This is my itinerary,
Train from La Spezia to Monterosso al Mare from La Spezia
Hiking Monterosso - Vernazza
Hiking Vernazzia - Corniglia
Train to Riomaggiore: Visit Via del’amorre coastal trail.
Train to Manarola: Sunset View
Train to La Spezia (where can i check the timetable)
Thank you in advance.
You don’t mention how long your visit is.
Each of those hiking trails cost €7.50 and the train is €5 each ride. When we were there in Oct’22, every train we took over 3 days had inspectors checking tickets.
https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/footpaths-cinqueterre
If that's all for a single day (a very busy day!), then yes, a one day Cinque Terre Treno MS Card probably would save you some money.
You will need at least a hiking pass for the two trails you mentioned. You won't be able to "visit Via del'amore" coastal trail as it's been closed for several years and I doubt it will be accessible from Riomaggiore this year. You can walk a short distance on it at the Manarola end, at least as far as the bar/cafe, where you can have a beverage and enjoy the incredible views.
You'll have to do some number crunching to determine whether the hiking and train trips will be worth the Pass.
Hi all,
Thank you for the great reply. Currently in florence now and my train to la spezia is at 1150hrs later. I'll be doing it in a day with my 2.5year old son. Anything to consider? This is my first time.
Thank you.
You're barely going to have time to see everything else let alone La Spezia.
I'd just play it by ear with the hikes: do the first hike then check your time. Maybe you'll need to skip the second one.
Buy the card here:
There are sections of trail that are extremely steep, and some stairs that never seem to end. Add in a 2.5 year old and your progress will be extremely slow. I would reduce expectations on how much you hike that day. I would be uncomfortable safety wise in your situation.
To be honest, I don't know as I'd attempt either the Monterosso - Vernazza or Vernazza - Corniglia trails with a toddler. Will you be carrying him/her in a back carrier, and are you a conditioned hiker that has used one of these before? As Carol said, parts of those trails are VERY steep and involve a lot of steps. They are also very heavily traveled; you need to be able to keep moving in spots where there's no room to step aside for faster hikers. (Yes, I've done both of them).
We'd covered the trekking/treno pass and. Via dell'Amore closure in one of your previous threads:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/is-cinque-terre-pass-needed-if-i-were-to-do-this-in-ct
I'll be doing it in a day....
A FULL day? Did you mean that your train from Florence isn't until 11:50 AM? If so, you won't arrive until early-mid afternoon.
given your schedule you will only have a couple of hours for the 5 villages and trails. I hadn't realized that you were writing in the middle of the night for the same day.
You will be on the train at the moment (about 13:15 Italian time) but I hope you come back and tell us how it went. I hope the weather is good, the toddler on best behaviour and you have a great time there.
Did you miss Kathy's reply to your previous post with this question?
Hi everone, sorry for the confusion. We will be arriving La Spezia today at 1420 and have the whope day at La Spezia.
For the hike at Cinque Terre, we will be doing it tomorrow at 7am start from Montessorro.
What is there to see in La Spezia as i will be having checking in at 1500hrs and have few hours till sunset for a good rest for tomorrow hike.
For a short time in La Spezia, I would suggest walking through downtown from the train station to the waterfront for its views, its gardens & its boats. The most unique place is the Naval Museum, not far from the west end of the waterfront. Displays you'll never see elsewhere like Marconi's original equipment and historic old ship figureheads, to name just two. Open all day, last admittance 7pm, 5 Euro. https://www.marina.difesa.it/cosa-facciamo/per-la-cultura/musei/museotecnav/Pagine/esplora_il_museo.aspx
For the online CT Pass, do i book it online and just show it to the inspector?
on a second thought, can i did not do hiking and just visit villages alone? or if there is 1 hiking to choose, which one would it be? im afraid its too ambitious
If you still want some walking on trails since it really would be ambitious to do any of the hiking with a 2.5 year old, part of the lower path from Manarola to Corniglia is accessible. It’s not long, but the views north are very nice. Also out of Manarola, part of the Via del’Amore is open. It is crowded, but still offers nice views. otherwise, just walking from the train station in Monterosso to the ferry dock is nice. You might want to look into just taking the ferry from La Spezia all the way to Monterosso and then take the train back.
Ferry schedule: https://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/en
Trains: trenitalia.com
I would prefer train as i already bought the CT Card. So i would go back and forth. My hotel is also 100m from La Spezia Centrale.
