Ferry from Portovenere to Cinque Terre - book in advance?

Buy tickets when u get there. Seats are not reserved. Get to the fron't of the line. At this time of the year the ferry gets crowded.

Thanks for the quick reply

It's not necessary to buy Ferry tickets in advance. As I recall there's a small ticket booth close to the boat dock in Porto Venere. Be sure to check the schedules so that you don't miss the last boat back......

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/home.asp?lang=eng

Which of the five Cinque Terre towns are you planning to visit? Note that the Ferry doesn't stop at all of them.

Thanks Ken. Our original plan was to stay in CT for 2+ days and take our time visitingg each of them. However, our plans changed and we're now staying in Portovenere for the 2+ days.

So now the current thinking is to take the first boat in the morning to Monterosso and work our way back through each town until it's time to catch the last boat of the day, and we'll see how far we make it. If we can't get to them all in that one day, which seems a bit aggressive, then we may go back for a half day visit to see Riomaggiore and whatever other town we didn't make it to.

The description of each town all sound so inviting, so we don't want to miss any of them :) But I'm afraid we might have to narrow down the selection given our time constraints. Still trying to think through this.

Anyone have thoughts on the topic?

Also, if the boats aren't running due to rough water, or we want to stay later than the last boat, is the bus option a reasonable choice?

We were there in early September 2013 & purchased the tickets in Monterosso in the morning & then bought our return tickets in Portovenere in the afternoon. No need to buy them ahead of time. Have a a great time!

MM,

This is one method you might consider.....

• 08:45 Depart Porto Venere
• 09:15 Arrive Riomaggiore (the boat landing is a bit "rocky" so watch your step)
• Train to Manarola (buy tickets at the station and validate before boarding)
• Train to Corniglia (if desired - you'll have to pay a slight extra charge for the Shuttle up the hill or climb lots of stairs)
• Either train or hike the Sentiero Azzurro trail to Vernazza (Park Pass required, probalby not worth it for one segment but it is an option).
• Train or boat to Monterosso (NOTE that Monterosso has both an "old town" and a "new town" so I'd suggest allocating more time here - at about 16:00, have a late lunch / early supper in one of the excellent local restaurants - I'd suggest Cantina di Miky - NO LATER than about 17:30, start walking back to the "old town" where the boat dock is located).
• 17:50 Depart Monterosso for Porto Venere (this will be a REALLY nice time of day to be in the boats, as the sun will be low and you'll get a great view of all the towns as you pass - keep your Camera at hand!).
• 18:55 Arrive back in Porto Venere

Check the boat fares & schedules here....

http://cms.cnpstudio.it/USER_CONTENT/49/pdf/tratte_pdf_eng_15.pdf?cache=249477,565288544

If the weather turns bad and the boats suspend operation, that complicates the situation a bit. You'll need to take the train back to La Spezia Centrale, walk from the station to the Bus stop and then take the local Bus to Porto Venere (details in the guidebook).

That sounds like a very good plan Ken. Thank you!

One of the trails that we did want to see was the Via della Amore between Manorola and Riomaggiore. Wondering how much that would throw off the timing of that plan if we took the time to walk between those two instead of taking the train.

Thanks again for taking the time to provide that plan!

MM,

Unfortunately, the Via dell' Amore will remain closed for the remainder of this year. That's why I suggested using the train.

It's been closed since about September 2012 following a rock slide that seriously injured four Australian tourists. The latest "official" opening date is April 2016. However, there's a 300 metre section of that trail accessible from the Manarola end, so you can see part of it.

Just so you will be aware, in early Oct 2013, I was in Monterosso and planned to take the boat to Portovenere for the day. In the morning, the water looked calm to me, but I was told it was too rough for the boat to go, maybe for the return in the afternoon. So I went to Portovenere by train to La Spezia, then walked a few blocks to the right bus stop, then by bus to Portovenere. Later in the afternoon, I was told the boats were still not going, so I repeated the bus and train trip in reverse. While it worked, the land travel was quite time-consuming and not especially scenic or fun.

I took the ferry from La Spezia to the CT via Portovenere in 2014. At that time the ticket booth in La Spezia only took cash. I'm not sure whether you can use credit cards at the Portovenere stop or if it is cash-only there as well. You might want to make sure you have enough Euros on hand for tickets just in case.

Have fun.

Thank you all for your input. Very helpful.
We're looking forward to our trip!