Cinque Terre Tour/Day Trip

CT as a day trip from Florence makes for a very long day it is doable though as you mentioned it is not ideal best to spend a couple of nights you don't need to do a tour, you can simply take the train from Florence and explore on your own if there's anyway you can spend a night or two of course that is best but do what you can
if you do plan to spend night or two in CT I suggest you book a hotel asap as June is high season and things will fill up quickly

Bryan, I'm not familiar with the tour you mentioned, but as the previous reply mentioned it's going to be a LONG day regardless of whether you take the tour or travel on your own. As you're intent on seeing the Cinque Terre (even briefly), which option to choose will likely depend on your budget. Travel with a small group can be quite pleasant, and these sometimes provide the benefit of a "tutorial" on the way to the destination, something you won't get if you go by rail. Buon Viaggio!

Most everybody on this site will suggest that you need more time. And, when you finally see the CT, you will understand why. But, you only seem to have one day so here is Larry's suggested one day trip to the CT from Florence. One-Day Cinque Terre Visit
1) First, buy your train tickets from Florence to Riomaggiore. You will receive 3 separate tickets for the following suggested run. Depart Florence on the 7:00am train to Pisa. At Pisa, change trains for La Spezia Centrale. At La Spezia Centrale, change trains for the 8-minute ride to Riomaggiore. You will arrive in Riomaggiore at 10:08am. You could go later but you wouldn't get to the CT until 11:18pm. 2) Once in La Spezia Centrale, stop in the Tourist Information office in the train station and buy a 1-day Cinque Terre Treno card. This will permit unlimited train travel and access to the coastal trails. It's worth it. 3) Walk down to the water's edge and look for the Via Dell'Amore coastal trail. Walk the trail to Manarola. This takes about 25 minutes and the trail is very level except for a few steps. Tour Manarola. It's now about 11:30. Take the second trail from Manarola to the Corniglia train station. This takes about 45 minutes. You don't need to tour Corniglia as its high up on a bluff. 3) From the Corniglia train station, take the local train to Vernazza. Its now about 1:00pm. Tour Vernazza. Have lunch either in Vernazza or in Monterosso. It's now about 2:00pm without lunch or 2:45pm with lunch. 4) Take the train from Vernazza to Monterosso. Tour both the old town and the new town. Its all fairly flat. Complete your touring about 4:00pm. You can then take the afternoon train from Monterosso back to Florence.

Thank you everyone for the guidance. I wish we had more time to stay longer, but... obligations, you know. And Larry, maybe you should consider writing travel guides! Thanks for the help. Ciao

Bryan, It would be like driving to Chicago from Columbus for the day. Possible to do, but................................have you thought about dropping back to 4 nights in Florence and do an overnight in the CT?

Hey Bob, You make a good point about Columbus to Chicago. That's about a 5 hour drive one way, though. I have certainly entertained the idea of staying in the CT overnight. The 'problem' for me has to do with the time in which we will be in Florence and constraints because of it. We will be there from June 21-25. Sunday the 24th is the patron saint day in Florence (San Giovanni). We definitely want to experience that day in the city. Also, one day we are going to spend in Siena. I have a friend who lives in Siena that is going to show us around the city! That leaves us 3 days in total to experience Florence. We are art lovers and will surely make good use of all the time we have allotted. Staying a night in CT just doesn't seem to fit the bill to me. But of course we do want to be able to see it, as it looks stunning. As another side note: I'm a photographer and I know I could get some beautiful pictures at CT, even if I'm only there for 7 or so hours!

Most people I know who visited Cinque Terre on a day trip from somewhere else found it hot, impossibly crowded, and vastly overrated. That is why so many people recommend staying overnight, to get that magical quiet time in the evening and morning. The light is better for photography, too. If you are art lovers and the three full days in Florence are important to you, why give up one of them for a longish day trip to a place that you too might find too crowded to enjoy? The towns are just the right size for the people they can accommodate. Fill them up with daytrippers who arrive by the hundreds each train and boat, and they aren't so wonderful. So if all you can do is a day trip, I'd say skip it. But why not go there first, spending the night of June 21 there? Depart for Florence the next day at mid ton late morning, and you'll be in Florence by early afternoon. That way, you only give up half a day of your Florence time, not a full day. And I guarantee you will have a much better Cinque Terre experience, especially since you will be there mid-week, not on a weekend. Make sure you consider the museum hours when planning your time in Florence. Many are closed on Monday, so that might be a good day for your Siena day trip.

Be sure to check Rick Steve's updates regarding the flood damage and current status of the villages of Cinque Terre. Two of the villages mentioned in an earlier post may not be ready for visitors by this summer, which
could impact your travels. Enjoy your trip to Italy!

Hey Sasha, You make a great point about possibly staying on the night of the 21st before we go to Florence. My only concern with that is that we'd be arriving from Venice and could be a lot of travel time. And yes, the lighting would be much better for photography in the early morning/evening! I've got a lot to think about. Thank you so much for your advice!