Cinque Terre

It is very easy to get to CT from Florence by train. You need to change trains twice: once in Pisa, and again in La Spezia.

You definitely don't need a tour guide to explore the CT. Just a guide book or a map.

How long we walk around in Pisa before hop in train to Cinque Terre?

Will I have enough time for a day then go back to Florence at evening or night?

fsg,

Yes, it is easy to get from Florence to the Cinque Terre by train. Are you planning to go just for a day trip, or stay for a night or two?

Yes, you can go yourselves without a guide. However I'd suggest doing a bit of research in a guidebook so that you have some idea of how to structure your visit there.

Some further information on taking the trains.....

There are numerous trains on that route every day, with a travel time of ~2.5 to 3 hours each way. You would be travelling from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to the station of whichever of the five C.T. towns you want to visit first. Travel time will vary depending on which train you use, and there will be one or two changes (usually Pisa Centrale and La Spezia Centrale). You won't have any time to "walk around Pisa" as you'll only be there long enough to change trains. I wouldn't suggest stopping in Pisa, as that will only leave a short time in the Cinque Terre.

Many of the trains on that route will be Regionale, so if you buy tickets locally, you MUST remember to validate them before boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Some segments may be via Freccia or Intercity trains, which have compulsory seat reservations (those will be provided with your tickets). You can see all the rail solutions on the Trenitalia website.

If you want to see all five towns, I'd suggest starting in Riomaggiore and ending in Monterosso (if you're doing this as a day trip, have a fine dinner in Monterosso before heading back to Florence). You can easily get from one town to the next using the local trains.

I believe it is just for a day. I do not know if we can do for five towns in Cinque Terre. It sound really a lot of walking. We prefer relaxing and view and then walk ...

Which is the best beach?

fsg,

You can easily see the five towns in a day, using the local trains. The towns are very small, but to make a more relaxing visit, you could skip Corniglia this time. If you spent an hour or two in Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and the balance of the time in Monterosso, that should work well (or just spend the day in Monterosso).

Monterosso absolutely has the best beaches of the five towns. Monterosso has two parts, an "old town" and a "new town" and each one has a beach. The beach in the new town is the largest and most popular.