We will be spending 3 nights in Cinque Terra in early May 2026. We will be arriving by train from Siena and then returning to Rome for the flight back to the US. What is the most convenient town in Cinque Terra in terms of train travel? I know that La Spezia is not technically in Cinque Terra, but are the other towns easy to visit from there?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17050 posts
All of the 5 villages (from East to West: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso) have a station, although Corniglia is way up the hill from the station and to reach it you need to take the very long series of stairways, or the local minibus. I prefer to stay in those villages, rather than La Spezia, an industrial port city.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
17644 posts
...and then returning to Rome for the flight back to the US.
Just curious: you're not planning on traveling to Rome from CT on the same day as your flight, are you?
Posted by
CA, USA
1382 posts
The RS Village Italy tour stays in Levanto, the next town north of CT. That would probably be more enjoyable than La Spezia.
And I agree with the previous post, you should aim to be in Rome the night before your flight home.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
13032 posts
.... and then returning to Rome for the flight back to the US
Hopefully the flight back to the US is the day after the train trip to Rome. Even if that is not the plan, that very well could be the result due to missing the flight if you are planning it as a 'same day' thing.
All 5 towns are on the train line and not that far apart so it really doesn't matter which one you stay in.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Yes we are planning on taking the train the day before our flight. I may be rethinking leaving from Rome though. We may look at leaving out of Milan.
Posted by
Wengen
3461 posts
When we visited the Cinque Terre we stayed in Monterosso. That is a convenient place as it has direct IC services to Milan. So flying out of Milan would be a good option.
Posted by
SoCal
2156 posts
The RS Village Italy tour stays in Levanto, the next town north of CT. That would probably be more enjoyable than La Spezia.
The usual RS badmouthing of La Spezia. I don't get it! We love the place, and it has some outstanding restaurants. Perhaps those who've visited by cruise ship are judging by the terminal area; we arrived by train right in the old town, which is lovely.