florence -cinque terre day trip

Why waste money on organized tours?
Just take a train (change in Pisa and La Spezia) and 3 hours later you are at the Cinque Terre. Hike a trail between a couple of towns, then head back to Florence. On the way back you might want to stop in Pisa for an hour or so to see the tower (do so on the return trip, you need to be at the Cinque Terre during daylight, while the leaning tower can be seen in the evening too).

Parking at the CT in July can be a surprisingly large hassle (at least surprising to North Americans who kinda assume that if it's a major destination then surely there will be parking--logical but wrongo at some places in Italy). I was once one of the surprised, when I first tried to drive there many moons ago. I don't think parking has improved recently. That's why you'll see recommendations, here, to take the train. Probably way less stress.

Anna Lisa, it's really quite easy to do. Here is my long-standing suggested one-day trip to the CT from Florence.

First, buy your train tickets from Florence to Riomaggiore. I suggest departing on the 7:00am train to Pisa. Fare is 13.50Euro if you select all Regionale trains (which most are). For this run, you will change trains at Pisa and at La Spezia Centrale. It’s a 3hr journey. On this run, you have a 30-minute wait at La Spezia Centrale for your train to Riomaggiore. While in the La Spezia train station, go into the TI office there and buy a 1-day Cinque Terre Treno card. Be sure its a Treno card. This will permit unlimited train travel and access to the coastal trails. Yes, there are trolls on the trails requiring money to pass. Hopefully, the trails might be open. You could go later but later trains simply mean later arrivals at the CT.

Note that you will have three train tickets. One for each of the 3 legs. Since you are on Regionale trains, none will have a train number or departure time on them. You need to be aware of your departing trains. If you purchase these tickets in Italy, they are good for 60 days. You can board any Regionale train during that period as long as its going for the point A to B shown on your ticket. All 3 tickets must be validated at the little machines before boarding. Do not validate all 3 at the same time. When you validate a ticket, it goes from 60 days to 4 hours. It means that the ticket is in use.

2) At Riomaggiore, walk down to the water's edge and look for the Via Dell'Amore coastal trail. Walk the trail to Manarola. This takes about 25 minutes and the trail is very level except for a few steps. Tour Manarola. It's now about 11:15. If open, take the second trail from Manarola to the Corniglia train station. This takes about 45 minutes. If you want to tour Corniglia, take the minibus up to the town. It’s high on a bluff.

3) Or, from the Corniglia train station, take the local train to Vernazza. Its now about 1:00pm. Tour Vernazza. Have lunch either in Vernazza or in Monterosso. This should take an hour without lunch or 90-100 minutes with lunch. It's now about 2:00pm without lunch or about 2:45pm with lunch.
4) Take the train from Vernazza to Monterosso. Tour both the old town and the new town. Return to Florence when you want. Trains run well into the evening.

If you want to see the Leaning Tower, you might want to do this on your first stop at Pisa. It's earlier in the morning and the crowds, including the vendors, haven't yet arrived or fully set up. It's a 30-35 minute walk in and the same coming out. You can take a taxi to cut down on the time. When you return to the Pisa Centrale train station, check the schedules that are posted there and take the next Regionale train to La Spezia. Be careful not to board an intercity or fast Freccia train as your ticket will not work on these trains.

Thank you all for your advice. Very helpful.

Try walkabout Florence. Excellent trip. Great fun guides.

I did that trip when I was in Florence last summer, and it's a very easy trip. I agree with the suggestions that Larry posted, although I wouldn't bother stopping in Pisa as the time will be better spent in the C.T. To plan your trip, you can check the Trenitalia website so that you have some idea on the departure times and other details of the trains you'll be using.

I'd also suggest starting in Riomaggiore. One of the shortest trips appears to be a train departing at 07:00, arriving at 09:58 (time 2H:58M, two changes in Pisa and La Spezia). From there you could (for example) walk the famous Via dell' Amore to Manarola and then continue north as Larry described (Park Pass required). If you arrive in Monterosso at about 14:00 - 16:00, you'll have time to explore and perhaps have some beach time before sitting down to a fine hot meal in one of the excellent local restaurants (I can offer a few suggestions if you're interested). For the return to Florence, there are train departures at 19:03 (1 change), 19:40 (2 changes) and 21:03 (1 change). If you want to enjoy some of the evening ambience, take the 21:03 departure but DON'T miss the train as that's the last one for the night! I used the 21:03 departure last year, and it gets back to Florence just before midnight.

(*NOTE: I didn't check to determine which of the Sentiero Azzurro trails will be open. If one or more of the segments is closed, just use the very cheap local trains to get from one town to the next, or perhaps the boats).

Although this can definitely be done on your own, it's a long day (6-hours of commuting), a couple of train exchanges, and lots of hot. Someone suggested the Walkabout Tour company, and I would like to second that suggestion. We did not do their CT tour, but rather the Tuscany one, so cannot speak to the specifics of it, but they are well organized and professional, and reasonably priced.