Boat trip in the Cinque Terre

We enjoyed the boat trip from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. Thought it was a better way to see the towns on the cliff side. Did get off and do some walking as well.

It was a worthwhile and thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a day

I did not go as far as Portovenere.

Portovenere, and the ferry to get there, was one of my favourite experiences from our 4 days in CT. Highly recommend it. The views from the boat are spectacular and meandering around and up to the top of the hill made a great day. My friends and I made a poor lunch restaurant choice, so I'd say get away from the harbour before picking a place. Other than that, it was a perfect day and we even discussed how we'd prefer to stay there next time.

Marcus,

IMHO, the boat trip from Monterosso to Porto Venere is definitely "worth it". It provides a great view of all the towns from the water and it's a very pleasant trip. Porto Venere is a very picturesque town, and certainly worth a few hours.

As you may know, the boat docks in the "old town" part of Monterosso so a short walk from the station is required. There's a ticket booth on the way to the dock.

When did you visit Ct? Which month

Skipping between one town to the next on the boat was one of the highlights of our time in the Cinque Terre. I definitely would recommend it. The views of the towns you get from the water are gorgeous.

Are the tickets available online or do we have to buy them at one of the towns?

Mike,

Are you referring to tickets for the boats? If departing from Monterosso, there's a ticket booth on the way out to the dock (on the right when facing the water). I haven't been there for a year or so, but I'm assuming nothing has changed.

The ticket booth in Riomaggiore is along the walkway that goes around the small harbour, on the way to the boat dock (which is down a stairway that leads down to the water).

Great information! Thanks for posting it.

Thank you very much for that information, Ken. These boats get pretty crowded, right? I'm deciding between these and whether to get a private boat tour with a smaller group of people.

Mike,

The boats can be somewhat crowded at some points during the day, but I've never found that to be a problem. There always seems to be a place to sit. They use a narrow ramp to board the boats, as seen in THIS picture taken in Monterosso, which can be a bit of a problem for those with mobility issues.

If you have a large budget, using a private boat service is certainly one option. I used the larger boat to see the five towns from the water and get to Porto Venere, and it was a pleasant trip.

Portovenere makes a great daytrip from the C.T. and we really enjoyed our time here. The boat also took us on an excursion around several islands before dropping us off in Portovenere. We did this during a visit in the month of July leaving from Vernazza where we were staying. Purchased our tkts down at the waterfront that day. Boats do not run if the water is rough. It is like a "gangplank" that we walked up to get on the boat from V. And the waters can get rough in the summer months here. The day we arrived on this July visit it was a beautiful blue sky day but the waves were HUGE spashing up over the breakfront which was all roped off to keep people away. A person could have easily been swept out to sea! Obviously no boats operating that day nor the next day. Had been to C.T. 2x before that in the months of June and July and most recently in the month of Oct. and have never seen waves like that before.

Thanks everyone!

If waves are high in the summer months, are there better months to go if you primarily want to ride the boats rather than hike?

cala,

Waves can be high at any time according to current conditions. It could be perfectly calm on the way to the destination (ie: Porto Venere) but rough on the way back (or vice versa).

Mike,

The boats can be somewhat crowded at some points during the day, but I've never found that to be a problem. There always seems to be a place to sit. They use a narrow ramp to board the boats, as seen in THIS picture taken in Monterosso, which can be a bit of a problem for those with mobility issues.

If you have a large budget, using a private boat service is certainly one option. I used the larger boat to see the five towns from the water and get to Porto Venere, and it was a pleasant trip.

Thank you for that information, Ken. I shall keep that in mind, and also look at the budget for the private boat service.