My in-laws, travelling with us, would like to take a day trip to Portofino and Cinque Terre while we are staying in Pistoia in May 2018. They have a rental car. but I'm wondering if ferry would be best. Also willing to pay for a "tour". They are willing to add an overnight somewhere. Could you please help?! I have not been able to find much on this. Grazi!
Elana
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16206 posts
Ferry? Where? In Pistoia? It would help to check a map before asking questions.
You can go by train or you can go by car.
To calculate driving times you can use:
Google maps
www.ViaMichelin.com
www.Rome2Rio.com
If you prefer trains, for train schedules you can use www.Trenitalia.com
Enter from PISTOIA to any of the 5 villages on the Cinque Terre.
For Portofino the station name is S.Margherita Ligure-Portofino. Once there you’d need a bus or a taxi or a boat to reach Portofino.
Posted by
Castle Rock, CO
43 posts
Don't know if you've checked drive times on google maps, but that's quite a lot of driving, and way too much to see in 1 day....definitely include an overnight. I would head to the closest town along the coast, due west from Pistoia, and hop a train to the CT....maybe Viareggio? You really don't need a car in the CT and in fact, they're kind of a pain to find a place to park. For instance, Monterrosso has parking lot "above" the town, then you drag your bags down the cobblestone streets. The train will land you right in one of the 5 villages. Ferries (if the seas aren't too high) are best to go from town to town, or alternatively, the train. Also ferry to Portofino.
We have also trained to La Spezia, then taken the ferry to Portovenere, also a very CT-looking village. Stayed in a B&B on the island just across the water from the village...beautiful views! You can then take ferry from Potovenere to the CT villages, and it is much less crowded and touristy.
Better hurry to get a good place to stay. I book B&B's 6-8 mos in advance in areas like this to get the top rated (Trip Advisor) places. And please book direct, and not through booking sites. You'll have much more flexibility and get to know the owners!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32398 posts
elena,
Even with a car, it's going to be challenging to visit both Portofino and the five towns of the Cinque Terre in one day.
If they're willing to do an overnight somewhere, one suggestion you could consider is to stay one (or two) nights in Levanto. That's only about five minuted (by train) from Monterosso so that would be a good "home base" to have a look at the five towns. Using the local trains is the quickest and easiest method to get around in that area. You can also use the boats (weather permitting) and go as far south as Porto Venere.
From Levanto the trip is as short as 33 minutes to S. Margherita Ligure-Portofino (depending on which train you choose). When you arrive in S. Margherita, you'd have to walk down the stairs and along the waterfront to the boat dock for the short (~20 minute) trip to Portofino. As I recall, you can buy boat tickets at the Bar behind the rail station. You can also hike or take a Taxi. You might find that although Portofino is very scenic and posh, it will only take a few hours to see it.
As your in-laws will have a car, I assume they're aware that each driver registered on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with the home D.L. They'll also have to be careful to avoid ZTL (limited traffic) areas in most Italian towns, including Pistoia - https://www.accessibilitacentristorici.it/ztl/toscana/pistoia.html (it's in Italian but Google Transalate or one of the helpful forum members should be able to help with a translation).