My wife and I wiil traveling from florence to cinque terre for the day (mid-morning to late afternoon)and then driving after cinque terre. Should we pick up our car in florence, drive to la spezia, park at the train station and hop back in our car at the end of the day. Or should we take the train from florence to la spezia and pick up our rental car in la spezia after our day in cinque terre? How much is parking in la spezia for 8 hours? How much is baggage check at the la spezia train station?
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San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16231 posts
In your shoes I would rent the car in Florence early morn, drive to Riomaggiore the first village at the 5 terre coming from Spezia, and park there at the parking structure for the day. Then drive away when done. The reason why I'd prefer that option is because driving to CT from Florence is faster than the train and you only have limited time. If you rent in Florence, there is no reason why you should park in Spezia. Riomaggiore is a very short and easy drive from Spezia. Taking the train to Cinque Terre and Renting in Spezia at the end of the day is an option, however rental car offices tend to close early, by 7pm, and are not walking distance from the station, therefore it would cut your time short at the CT. Ps: avoid weekends at the cinque terre in summer season especially if you drive, or you'll be stuck on the road bumper to bumper.