Day trip by train to and through Cinque Terre

I'd want to see more than one of the towns. In normal times there's a ferry to four of the towns in addition to rail service to all five. The views from the ferry should be better, I'd think. The train runs in and out of tunnels, as I recall. The towns are extremely close together and not very large, so you will have time to see several even if you explore slowly.

I felt like I saw very little from the train in CT. Like every once and a while a quick glimpse. I feel like you don't have enough time, and weather can be an issue there. Unless you can do at least two days, I would think about doing a different day trip, like Lucca?? For what its worth, there seems to be varying thoughts on favorite CT towns. For us from most interesting to less interesting, Manarola, Riamaggiore, Monterosso, Corniglia, Vernazza. If the weather is nice we thought the hikes around Manarola were stunning. Nice views of the village and ocean while hiking through vineyards. Riamaggiore is less touristy and we enjoyed walking with the locals during their evening walk and seeing them gather at the square in front of the church or on home and store stoops.

i understand there is a regional train that runs through the five
towns and the scenery is great, is that right?

Same as Jules, I don't recall seeing very much at all from the CT trains. I do recall quite a number of tunnels. Whatever the case, the scenery of the coast/villages is best explored on foot or by boat. The trains were good for getting from one place to another - and the villages really are mere minutes apart - but I wouldn't put them in the scenery-sightseeing category like the trails, points both high and low in the villages themselves, and from the sea.

I would try to see several of the villages. I actually liked tiny Corniglia a lot - it has two lovely churches - but it does involve a short ride on a little bus to get to it from the train station....or climb a very long stairway! We took it (the stairway) on our way back down, which was fun. Manarola was very nice too. We stayed in Monterosso as it had the largest amount of restaurants, accommodations and other amenities plus room to manage many visitors without crowding. Really, all 5 have their individual charms!

Melissa,

A day trip to the Cinque Terre can be done, but it's not ideal due to the travel times involved. A few thoughts.....

• Travel from Pisa Centrale to Monterosso will take between about 1H:20M and 2H:58M, depending on which train you choose. The trip back to Pisa will be about 1H:15M.
• If you allow about two hours in each of the five towns, that will allow a short look but you might want to allocate more time in those towns where you'll be having a meal.
• You might want to allow more time in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns and has an "old town" and a "new town" so it's going to take more time to explore.
• Monterosso has the largest choice of restaurants so you might want to end the trip there and have a fine meal overlooking the ocean. Cantina di MIky is a big favourite with many here on the forum. There's a return departure from Monterosso at 21:53, arriving Pisa Centrale at 23:39.
• The trip between each of the towns is only a few minutes in each case, although of course you'd have to add "waiting for the train" times.
• The best way to see that area would be to spend two nights in one of the towns, as that would provide more time to look around.

Buon Viaggio!

I think a rushed day on a train in the Cinque Terre is not a good idea. IMO, you will be very rushed. If you do choose to do only a day trip pick two towns, maybe three if you are very energetic and can get up early and get back to your base late. Monterosso and Vernazza come to mind as two towns you can do at an unrushed pace . Do some of the hiking trails even if you choose to not go far. The views are great.

Far better to spend at least one night in one of the major towns of the Cinque Terra. I say that because there are many many visitors who visit for just one day. They leave in the late afternoon or early evening, and the entire scene changes. It's still busy, but the crowds are gone and you can actually have a nice stroll down the streets, rather than a bumpy slog through a sea of humanity. Monterosso and Vernazza come to mind. Do some of the hiking trails even if you choose to not go far. The views are great.

All of the above is written assuming that tourism returns to normal by the time you go. If it is still depressed, well... Enjoy a special time, you're lucky.

Thank you all. Unfortunately, we really can't do more than a day trip, despite this being a fairly lengthy total trip to italy. We just both feel that even a glimpse is better than nothing and are not sure if we'll ever get back to really do CT justice. And I probably overstated our lack of ability and interest in hiking (I had the mistaken impression of the hiking along the path to be far more onerous in terms of length and altitude change than it apparently is....total of 11 km and 500 meters altitude change, right?)

Here's what I'm thinking to do now that I've gotten more research and more feedback. Unless there are some specacular churches or other specific places that are not to be missed in the villages, we are probably most interested in the scenery and the general ambience. of one or two villages. (Odds are we'll get our fill of churches in Florence and Tuscany over the following three weeks)). So, the current plan is this: Take the earliest train from Pisa that we can stand. I gather that it's a relatively fast train from Pisa to La Spezia and then we catch the local "regionall" train. We'll get off at Riomaggiore and start walking the coastal path for as far as we are inclined (I think 5 km or so is well within reach and possibly a lot more, depending on rugged the path is.) We'll stop for lunch wherever we get to and decide if we want to keep walking or shift to the ferry. One way or the other we'll wind up in Monterossa for an evening meal and take the latest train we can stand back. Certainly not perfect, but better than never visiting at all!

How does that sound?

We'll get off at Riomaggiore and start walking the coastal path for as
far as we are inclined

The problem here is that the route you're likely referencing - the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Path) - is mostly closed between Riomaggiore and Manarola. It's also closed between Manarola and Corniglia, and neither section will re-open this season. The only 2 sections fully open (or are usually open unless wet weather or damage interfere) are the sections between Corniglia and Vernazza, and Vernazza and Monterosso.

No ferries to/from Corniglia as it doesn't have a harbor able to handle them.

You could hike Monterosso > Vernazza, and take a ferry or train southward to Riomaggiore or Manarola, or just train back to La Spezia from there. That section of path requires climbing a LOT of steps, though, so wear sturdy shoes! There are more trails in the park but the "Blue" is the one most tourists come for. Doing any section of it does require a "Cinque Terre Trekking" pass. or "Cinque Terre Treno MS Card" which includes use of the trains/buses.

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Ecinque-terre-card.php

This is a pretty good website about the area:
https://www.apathtolunch.com

This is the official website for the park itself:
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

Keep in mind that the stations can be a bit of a mosh pit at times. I would suggest taking the train to Monterosso al Mare, then ferry-hop the towns until you arrive at Riomaggiore. You will (hopefully) avoid the crowds. Plus there will be less of a crush taking the train to Pisa from there.

How long are you in Pisa? Maybe consider flipping your days, meaning stay in a CT village and day trip to Pisa. Depending on where you are coming from/going to, you can easily store your bags at the Pisa train station walk to the tower, meander for awhile then be back at the station in 4 hours. IMO, Pisa is cool for the tower but that's it (I know others say it has alot more to offer, but if time is limited...). CT is beautiful and much more enjoyable after hours when you can just relax after the daytrippers are gone.

I would walk as much as is open in Riomaggiore (make sure you get up by the church!) and then hop on the train and work yourself north. In Manarola, you should be able to do the vineyard hikes--easy, great views. Then just continue north and see how far you get. We were there at a busy time. While you do have to wait for the train, sometimes for 20 minutes, everyone typically gets on the train, except it appeared that the Vernazza stop can be quite busy. If you are buying the tickets individually, make sure to allow time for the line to buy the ticket.

I would just enjoy the cities at a leisurely pace and see how far you get rather than trying to rush thru to get them all. Corniglia is delightful, but there is a long climb up the stairs (or wait for the bus) to get up to the village. If its getting towards the end up the day, perhaps skip and move onto the next town.

We were unable to get the park pass for the train and had to buy tickets individually, if you can, I would just buy the pass. You may or may not "break even" but it will save time. Also, I think it allows you to use the restrooms.

Very helpful comments. We are heading for Tuscany and Liguria on July 18th and will be spending 4 nights in Lucca and 5 nights in Levanto. I thought many of the CT comments were brilliant and we will heed them. The festa de mare in Levanto was cancelled last year and I've heard that a scaled down version (minus the fireworks) is being considered for this year, July 24-25. Rumors and scuttlebutt concerning the festa are very welcome.

As mentioned above, the Via dell' Amore trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola has been closed since about September 2012 due to a severe rock slide, which injured several tourists. However there are other trails on that route which don't require a park pass, but those are a more robust hike. The trail between Manarola and Corniglia is also blocked by a large slide, and again I believe there are others that bypass that section.

If you want a somewhat easy hike, you could try the trail between Corniglia and Vernazza (assuming it's open). Most of the trail between Vernazza and Monterosso is not too bad, but there are some narrow sections and a steep hill at the Monterosso end (best to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza in that case).

They seem to close the trails between the towns with any threat of severe weather. I would have a back up plan if the trails are closed. If you get to the station in Riomaggiore and they are not selling the park pass for the train and trails, the trails between the towns will all be closed. We saw people go around the barriers, and we were tempted, but we followed the rules, and I would guess the penalties are high for people that bypass the barriers. Since you are only there a day anyway, I feel there is plenty to do in the villages and the trails around Manarola. There were also some trails within Monterosso (up to the chapel and cemetary) that seem to be open when the other trails are closed.

I’ve driven to the Cinque Terre many times for the day from Florence, where I lived, so you can certainly visit the area from Pisa, which is even closer. You can travel from Pisa to any Cinque Terre villages in 90 min to 2 hours max.

As others have mentioned, you can’t see much from the trains as trains travel mostly underground in the countless tunnels. The best way is to stop at any village and explore the village (which takes very little time since they are very tiny). You can explore any in less than one hour and by train it takes less than 5 minutes to travel from one to the next.

A popular thing to do is to walk the trails from one town to the next. It takes many hours to walk all the way from Monterosso to Riomaggiore (or viceversa), but you can hike from one town to the next in a couple of hours.

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

One other thought.....

You could also travel by train to Monterosso and then take the ferry from there to Vernazza. Spend a few hours there and then either take the train or the next ferry to Manarola and then to Riomaggiore (the boats don't stop at Corniglia). The ferries don't operate when the weather is bad. Seeing the C.T. from the water provides a nice perspective of the towns.

We were sad when the ferries weren't running when we were there. A ferry is a great option to provide the views people miss when the trails between the villages are closed or the amount of time to use them isn't available.

I would then take a ferry to Riomaggiore and see the town then walk to
Manarola

Except that they can't do that on the section of "Blue Path" you are probably thinking of - the easy, paved Via dell'Amore - because, as mentioned above, it's closed between the two villages. It has been closed to threatening rockfall for quite a number of years now and will not reopen this season. See this map:

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php

The lines in BLACK are closed trails, including that section of coastal trail. It is not impossible to HIKE from Riomaggiore to Manarola but it would be on a more challenging route ("Skilled" orange lines).

With limited time, I also wouldn't take a train to Monterosso from Pisa, travel all the way south to Riomaggiore by ferry, and then backtrack all the way north to Monterosso again by train/ferry before backtracking south, again, to Pisa. I'd look at starting at the most northernly point (Monterosso) working their way south by trains/ferry/foot, and then home to Pisa via train. The order would be Pisa> Monterosso> Vernazza> Corniglia>Manarola> Riomaggiore> Pisa, eliminating maybe one or two of the villages. If not up to hiking the "Blue" between Monterosso and Vernazza, Ken's suggestion of train to Monterosso, ferry from there to Vernazza, and then train or the next ferry to Manarola and/or to Riomaggiore makes sense.

you are probably thinking of - the easy, paved Via dell'Amore - because, as mentioned above, it's closed between the two villages. It has been closed to threatening rockfall for quite a number of years now and will not reopen this season

Thanks Kathy, I did not know that. It's been a while since I was there but I agree with your suggestion so I deleted my post.

We are planning to be there at the same time and would like to stay one or more nights in Vernazza. Does anyone recommend any place? In 2007 (before the horrible catastrophic flood) we rented an apartment right on the harbor that was fine, but I think much of what we knew was swept away. Thanks for ideas.