We will be in Florence for 4 nights and are planning a couple of day trips.
We would like our tour in Cinque Terre to include hiking between some of the cities and thought that the Viator tour would be perfect.
There were a lot of great reviews on their web-site, however, there were some negative comments on this forum that had me concerned about using them.
Does anyone have any experience with this tour company?
Does anyone have a better choice for our day trip?
Thanks,
Barbara
You can do it on your own by train.
From Florence to Monterosso, the largest (and also the farthest) of the villages, it's a 2.5-3.0 hour train trip (1 to 2 train changes) and there is a train every hour. A car can't do much better, and can do a lot worse with traffic.
If you leave Florence with the 07:08 train you can be at the Cinque Terre before 11. Even if you take the 10:28 train, you can be there before 13:00. If you intend to do a hike, for example from Monterosso to Vernazza, it's better to get there earlier because it takes a few hours once you include pit stops for picnics, photos, etc. the via dell'Amore from Riomaggiore to Manarola is much shorter though.
The last chance to come back from Monterosso to Florence is at 21:05. From other villages you need to check because the other villages are smaller and only Regional (commuter) trains stop there.
Take a look at train schedules here (use a date in the next 7 days as Regional trains' schedules are loaded weekly)
www.trenitalia.com
Viator is a 3rd party re-seller of tours. Book the tour directly with the company that offers it. Walk About Florence is a reputable tour company that does a well reviewed day trip to Cinque Terre and does the hike. Look at their website (www.walkaboutflorence.com). We will be using them for a day trip from Florence called "Best of Tuscany". We decided a day trip to Cinque Terre would not do it justice (was going to do from Florence with Walk About Florence) so we shaved a day off of Florence and a day off of Rome to do two nights in Cinque Terre.
I 2nd the WALKABOUT FLORENCE recommendation. Book direct with them, they are very helpful and will get right back to you w/emails, etc. Check out their reviews on TripAdvisor - they have LOTS of reviews of their CT Tour. We are doing their CHIANTI WINE & FOOD SAFARI TOUR in October.
Barbara,
As Roberto mentioned, you can easily do that trip yourself, which will allow more flexibility in the timing rather than being limited by a schedule imposed by the tour company. I've done that trip, and it's very easy.
In order to see as much as possible, it would be a good idea to get an early start, and the 07:08 departure that Roberto mentioned is one of the quickest. I'd suggest starting in Riomaggiore. After a quick walkabout there, take the local train to Manarola for a look there. You could perhaps also travel by boat, but I haven't checked the schedules. While in Manarola you could take a walk on the short section of the Via dell' Amore that's currently open.
Then continue by train to Cornigila (boats don't stop there). As the town is way up the hill, you'll either have to pay a small fee to use the shuttle, or walk up about 300 steps. From Corniglia you can either take the local train to Vernazza or hike the Sentiero Azzurro trail (a Park Pass is required, which you should be able to buy at the small hut at the beginning of the trail or at local rail stations - as I recall, the Pass has to be validated before first use). Be sure to take lots of water!
From Vernazza you can again either take the train or boat or hike the final section of the Sentiero Azzurro to Monterosso. Note that this is the most challenging section and there will be a steep decline at the Monterosso end. I'd allow more time for Monterosso, as it's the largest of the five towns and has both an "old town" and a "new town" so there's more to explore (lots of interesting small shops, especially in the "old town"). Have a fine hot meal at one of the restaurants there and then take the train back to Florence in the early evening. Be sure of the train times though, so that you don't miss the last train of the night!
Note that the trains you'll be using on that route will likely be a combination of Freccia / InterCity / Regionale. Some segments will have compulsory reservations and of course DON'T forget to validate tickets for Regionale trains prior to boarding!
This is doable, however a day trip to the CT is going to be very rushed. Can you spend a night there?
