Cinque Terre 2

I would consider staying in one of the five CT towns vs. La Spezia. Monterosso has many hotel options.

I agree with the previous reply that staying in one of the five towns would be preferable, as the towns have more "character" and are especially nice in the evenings.

Regarding your proposed Itinerary, it is possible to see all five towns. It only takes a few minutes to get from one town to another, so travel times are not an issue. For example, from La Spezia to Riomaggiore is only about nine minutes.

If you stay with your original plan, you might consider starting in Riomaggiore, working your way north and having a fine dinner in one of the excellent restaurants in Monterosso, and then returning to La Spezia in the evening.

Throwing my hat in with the others to book accommodations in one of the Cinque Terre villages if at all possible. It's just a lot nicer to be right THERE.

But if for some reason you can't, all 5 towns really are only a few minutes from each other by train, as mentioned. Depending on what time you arrive and get checked into your L.S hotel, you could jump on a train and, say, go to Monterosso or Riomaggiore for a stroll and dinner that evening. Check that one off the list and do the other 4 the next day. Tiny Corniglia has its own charms (2 of my favorite little CT churches are there) and is well worth including - although I'd schedule that one for an early morning or evening as it's so small that it's easily swamped with visitors.

No matter where you stay, you are wise to plan an early start. We noticed that the trains ran more frequently in the mornings than in the afternoons. Just check schedules, and have a general idea of the times you want.

I was in Cinque Terre a few days ago, and I didn't find it very easy to "town hop" by train. The trains run roughly hourly, which isn't what I would consider frequent. During my stay, they were always late, which wasted additional time. Maybe there is a better way to get around that I didn't discover.

If you do stay in Cinque Terre, I would suggest staying in Monterosso. Of the five towns in Cinque Terre, it has the best train connections which helps on your arrival and departure. It also has beaches, and, in my opinion, the best food values and options. I found the merchants to be more customer-friendly as well.

I don't quite understand the rationale to stay in La Spezia. I would pick one of the villages (probably Vernazza or Monterosso) and use that as your two night base. We were there for two nights this March and stayed in Vernazza at La Mala (loved it). We hiked to Monterosso on the second day and trained back. Unfortunately we didn't get to the other 3 villages because of a train strike on day 1.

You need not hurry home to La Spezia, especially after having some time there on the arrival day. Confirm schedules locally for end-of the day train options, too; hourly trains usually depart as late as 22:30, and one more at 24:00.

To all the other comments, which I agree with, I would add that there is no need to plan a day in the Cinque Terre. Take a train to one of the towns. Make note of the train schedule (although it's true they don't always run on time) and enjoy yourselves. When you're ready, catch the next train to the next town.

You also have the option to go from town to town on foot or by boat. (On foot varies from a pleasant stroll on a paved path to a strenuous hike in the mountains.)

One of the joys of the Cinque Terre is that you can leave the planning and the organizing behind you and just enjoy it.