We are taking the train from a town north of Cinque Terre right down to Riomaggiore. We are then going to do the walk to Manarola. Is it possible to take the boat from Manarolo to Monterosso, and does the boat stop at the rest of the towns? Thanks for the help!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Yes, the boat stops at at least four of the five towns. I'm not sure about Corniglia. But, there is a dependency on the condition of the seas. If the seas are a bit rough, they may skip some towns. If the seas a a bit rougher yet, they will cancel all boats. We were there for three days. The boats didn't run for the first two days. On day three, we were able to take the ferry from Monterosso to Portovenere and back. However, the ferry did not stop at any of the other towns along the way. The seas were too rough to pull in close.
Posted by
OP
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
6 posts
Thanks Larry. I guess we will just go and see what happens!
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
906 posts
Do take the boat if you get a chance. Not many folks get to see 5T from the Med.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2129 posts
Several years ago, we took the boat from Monterosso to Portovenere, which is the next town south of Riomaggiore. The boat trip felt like a mini Mediterranean cruise ... was beautiful to see the CT from the sea. The boat stopped at Vernazza and Riomaggiore along the way to pick up more passengers. When we arrived in Portovenere, we had a couple of hours for lunch and exploring there. It had a gorgeous little harbor, with a castle to explore. Then we took the boat as far as Riomaggiore, walked to Corniglia, and caught a train back to Monterosso. It was a highlight of that trip to the CT. I'm not sure if this boat is still running ... and it seems we had to wait a day for good weather ... but we caught it on a gorgeous sunny day and it was awesome.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
All of my great pictures of the CT towns are from the ferry as we went from Monterosso to Portovernere. As mentioned above, we did not pull into the town docks but we did get closer to the towns. The weather was great and the sky was all blue. Great photography opportunities.
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
894 posts
Depends on when you go, I think the ferry stops running at the end of October.
Posted by
Houston, TX, USA
6 posts
Definetly see CT by boat. It is easy to hop from one town to the other by boat if the weather is good and they are runninb. In Portovenere, inquire about boats that go into the towns rather than just the ferry. The train is a good way to get around when you are ready to leave the area.
Posted by
OP
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
6 posts
Thanks everyone. We did CT about 10 days ago and were able to do the boat as was suggested, and yes I was able to get amazing pictures and it was a beautiful day! Thanks! We are just about finished our 3 week trip now. 2 nights left in beautiful Italia and then back home to Vancouver.