disembark in Livorno and we are a bit lost,

This  newly posted thread should be of interest to you as it is a DIY guide to Cinq Terre and you only need tweak the starting(and ending)  point.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3027827-on-your-own-excursion-to-cinque-terre/#comment-68000195

 

 

[Jeremiah1212]

That thread is full of a lot of detail - but briefly, from my recent experience, I would not do it. I'm typically a strict DIY'er. The only reason we did it on our own is because we had an overnight in Livorno. 

 

You have to get from port to the Livorno train station which via taxi is ~10 minutes ride with a flat rate of 30 euros. 

 

You need tickets from Livorno Central to La Spezia Central. You want the Frecciabianca or InterCity train since it takes roughly 1hr 15min versus 2 hours on the Regional train. 

 

Then you get from La Spezia to the Cinque Terre itself. You need a day pass which is expensive at 32 euros or purchase tickets between each stop. If you are doing this with 1 day only in port you don't have time for more than 1 village. The Cinque Terre train between villages and back to La Spezia are incredibly crowded. 

 

By the time we purchases all of the train tickets we needed and taxi back from Livorno Central to the port I had spent 166 euros or ~$185 USD. If we had not had the overnight in Livorno this would not have been worth the time or expense, if possible at all. Private excursions are expensive but worth it in this situation if Cinque Terre is a must-see. 

 

To make this work you also need to be fluent in purchasing train tickets and how knowing how the trains and stations operate. 

Edited October 7 by Jeremiah1212

[COBRA2023]

3 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

That thread is full of a lot of detail - but briefly, from my recent experience, I would not do it. I'm typically a strict DIY'er. The only reason we did it on our own is because we had an overnight in Livorno. 

 

You have to get from port to the Livorno train station which via taxi is ~10 minutes ride with a flat rate of 30 euros. 

 

You need tickets from Livorno Central to La Spezia Central. You want the Frecciabianca or InterCity train since it takes roughly 1hr 15min versus 2 hours on the Regional train. 

 

Then you get from La Spezia to the Cinque Terre itself. You need a day pass which is expensive at 32 euros or purchase tickets between each stop. If you are doing this with 1 day only in port you don't have time for more than 1 village. The Cinque Terre train between villages and back to La Spezia are incredibly crowded. 

 

By the time we purchases all of the train tickets we needed and taxi back from Livorno Central to the port I had spent 166 euros or ~$185 USD. If we had not had the overnight in Livorno this would not have been worth the time or expense, if possible at all. Private excursions are expensive but worth it in this situation if Cinque Terre is a must-see. 

 

To make this work you also need to be fluent in purchasing train tickets and how knowing how the trains and stations operate. 

excellent points...thanks !

[Scottishclover]

Cinque Terre is best from La Spezia port. We did this in August and had a great day. However it was so crowded and if we hadn’t been hiking from village to village, the masses would have been too much for me. The trails, which were quieter than we had anticipated, were a welcome respite.

 

A really nice DIY day from Livorno is Lucca. It’s our favourite town in Italy and would be much more relaxing than Cinque Terre. 
 

Regarding trains in Italy, relatively easy if you download the Trenitalia App and do everything from there.