Cinque Terre to Santa Margherita

I have stayed in Santa Margherita twice..on my way to the CT...the town will remind you of Monterossa, maybe more of a typical Italian seaside resort......the rail station is on top of a hill and I would walk down to my hotel and the next morning take a cab back up to catch the train......😉. The second time there was a day long train strike so we stayed an extra day and walked to Portofino......and explored SM that evening....it’s a pretty town....I just don’t know if I would take a day to go there.......especially if this is your first time to the Cinque Terre.

jen,

It's very easy to take the train from the Cinque Terre to Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino. That trip ranges from about an hour to 1H:15M each way.

I don't have any information on Ferries from SML back to the Cinque Terre. You may be able to find some information on this website - http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/en/ .

A fun day trip might be: train to Santa Margherita Ligure; walk/hike (or ferry, or bus) to Portofino; ferry to San Fruttuoso; ferry to Camogli (a nice little town), and train from there back to the Cinque Terre. There isn't anything to see at San Fruttuoso except the abbey, so you might get off for an hour til the next ferry to Camogli, if you get off at all.

Any interest in hiking, here are the trails in the Portofini Area [click on the + signs for specific trail info]:

https://www.portofinotrek.com/trek/gb/6-trail-map

Aside from that, here is one possible plan. Arrange your train trip with enough time to make the ferry to Portofino at 11AM [better at 10]:

http://traghettiportofino.it/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Linea-1-INGLESE-2019-web.pdf

There is a very nice walk on the coast road back to SML, and if not Monday when they are closed, plan on lunch at Dal Alfredo, which is on the way [and one of our top five in Italy].

Take one of the afternoon ferries to Rapallo, a very attractive town, and make your way up to the train station and a cab up to the cable car [opening after lunch at 2PM until 6:30].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slfxfTLnBVk

Then walk back to the station and return to your CT village. There are no ferries from SML or Rapallo.

Plan any CT day trips according to the cruise ship schedule:

http://crocierelaspezia.altervista.org/calendario2019.pdf

By the way, Camogli offers excellent swimming in crystal clear waters off the shingle beach.

Thank you all for your help! It is actually our second time to CT but the first for the other couple we are traveling with:) Since we only have 1 full day in CT, I think we will unfortunately, skip SM due to time.

If there is a big cruise ship in port, a day trip might be a good idea:

http://crocierelaspezia.altervista.org/calendario2019.pdf