Is it possible to travel from Milan to Manarola and back in 1 Day in November?

Should be possible - check the Trenitalia website for schedules.

Practical, worth doing? Not in my opinion. You don't need five hours just to see little Manarola - but most people travel to the Cinque Terre for more than just to see one little town. They hike between towns or see several of them. (And November, who knows what the weather will be like. Going to Manarola in the rain might be even less fun.)

I probably wouldn't do 6-8 hours on a train in a single day with a very limited time in Italy. I'd do something else.

Riomaggiore is roughly a three hour train ride then a short train ride to Manarola. Look it up on Rome2rio app.

Thank you very much.
We are old and cannot hike, just want to see at least Manarola, walking& lunch and back.
Another question please? Should we purchase train ticket online now? Or wait to see the weather first and buy at the Milan train station?

Keep in mind that November may not provide the best weather for visiting the Cinque Terre. Many restaurants and shops may be closed in November also.

It’s certainly possible to travel via train from Milano Centrale to Monterosso, however, it will take around 3 hours each way on an Intercity train. Once you arrive to Monterosso, you can travel to Manarola via a Regionale train.

I’d probably choose a closer destination, from Milan, such as Bergamo or Torino.
If the weather is good (sunny day) you may also consider visiting Varenna in Lake Como, or Stresa in Lake Maggiore.

Should we purchase train ticket online now? Or wait to see the weather first and buy at the Milan train station?

I’d probably wait to see if the weather cooperates before buying train tickets.

Thank you everyone, thank you you all:)
This community is kind and useful.

Same caution about the CT in November. Absolutely wait until the anticipated day of travel to buy your tickets.

Is there any particular reason you're choosing Manarola instead of, say Monterosso, which is flatter and easier to get to from the train station?

For November most definitely do not purchase tickets in advance.
Wait until you know the weather will be good enough and purchase the tickets day of, they won't sell out.
If it is raining don't go.

You could probably quickly visit two of the towns in your brief time if you have no interest in hiking and just want to walk the main drag and see the main viewpoint areas (Manarola and Vernazza or Manarola and RioMaggiore).
Would not try and squeeze more than 2 in and be sure to get the current local train schedule between the towns so you know what time everything is ; waiting for the next train could be a long wait at some times.
Keep in mind all of these towns are vertical so some stair climbing and uphill walking on cobblestones is required.

Thank you very much.
I choose Monarola because of the pictures from the scenic point view :) Is it hard to climb up:(

And I see the train schedule to Manarola station , we will have only 5 hours , so with our ages we should walk only one but may be 2 as you kindly recommended , thank you , this is very helpful.

While a day trip from MIlan to Manarola is certainly possible, I'm not sure it will be worthwhile to spend about 7 hours of travel time for a few hours of walking around the town. As mentioned in a previous reply, many of the tourist-related businesses close in about November for the season, so yo may find limited restaurants and other facilities open.

One of the shortest trips is a departure from Milano Centrale at 08:10, arriving Manarola at 11:23 (time 3H:13M, one change in Levanto). After you have a look at Manarola, you may want to take the local train to Monterosso for supper. It's a larger town and therefore may have more restaurant choices available. For the return trip from Montersso, I'd suggest a direct Intercity train departing at 18:55, arriving Milano Centrale at 21:50 (time 2H:55M, no changes).

You didn't say what type of touring you want to do while in that area, but note that hiking the trails may not be an option. I'd suggest checking the weather forecast for that area before making the trip from Milan, as it won't be an entirely pleasant experience if the weather is miserable.

If you haven't travelled by train in Italy before, note that locally purchased tickets for Regionale trains MUST be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Tickets for Intercity or Freccia trains do not have to be validated as they include compulsory seat reservations and are specific to train, date and departure time. You MUST use the train specified on the ticket, or again, hefty fines on the spot.