Lucca to Cinque Terre- Late PM

Maybe you would want to figure out what specific town of the 5 that you plan to hike to and from before thinking about restaurants. You have to consider what paths might be open or closed. Yes I was in Cinque Terre during the height of tourism in July 2016; the later in the afternoon the better. I started my hike from Monterosso to Vernazza at 6 pm. That hike took me a little more than an hour. I don't know if I would've wanted to rush all the way back to Lucca after that as the charm and quiet beauty of Cinque Terre is felt at dusk

At that time of day you will still be well exposed to the SSW sun.

Also its close to a 2 hr trip from Lucca to Vernazza by train. So by 5 the heat may be starting to be less intense

If you really want to do just a day trip, I would leave as early as possible and accept the fact that you and everyone else are a part of the 'crowd problem'

How early do you suggest we leave Lucca, if we do early AM? We can do early.

I keep getting conflicting advice about whether CT is worth a trip this time of year. Some say they would never do CT in early August. Others say yes, it's crowded but CT is so special that it is worth the crowds.

In my opinion, no place is worth "walls of people".

We are staying 6 nights in Lucca and are using it for a base for day trips via train. One day we are doing Florence of course, another day Viareggo, maybe a 1/2 day to see Tower of Pisa. Could anyone please recommend some other days trips from Lucca besides CT?

Thanks,

Sam

You got enough daytrips already.
Your original idea was better than going to Cinque Terre in the day.
Everyone is different.

The last train back to Lucca departs between 7:45 and 8:00 depending on what town you're in. You're also underestimating the travel time between Lucca and Cinque Terre. Adding time for hiking and dinner, you'd probably need to depart around 1:00 rather than 3:00 to accomplish what you propose. A better plan might be to arrive in Cinque Terre in time for a late lunch, relax for a while, hike and then return to Lucca earlier, arriving back in time for dinner.

This is what I would do in your case : spend the night in one of the towns in Cinque Terre (just leave all you stuff at the place in Lucca) and leave the next day for crying out loud. have breakfast in the early morning, there are no crowds then and go to Pisa and then back to Lucca

I think if we do Cinque Terre, we will need to do a day trip and cannot stay the night unfortunately. We are willing to leave at 5:20 am to arrive around 8:15 (or maybe depart at 6:45 to arrive at 9:15). My question now is, when is the best time to head back to Lucca in the afternoon? We prefer not to leave in the evening. I heard the train platforms are extremely crowded, are the departure areas separated from the arrival areas at the Monterosso station? I have no experience with European trains.
Thanks!
Sam

The train platforms are the waiting area unfortunately. But Monterosso is one of the biggest. Take any train from Monterosso to Lucca where the 1st leg is a Frecciarosa. Those come with a reserved seat for each in your group. I see there are some that run around 15:00 in the afternoon

If we leave around 4 will the station still be a madhouse?

Probably. You should forget going if you are worried. Go off peak if you really want to go instead of August when the whole world is on vacation. It is that simple. August is peak travel season most in Europe take that time off just like you before the kids go back to school in September.