My husband and I are going to be in Murlo for one week in early June. We have a rental car and plan on visiting places such as Lucca, Sienna etc but were wondering if there is a way to visit Cinque Terre perhaps for a day or maybe over night for just 1 night. Is this at all feasible? How long would it take?
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Given the roads, it's about 3 hours just to get to La Spezia, where you would park your car to catch the train to the Cinque Terre. So I think planning for staying overnight would make sense.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
It's probably be better to spend the night. About 150 miles which would be maybe three and a half hours on those roads. Despite all the misimpression, you can drive right into many of the towns or at least to the landward edge of all. Places are so small, it's an easy hike the rest of the way with an overnight bag. I'm guessing it would be pretty crowded at that time so you might want to call ahead a couple of days or so to make sure you have a room.
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
Per google maps, it's about 3 1/2 hours to drive from Murlo to Monterosso al Mare, the Cinque Terre town that we've stayed in several times. If you want to visit the Cinque Terre a lot, then it's worth the drive, but I would definitely spend the night (or two).
We've always driven all the way to Monterosso. There's public parking on the edge of town. Also, the hotel we stayed at one time, Hotel Villa Steno, has its own parking, which made things much easier.
Also, Lucca is a two-hour drive from Murlo. I wouldn't do that as a day-trip. Maybe you could visit Lucca on the way to or from the Cinque Terre.
Posted by
OP
Ashburn, VA, USA
5 posts
I forgot to add something that might make a difference regarding going from Murlo to Cinque Terre...we are leaving out of Florence to fly home. Would it make more sense to do that drive and leave a day earlier from Murlo, drive and stay overnight somewhere in the Cinque Terra and then drive to drop off our car in Florence and get to the airport. How long is the drive from Cinque Terre to Florence?
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
Google maps says it's a little over 2 hours from Monterosso al Mare to the Florence airport. Yes, of course, you could do that. It's up to you to decide whether you can or want to make that drive on your departure day.
But in terms of logistics, going from the Cinque Terre to Florence makes sense.
Posted by
Freedonia
15061 posts
Do not, under any circumstance, drive in Florence. The dreaded ZTL.
Drop your car off outside of town, preferably the airport.