One Day Trip with Pisa and Cinque Terre

Hi Justin & welcome to the Rs forum -
You don't mention what month you'll be traveling: it can make a difference. As well....

... just want to wander around the town of Cinque Terre and have
lunch/dinner there to enjoy the environment and the view of this town

The CT isn't a single town: it's a group of five (5 = cinque in Italian) very small villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola & Riomaggiore. As a rule many of us advise against doing it as a day trip as, during the busiest seasons, it puts you squarely in the middle of a dense, day-tripping mob. It also eats time getting there and back to Florence - or even getting there from Pisa - and you're going to need the flexibility to work around the weather: it's no fun in rain as the vast majority of sightseeing is outside. Flexibility might be hard to come by if you've advance, timed-entry tickets to attractions in Florence.

In any case, it's more time sitting on trains than I would personally want to spend on a day trip. Those hours would be more economically spent sightseeing in Florence - or closer to it, anyway - than on a CT/Pisa combo. Just my IMHO...

Hi Kate,
Thank you for your very detailed advice. I will go to Florence in the final week of August, and I guess the weather would be still hot outside. However, I think you are right as it would take 6 hours to travel and sit on the train, and it's not wise to spend time like that.
So I think the better option would be just visit Pisa for half a day and then return to Florence then.

Thank you so much Kate,
Justin

You can't reasonably do Pisa and any of the Cinque Terre in a single day trip. We left Florence, stopped in Pisa for a reasonably nice day trip (Leaning Tower, Campo di Miracoli, lunch, shopping), then caught our train to La Spezia and on to Vernazza. But Vernazza was our destination, and we only arrived there very late afternoon. Do one or the other, or stay in CT.

If choosing between the two, Pisa is a much more enjoyable day trip. The CT are amazing, but you have to stay AT LEAST two nights to make it worthwhile.

Train is the only reasonable option. Of the CT, only Monterosso is accessible by car. The others have parking lots way above the city and will likely be jam packed by the time you get there.

I think you're making a wise decision, Justin. :O)
And you're very welcome; hope you have a great time on your trip!!!

Oh, and just to add? As darrenblois weighed in, by train is really the only rational way to do the trip you were looking at it, if one was to do it at all.

Hello,
Do a day trip to Pisa- there is more to see than just the leaning tower, and also there are some great cafes and restaurants there as well.
Enjoy!

Justin,

Your revised itinerary sounds much more reasonable. It will be much easier to visit Pisa as a day trip as the travel time is reasonably short. It is possible to visit the five towns of the Cinque Terre as a day trip from Florence (I know as I've done that), but it's a very long day. If you want to see the C.T., it's much better to stay in one of the towns (my favourite is Monterosso) and spend a few days there. August will not be the best time as it's going to be hot & crowded in that area. The C.T. towns become very unpleasant on days when cruise ships are in the area, as they're swamped with day trippers.