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Day trip to Cinque Terre

Posted by (HK) on

Hi,

I am planning my trip to Tuscany on June, and we will stay in Florence for 3 nights and start rent car and visit the Lucca and Cinque Terre, We plan to stay two nights in Forte Dei Marmi. And i know there are train and boat ride from La Spezia to Cinque Terre. Which one is better , we need to drive around 45mins to La Spezia. Are there any parking near the train station or the Dock? Are should we drive all the way to Cinque Terre and just stop in two of the famous villages. Which way is better? Can I find car parks there?
If I don't stay in Forte Dei Marmi, any good suggestion for nice hotels there?

Thanks.

Posted by
15855 posts

Definitely leave the car in La Spezia: there's a secure parking lot under the central train station. Besides parking being a general headache in the CT, it'll be especially painful during the busy season.

What with being able to drop your car at the station, I'd take the train in: much faster than the ferries. The boats also have a fairly limited amount of departure times from L.S. There are some free parking lots around town but this option will give you quick access to the trains.

If you're staying in Forte Dei Marmi, you might just leave the car there and take the trains all the way to the CT: you would make a change in La Spezia.

You could take one of the ferries between any of the 4 villages they service in the CT once you're there. For instance, you could take the train to Riomaggiore, take a ferry from there to Monterosso, and work your way back via rail. Or just take the boat between any two at all. The summer ferry schedules aren't up yet but you can check them here:

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/home.asp?lang=eng

Posted by
32220 posts

As the previous reply mentioned, your best bet is to use the car park close to La Spezia Centrale, and then travel to the five towns via the frequent local trains. I believe THIS is the one you'll be using. Parking in the towns is very limited in most cases, and in June it will likely be busy. There are larger car parks at Monterosso, but the easiest access will be La Spezia.

Again as mentioned, I wouldn't bother with ferries from La Spezia to the C.T. towns. as the timing will likely not be that good, and you'd still need to get from the station to the docks. The trains are very quick! For example, the trip from La Spezia Centrale to Riomaggiore (the most southerly town) is only about eight minutes.

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