I should have posted here first instead of resurrecting an old post from a year ago... We will be staying in Pistoia (east of Florence) for a week and we'll have a car. We've been to the Cinque Terre before, visiting all the towns and hiking between Riomaggiore and Corniglia. We'd like to visit again (this time with our kids) but we want to visit the towns via boat instead of by train. I realize it will be LONG day. Would it be better to drive or train it to La Spezia to catch the boat to see the towns? Has anyone done this? Is anyone familiar with the boat system and if it's possible to visit most of the towns this way? Is it worth hiking between Monterosso and Vernazza with the kids. Any other advice? Thanks so much!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16232 posts
From Pistoia I would definitely drive. You'd be in Spezia in one hour or just above that. By train from Pistoia it would take you forever because the Florence- Pistoia-Lucca-Pisa line is slow and backtracking to Florence to catch the faster Florence-Pisa line would be just as long. Get on the A-11 Firenze Mare freeway and follow directions to Viareggio then Genova. Exit at La Spezia. From La Spezia you could also drive to the first of the Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore). Just follow directions to Cinque Terre or Riomaggiore. It's an easy and fast drive from Spezia to Riomaggiore. Never taken a boat from SP to the CT, but this is the company you would need: http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
There is a fairly large public parking area at the water in Monterosso. You can catch the ferry there to the other 4 towns as well as Portovenere. Note that the ferry does not run in high seas. On our 3-day visit, they didn't run for the first two. Finally, on day 3 we took the ferry to Portovenere, had a very nice lunch, and then returned by a later ferry to Monterosso. However, even on the runs we were on, the sea was rough enough that the ferry could not pull into the other 4 towns. The views from the ferry are really fantastic. Our best pictures of the CT towns are from the ferry. Hopefully, they will be running for your vist. You can also drive to and park at Portovenere.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Pam,
Take a look at this http://www.cinque-terre.org/en/train-boat