Ideas on Day Trips for La Spezia

Go with option one since you’ve never been.

Some years ago we spent a day getting out and away from the Cinque Terre by going to Lerici following this guide. https://www.apathtolunch.com/search?q=Lerici We loved it!

Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli are wonderful. Rapallo too.
Portofino has a lovely setting but crowds and overpriced luxury goods turned us off and we left quickly.It is a shot walk from Portofino to Santa Margherita Ligure.
South of the CT is Portovenere, worth a stop.
We hiked to all five Cinque Terre villages years ago. I hear they are mobbed now, such a shame.
The villages are not far apart, we hiked between the five of them..

I think it just depends on what kind of experience you're looking for, really. SM and Portofino are beautiful, famous and very upscale as where Lerici and surrounds are much more "Italians summering at the coast" touristy. I'm not sure I would stretch to "blue collar" but much more everyday Italians.

San Terezno was a fishing village but now mostly exists for the beaches and is sleepy off season. There is a waterfront walk all the way to Lerici which has a small marina, tree lined beachfront promenade and castle on the hill. Now renovated as an "art gallery" the climb through the twisting paths is interesting and the views and renovations are great. When we were there I found the art to me "okay" but not a reason to go. Tellaro is small and like a CT town and 15 minutes over the hill is Sarzana with a nice old town section and reputation for good restaurants.

I was lucky enough to visit CT what was probably 20 years ago now - before ferries and cruise ships - and choose to let that memory stay as it was. I know people still go and love it but it is what it is. And of course Florence and Pisa are Florence and Pisa since you've been to both.

Just to add more confusion to the mix there are less tony Ligurian beach cities as well - Sestri Levante, Chiavari, Levanto and others. I know locals who consider Chiavari to be the quintessential Ligurian beach town but maybe that's because it's in-between famous locations on either side.

I think you should balance what you want and what you think your travelling companion would want. Unlike Florence or Pisa none of these coastal towns have a lot "to do" in terms of big sights to see so it would just be wandering and exploring. You can do that in larger, upscale set of towns, crowded beautiful CT towns or Italian beachy vacation towns.

You're spoiled for choice which is a good problem to have, have a great trip,
=Tod

Thank you everyone for your input. I was wondering if the places I haven't been to are as nice as the blogs and images claim them to be, and it sounds like they are. I will talk this over again with my friend and see what we decide on. As much as I love CT, I'm leaning on exploring some news places (#1 & 2) since they do sound quite nice, but I'll have to see what my friend thinks as well. I much appreciate the time you took to respond. Ciao!

Hi Patti, I live in Italy. Looking at your list I would say option 1 is probably the one I would receommed to a friend. Santa Margherita and Portofino are very special. yes touristy and over priced. But they are beautiful and you can explore off the beaten path and find some treasures.
Lerici and San Terenzo are good options if you want a more authentic Italian experience. But I would go to Tellaro rather than San Terenzo. Tellaro is very special. You can get old town, history, beach and Italian culture in one hit.
Buses from La Spezia to Lerici and Tellaro run regularly but working out routes and what ticket to get etc is a bit tricky.
If you do a self guided trip using the buses then I recomment an all day ticket (biglietto Intra Rete): Valid for all routes, all day and the cost is €7.50

Not mentioned in the thread that I saw is Portovenere which can be reached by bus and probably also a ferry from La Spezia. It's across the bay from Lerici so when we stayed in Lerici we took the ferry across. Personally we enjoyed Portovenere more than Portofino.