Day Trips or NOT to Florence and Pisa From Cinque Terre

`it takes about 15 minutes to train from CT towns to La Spezia. From La Spezia you can train to Pisa in 40 minutes. It’s at least 90 minutes but usually longer to train to Florence from La Spezia.
I have based in Siena and daytripped to Firenze on the 75-minute Express Bus running between the two.
www.TheTrainline.com
www.Busbud.com

There are no direct trains from the Cinque Terre to Florence (Firenze S.M. Novella station) that will take 2h 45m one-way so no, Florence is not a day trip from the Cinque Terre. There are direct trains from the Cinque Terre to Pisa taking 1h 30m. To check train schedules use https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html which is Italy's national train rail.

After looking at things and knowing how grueling daytrips can be, I agree that this would be way too much travel and not enough time in Florence to do a day trip. I think we will book 3 or 4 days at an AirB&B in Florence and enjoy at our leisure. Thanks again to the experts for steering us in the right direction!!

If you've never been to Florence, 3 or 4 nights will not be too much, although there will still be crowds in Sept. But that's just another good reason to stay several nights. So much to see. It's unclear how many days you'll be traveling overall for this trip, but if you can add another night or more to Florence, I doubt you'll be sorry. Also, an extra night in Florence might enable you to do a day trip to Pisa, unless you decide to go from the CT. I just did a quick search, and it looks like it's a one-hour train ride to Pisa from Florence, a bit shorter than from the CT.

Lynne...We plan to do 2 weeks or so. I have the option to do Florence in early October after visiting CT in late vs early September, two weeks after my original idea. I wonder if it would be less crowded in that first week of October in Florence. From what I have heard, there really is no longer a shoulder season, so many of us baby boomers are travelling these days :) I am also thinking of adding another day in Florence, maybe to try to get to Vinci on one of those days. So much planning but SO MUCH FUN !! Thanks again for your suggestions and expert information.

I'd absolutely book several nights in Florence to have the quality experience. IMHO, unless really not at all interested in what it has to offer, it's definitely not a "Do in a day" city. We had 5 nights there and didn't cover everything we wanted to see.

October may likely still have crowds, but I think saving Florence as your final destination in early Oct makes the most sense. And, assuming your flights line up in a way that works for you, flying out of FLR would be ideal. FLR is a small, easy airport, only a short cab ride from the Florence Centro.

I agree with Kathy that Florence has so many delightful sights, especially if you are interested in Renaissance art and history. I know you're still in the planning phases, but I would suggest finding accommodations in the Oltrarno (literally the "other Arno," across the river). It will be less touristy than near the Duomo, and there are many sites there worth visiting. I've never stayed in the Oltrarno, but I would on my next trip to Florence. I was last there in late June 2013, and stayed at Hotel Duomo, right in the heart of it all. It was great to be centrally located, but hella noisy and crowded. I imagine it is only more so now.

While a day trip to Florence does not do that grand city justice, Pisa is great for a day trip, especially if you focus on the sights at the Piazza dei Miracoli.

I am also thinking of adding another day in Florence, maybe to try to
get to Vinci on one of those days.

I think this is a typo? Do you mean Venice?
If so, Venice is not a day trip from Florence. Venice deserves several nights.

Christine H…. In reply to a possible typo, Venice instead of Vinci, no, I meant Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, I would make the time to take a day trip there.

CT is nice, but there is much more to see in Italy. I think Florence, Venice, Rome and the Amalfi Coast are superior to CT.

I was just in Pisa (again) 2 weeks ago and it's the biggest tourist trap of Italy. You can take the train there, but the tower area is a 25 minute walk, so you need to take a bus. Kind of a strange thing is you tap a credit card when you board the bus, an it charges you some unknown amount, but when you go to use the credit card to buy a 2nd ticket, it says error. So our group travelled on a single ticket which is something we hate to do. The place is overrun with tourists and junk shops.

Florence is more accessible by train - maybe a 10 minute walk from station to duomo. And the outside of the duomo is impressive, along with some other city squares, fountains, and the old bridge - all walkable. But to get into the Uffizi or duomo, there are huge lines and possibly even sold out days in advance. The dome is some 400+ steps, which is like walking up the steps of a 40 story building. I was talking to the hotel owner who is was probably 65, and he said the last time he went up to the dome was 40 years ago, and he has never been back despite living in the heart on Florence.

I will reveal a secret, if you like CT, there are many other places along the coast unknown to American tourists. Virtually every little town from La Spezia to Genoa is fairly picturesque, and probably less tourist and more interesting that Cinque Terra. I was just there 2 weeks ago and had a great time, and I have been to CT three times, and have no plans to return.

If intent on day-tripping Florence....although again, I wouldn't recommend it:

There is a train that leaves La Spezia Centrale at 06:51 AM and arrives at Firenze SM Novella at 08:38: total of 1 hour, 47 minutes including a train change in Pisa. You would, of course, have to add the rail time from whatever CT village you're basing in to L.Spezia but depending on where that this, it can take just a few minutes.

Returning to La Spezia takes a bit longer: a train at 21:22 from SM Novella arriving in La Spezia at 23:32: total time 2 hrs, 10 minutes including a change at Firenze Campo Di Marte (that change is 27 minutes).

There's also an earlier train from SM Novella at 19:53 arriving at La Spezia at 22: 14: total time 2 hrs, 21 minutes including a change in Pisa.

So that's to give you a bit of an idea. I'm using random Nov. dates as schedules shouldn't change much between now and next spring although it's possible they'd add another run for high season. As far as day trips go, look at Santa Margherita Ligure & Portovenere. To be real honest though? I've never thought of the CT as a good base for day-tripping elsewhere. Given the packed trains, crowds and high-season accommodation prices, if I was intending to leave the region to visit locations further afield then I'd likely stay in or nearer to those locations.

In reply to a possible typo, Venice instead of Vinci, no, I meant
Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci,

Oh! my bad ;)

You can take the train there, but the tower area is a 25 minute walk,
so you need to take a bus.

There is a second train station in Pisa that is very close /short walk to the Field of Miracles. Pisa S Rossore

We finally visited Pisa a few years ago after several trips to Italy and I have to say I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The buildings on the FoM are beautiful- all of them are worth a visit. We especially liked the Camposanto. We actually spent the night and seeing all those structures lit up at night was wonderful- really gorgeous. Ignore all the cheesy tourist stuff- you see that most everywhere now anyway.

But to get into the Uffizi or duomo, there are huge lines and possibly
even sold out days in advance.

Well informed travelers know that you really need to prebook your timed entries these days- or wait in long lines/get shut out

I would recommend a stay in Santa Margherita Ligure or Rapallo instead of a CT village.
We Loved SML- don't think we saw any other Americans there. Excellent restaurants, lovely views, good transportation