Naples to Cinque Terra

It will be a long travel day no matter how you do it. I would take the train as the time is significant getting to the Naples airport, through security, waiting, flying, getting out at Genoa then a train (or two) to your village-of-choice. I'd guess 6-8 hours elapsed time portal to portal.

The train(s) would be about 5 hours (guessing) but no annoying security, no trip from downtown to the airport, less chance for delays, ability to move around while traveling not strapped to a seat. Research the trains at www.Trenitalia.com but the basic route is Naples to Rome on a FrecciaRossa then Rome to La Spezia on a Frecciabianca (last I did this it was a bianca but it might have been upgraded), then final train to your village-of-choice.

The high speed train is much more convenient, even though it takes about 5.5 hours, since if you flew to Genova you'd still have to get to the Cinque Terre by train.

The train trip will take about 6 hours. You might possibly save a little bit of time if you took a direct flight to Genoa, but I think the train is simpler and probably less expensive. Trains routes are either via Florence or via Rome and the coastal route. I've taken both routes (but always from Rome) and don't have a preference, although the coastal route does get you from Rome to La Spezia without a train change. If doing the coastal route, I would opt for the Freccia over the Intercity. It's a little more expensive but also more comfortable.

Edit: Total train travel time varies a little depending on which Cinque Terre town is your destination. Since you didn't specify, you're getting slightly different estimates. I estimated to Monterosso, the furthest from Naples of the 5 towns.

I agree with Laurel, flying is not the best option on that route. My suggestion would be a departure from Napoli Centrale at 09:15, arriving Monterosso at 14:53 (time 5H:38M, 2 changes at Florence and Pisa). I used Monterosso as the destination, since you didn't specify which of the five Cinque Terre towns you'd be staying in. The above solution will be faster than the coastal route as the first segment is via Frecciarossa, which travels at up to 300 km/h.

Travel by train which will be much more comfortable and much less stressful than a flight. By the time you allow for travel to and from airports, check-in, security, boarding, deplaning, collecting luggage and the other usual airport hassles. Keep in mind also that European airlines may have restrictive baggage regulations and other charges which will inflate the cost of the supposedly cheap ticket.

Perfect, thanks to all for this advice....appreciate it very much