Our extended family will be staying in a villa north of Lucca for four nights in June and on the agenda is a day trip to the Cinque Terre. My wife and I have stayed there several times but have never day tripped there before. We will be driving two cars. Which is better (cheaper? faster?): Driving to La Spezia and taking the train or driving to Riomaggiore or Manarola and parking?
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
There's very Limited parking in the CT. You have to park in La Spezia anyway, so you may as well take the train. Travel times are compatible.
Posted by
70 posts
Not sure if this is helpful, but I took a Cinque Terre tour and we stayed in the town of Portovenere as the base. My favorite way of reaching Cinque Terre was by ferry since you could see all the towns from the water with the mountains rising up behind. The only downside is that if the weather is rough the ferry doesn’t run. If you plan to hike, trails start in Portovenere that link to the different villages in Cinque Terre.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15164 posts
There is a multistory car park in Riomaggiore if you want the car closer to you. The last km into town is on a narrow two way road where vehicles can hardly exchange, so sometimes you have to find a niche near the wall and let the other car go through. The general rule is that the vehicle going uphill has the right of way. In terms of time of travel, the La Spezia carpark at the station is just as fast as driving all the way to Riomaggiore.