Cinque Terre from Livorno?

[delaney71]

We have a stop in Livorno, Italy and we'd like to visit Cinque Terre.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on transportation options to La Spezia (the southern end of Cinque Terre)?

[floridasun lover]

Hi! Do a search here on Cinque Terre . A poster (Leejnd4) did a complete itinerary with times and order of doing the towns using the trains. It is excellent. I did throw out all the info after we got back.

We did the trip two weeks ago from the Carnival Freedom. We were going to go from Livorno, but we unexpectedly docked in Genoa and went from there instead the day before. It was wonderful and easily doable in one day. Of course, we would have like to have stayed longer!

[GSPLover]

We have a stop in Livorno, Italy and we'd like to visit Cinque Terre.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on transportation options to La Spezia (the southern end of Cinque Terre)?

 

We did it on Oct 7th. I wrote an article on doing Cinque Terre on your own quite some time ago. ( http://www.ftroute.com/LIV_CinqueTerre.htm ). I am in the process of doing an update to include more info about CT itself. The info about the trains in the article is still valid. Info about getting from ship to train station needs to be updated.

 

Although our ship docked at 7am, there was no way to get to the station for an 8:11 train using the ships shuttle (required as we were docked way, way out.) They limited the number of cabs at the dock. Price to the station was 5 euro per person (take it or leave it.)

 

How long are you in the Livorno port?

[bernadette20]

I am also interested in making the trip to Cinque Terre on our own. I was not able to search the post from leelnd 4. Please let me know how to research that post. Thanks

[delaney71]

I am also interested in making the trip to Cinque Terre on our own. I was not able to search the post from leelnd 4. Please let me know how to research that post. Thanks

 

 

Bernadette:

 

Go to the top right corner of the forum page and click on "Search this Thread". Then past in "leelnd4" and hit enter. That took me to a listing of sites where leelnd4 had posted and there were a number dealing with Cinque Terre.

 

When do you visit Cinque Terre..........we arrive May 4 with NCL.

[delaney71]

FLORIDASUN & GPSLOVER:

 

Thanks for your posts on Cinque Terre.........very helpful!

 

We've been looking forward to seeing the 5 villages and finally we'll get there.

 

Thanks again.

[sayaguru]

Hi, It's leejnd4.

Here is a link where Lee provides lots of info (thank you). I cut and pasted for my trip next year. It sounds wonderful.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=845229&highlight=leejnd4

[wwinfl91]

Another option is to find others on your rollcall who are interested in doing the same tour and finding a tour company, there are a number of them on this board or a search on the internet will find others, that can take the 6 to 8 people who are interested. This kind of private tour will be much more enjoyable than a ship arranged big bus tour and will have less risk than trying it on your own using the Italian public transportation system.

 

Remember one of your main objectives is not to miss the ship.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[bernadette20]

I agree sharing a private tour would be ideal. We are only three traveling and a private tour is very expensive for us alone. I am traveling on the Oosterdam July 6th. Anyone interested?

[Hlitner]

I would add one additional option. For those comfortable driving in Italy, you can simply rent a car and drive yourself to Riomaggiore. We recently did this in May, and split the cost with another couple. Since a one-day car rental costs approximately $100 (we paid more because it was on a holiday when rental car dealers are usually closed) which works out to $25 per person. Once in Riomaggiore (there are paid parking garages) you than can use a combination of hiking, trains, and boats to see the villages you choose. When we did this trip, we also decided to stop at Pisa during our return drive so our passengers could see the Leaning Tower.

 

Hank

[seapenarth]

FLORIDASUN & GPSLOVER:

 

Thanks for your posts on Cinque Terre.........very helpful!

 

We've been looking forward to seeing the 5 villages and finally we'll get there.

 

Thanks again.

 

Livorno is not a good port to start a Cinque Terre tour. You need a cruise ship stopping in La Spezia, Portovenere or Genoa.:)

[Hlitner]

Livorno is not a good port to start a Cinque Terre tour. You need a cruise ship stopping in La Spezia, Portovenere or Genoa.:)

 

I would have to respectfully disagree with the prior post. It is true that those other ports (not commonly used as ports on most cruise ships) are a lot closer to Cinque Terre. But, getting to Riomaggiore (the southern start of Cinque Terre) takes about 1 1/2 hours (a little less if you have a fast driver) which happens to be the same amount of time it takes to get to Florence (the major destination for most passengers in Livorno). As I previously posted, on May 1, we were able to easily drive from Livorno to Riomaggiore, spend some time seeing 3 of the villages (including some hiking), have a nice slow lunch, stop at Pisa, on the way back, for a short visit to the Leaning Tower, and than still had plenty of time to get back to the ship. In fact, most of the cruise lines calling at Livorno do now offer a full-day tour to Cinque Terre for those who like ships' tours.

 

Hank

[drivers ed]

Would you recommend CINQUE TERRE during the month of November or is it too cold or wet. What is the traffic and roads like? Is it scenic on the way? or just a long drive?

[grandma13]

Livorno is not a good port to start a Cinque Terre tour. You need a cruise ship stopping in La Spezia, Portovenere or Genoa.:)

 

I also disagree with this. Leave the ship as early as you can. Try to team up with others for a taxi ride to the train station (20 euros for any size group; we found 4 people also wanting to go when we walked off the ship.)

 

We bought train tickets to La Spezia (had to change trains in Pisa on the way up but not the way back.) When we got there we bought a Cinque Terre card which allowed us to use the trains from there and to walk the trail. It was raining, and our time was lkimited, so we walked only from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We rode the trains to the others, but did not get to the farthest-away town, although I think we could have managed it. We had plenty of time to see the other four.

 

It was WAY cheaper than renting a car, which is useless when you get to Cinque Terre anyway.

 

I didn't look to see if the link is to the same posting, but someone named Lee Anne (I believe) wrote a couple of really good articles on doing this. The only thing we did differently was buy the original train ticket to La Spezia rather than Riomaggiore.

 

Nancy

[verga]

If you can put together a group of 10 to 16 pax, you could consider what we did.

 

On recommendation by another cruise critic member, we got in contact with a licensed Cinque Terra (CT) tour guide, Lucia Ambrosini. Her email is lucyvito@libero.it. We were very pleased with her and she speaks excellent English. Her charge was €185. She arranged a 20 passenger van to come down from LaSpezia at 7:00 am to pick us up at the Livorno dock. Their charge was €400 + an extra €60 for the parking fee at Pisa.

 

She met us at LaSpezia and gave us a tour of that city. It was interesting because during WW2, it was bombed unmercifully practically destroying it, so it is rather a new and modern city. It now has a big Italian naval presence. Our van delivered us up to the first town of Montorosso and from there on we walked to Riomaggiore along the Lover's Lane, took the ferry for a stop in Manarola and also at Vernazza. We didn't visit Corniglia. Then we took the train back to LaSpecia to meet our driver.

 

Lucia was keeping time and making sure that we are ahead of the cruise tours. Arriving early in Montorosso was so unique to see the town awakening. They were washing down the town square and shop keepers were opening their shops. The whole of CT is very clean and the building are so quaint and picturesque. The vertical vineyards are a sight to behold.

 

We left CT at about 3:00 pm, dropped off Lucia at LaSpecia and the driver took us to Pisa for a short visit there before retunring us back to our ship at about 5:30 pm. If you prefer to stay longer at CT, then you can skip the Pisa stop.

[MistyMoo]

It was WAY cheaper than renting a car, which is useless when you get to Cinque Terre anyway.Nancy

 

It must depend on when you are going, because we have a reservation with Hertz and the car is only costing us €24.

[Hlitner]

We do like to use the trains in Italy (when on a cruise) but not for Cinque Terre. Its a matter of the schedule to get to La Spezia and Riomaggiore. Yes it is possible (sounds like Nancy did it) but it can be a hassle. The earliest current connection would get you to La Spezia at 9:51, but that uses an IC+Plus train from Pisa which means you need reservations (not normally a problem unless the train is full). Once you get to La Spezia, you are still not even at Cinque Terre, but still need to get to the first village (Riomaggiore) by another train which would get you into the village about 10:10 (assuming all the trains are running on time and there is no strike). The ideal return train from Riomaggiore leaves at 3:52 and arrives in Livorno at 5:38. Keep in mind than you need to find a taxi to get you from the train to the ship, and that is cutting things a bit tight..even for a 6:30 departure. The only earlier train leaves Riomaggiore at 1:42 (awfully early) and that one uses an IC Plus train which requires reservations. If you use those IC+ trains it will cost you about 27 Euros round trip which is about $35 at current rates. You would also need to pay for taxis (round trip) to the Livorno station which would normally add another 10 Euros per person. This puts the transportation cost at nearly $50 per person.

 

As to a car rental, its actually cheaper (with 4 passengers) and assuming you pick-up at the port by around 7:30, you could be in Riomaggiore by around 9.

 

As I mentioned previously, we do not recommend that anyone rent a car in Italy if they are not comfortable driving in foreign lands, but for those that like rental cars its a very good option at this port.

 

As to the weather in November, the normal high temperatures the Cinque Terre would be about 50 degrees F. Although its not as warm as the summer, the trade-off is that there will be a lot fewer tourists crowding the towns and the hiking trails.

 

Hank

[GSPLover]

We do like to use the trains in Italy (when on a cruise) but not for Cinque Terre. Its a matter of the schedule to get to La Spezia and Riomaggiore. Yes it is possible (sounds like Nancy did it) but it can be a hassle. The earliest current connection would get you to La Spezia at 9:51, but that uses an IC+Plus train from Pisa which means you need reservations (not normally a problem unless the train is full). Once you get to La Spezia, you are still not even at Cinque Terre, but still need to get to the first village (Riomaggiore) by another train which would get you into the village about 10:10 (assuming all the trains are running on time and there is no strike). The ideal return train from Riomaggiore leaves at 3:52 and arrives in Livorno at 5:38. Keep in mind than you need to find a taxi to get you from the train to the ship, and that is cutting things a bit tight..even for a 6:30 departure. The only earlier train leaves Riomaggiore at 1:42 (awfully early) and that one uses an IC Plus train which requires reservations. If you use those IC+ trains it will cost you about 27 Euros round trip which is about $35 at current rates. You would also need to pay for taxis (round trip) to the Livorno station which would normally add another 10 Euros per person. This puts the transportation cost at nearly $50 per person.

 

Hank

As usual, I pretty much have to concur with what Hank has said. We did Cinque Terre, by train, from Livorno on Oct 7. Got off ship at 07:10 and took a taxi to the train station (5 Euro per person fixed price that day.) The ships shuttle didn't start till 08:00 and the LAST train to Pisa that will enable you to make all early connections to CT is at 08:11. Ended up killing the better part of an hour in Pisa waiting for the IC Plus to La Spezia.

 

La Spezia train station is undergoing major reconstruction. Cinque Terre National Park office was closed both times we were there. Ended up buying regular ticket to Riomaggiore for 1.80 Euro each. Upon arrival in Riomaggiore, bought Cinque Terre Treno cards (11 Euro each) which covers all park areas, trains and buses (yes there are a couple in CT.) National Park office is almost in front of you when you get off the train in Riomaggiore. They will also give you a copy of the current train schedule. It is a guide as I did see some time variences on most trains.

 

Train costs for the trip were: Livorno-Pisa, Regional 2cl, 1.80 Euro ea; Pisa-La Spezia, IC Plus 2cl, 8.00 Euro ea; La Spezia-Riomaggiore, Regional 2cl, 1.80 Euro ea; La Spezia-Livorno, IC Plus, 2cl, 9.50 Euro ea. [21.10 Euro ea total.]

 

Upon return to Livorno we took the #1 autobus to Piazza Grande. From there, we took the ships shuttle.

 

If you are taking the train to Cinque Terre you must have copies of all the train schedules; study them well in advance. Plan your time in CT and know which train you must take to get back (and know what your back-up schedule is should you miss your first choice.)

 

I wrote about CT on my train site (www.ftroute/italiantrains.htm .) Most of what I said is still valid (except for the ship to Livorno Centrale.) Train schedules mentioned are still valid. A re-write of that section should be posted within a few days.

[delaney71]

Anyone with experience with Papillon Service?

 

http://papillonservice.com/tours_cinqueterre.html

 

If I put together 8 people for this tour it would cost less that the ship tour, we'd visit more of the villages, transportation would be pre-arranged.

 

I am not adverse to figuring out trains or buses, but it seems a bit complicated at this port. We are in port from 8 am to 8 pm, so we have some time.

 

Does anyone have experience with other tour operators in Livorno?

 

Lots of good discussion and ideas in this thread.........thank you all.

[delaney71]

Anyone with experience with Papillon Service?

 

http://papillonservice.com/tours_cinqueterre.html

 

If I put together 8 people for this tour it would cost less that the ship tour, we'd visit more of the villages, transportation would be pre-arranged.

 

I am not adverse to figuring out trains or buses, but it seems a bit complicated at this port. We are in port from 8 am to 8 pm, so we have some time.

 

Does anyone have experience with other tour operators in Livorno?

 

Lots of good discussion and ideas in this thread.........thank you all.

[bellelinus]

Anyone with experience with Papillon Service?

 

http://papillonservice.com/tours_cinqueterre.html

 

If I put together 8 people for this tour it would cost less that the ship tour, we'd visit more of the villages, transportation would be pre-arranged.

 

I am not adverse to figuring out trains or buses, but it seems a bit complicated at this port. We are in port from 8 am to 8 pm, so we have some time.

 

Does anyone have experience with other tour operators in Livorno?

 

Lots of good discussion and ideas in this thread.........thank you all.

 

I used Papillon last year and they were wonderful -- reliable, polite, friendly, etc. Our driver was Roberto but most of the planning was done with Lina. I would definitely recommend them.

[grandma13]

It must depend on when you are going, because we have a reservation with Hertz and the car is only costing us €24.

 

No kidding. I admit we did not check on car rentals because one post on the message boards said it would be $150, not to mention the hassle of getting to where you pick up the car and having to drop it off after. And of course you will just park it for the day once you get there. Since my husband thinks he would feel comfortable driving there, we might have done it for 24 euros. Anyway, the train worked wonderfully for us and we have no regrets. Still, another time (if there ever is one) I would check on the car.

 

I think our next trip to Italy won't involve a cruise so we will plan to drive on that one.

 

Nancy

[yusi50]

Livorno is not a good port to start a Cinque Terre tour. You need a cruise ship stopping in La Spezia, Portovenere or Genoa.:)

 

My husband and I just got back (Nov 10) from the NCL Gem which stopped in Livorno. Even when the ship docked at 7:00 AM, the ship shuttle did not started until 8:00 AM. We had to walk outside the gated part of the port and take a cab for $20.00 euros. We got to the train station to catch the first train to Pisa however the train to La Spezia got delayed for about 40 min. The Pisa Centrale is being renovated and it is complete chaos. We had to move about 3 times from one track to the other. We got to Riomaggiore around 11:00 AM. The Via De Amore (Sp) was closed due to prior day heavy rain. We decided to take the train to go the other villages and stopped in Vernazza first. We had an wonderful Rissotto di Mare (which was the best food that he had in the entire trip) and since we were so concerned with the train delays we decided to head back to Pisa. We waited again about 30 minutes in Vernazza and about 20 more minutes in La Spezia. We decided see the Field of Miracles in Pisa before going back to the ship since we had never been there.

 

Conclusion: If you are going to take the train, check the schedules and be prepared to wait at the train station. We ended up only been in Cinque Terre for about 2 hours. In my opinion, it is a long trip and the uncertainty of not making it back to the ship on time might ruin the day. Also, check if the trails are open as in my case they weren't.

[Hlitner]

No kidding. I admit we did not check on car rentals because one post on the message boards said it would be $150, not to mention the hassle of getting to where you pick up the car and having to drop it off after. And of course you will just park it for the day once you get there. Since my husband thinks he would feel comfortable driving there, we might have done it for 24 euros. Anyway, the train worked wonderfully for us and we have no regrets. Still, another time (if there ever is one) I would check on the car.

 

I think our next trip to Italy won't involve a cruise so we will plan to drive on that one.

 

Nancy

 

Nancy,

I was the one who did that post, but there were some extenuating circumstances (mentioned in my post). We did that rental on May 1, which is a major Italian holiday. On that particular day, most of the car rental firms were closed and even the internal port transportation system was closed for the day. We were only able to obtain a rental car by paying a large premium (hence the $150) to get the local rental car agency to open their doors on a national holiday. Normally, rentals are not such a hassle.

 

Hank

[grandma13]

Nancy,

I was the one who did that post, but there were some extenuating circumstances (mentioned in my post). We did that rental on May 1, which is a major Italian holiday. On that particular day, most of the car rental firms were closed and even the internal port transportation system was closed for the day. We were only able to obtain a rental car by paying a large premium (hence the $150) to get the local rental car agency to open their doors on a national holiday. Normally, rentals are not such a hassle.

 

Hank

 

Ah, I see what you mean. Since we will probably return to Italy in a couple of years without a cruise, I'm glad to see the cars aren't always that much! As I can tell from the poster who had trouble with the trains (which we didn't) you can tell everyone's experience will be a little different. I think we all do what looks best at the time and can't look back and wonder if we should have done something else unless it helps for the next trip.

 

Nancy