My spouse and I are looking to hike from Riomaggiore to Porto Venere one day, spend the afternoon/evening there and have dinner. I know there is a ferry, but the last one appears to leave around 3pm, which would be too early for us to be able to stay and enjoy dinner.
I know that there is a bus that we can take, then train back to Riomaggiore, but are there private boats in Porto Venere that we would be able to take back? How much do those typically cost? Are there other options I'm missing?
You could take a taxi or bus to the La Spezia train station and then take the train - looks like it runs until after 10:00pm picking a random night, but I'm not sure about the bus. Bus service isn't perfect because it drops you off in the middle of town but the 10 minute walk through the mostly pedestrian shopping district is pleasant. I found taxi prices from La Spezia to PV to be inordinately expensive and I don't know what it would be if you had to call one to PV to pick you up. I would agree on a price beforehand.
Aside from the ferry service there didn't seem to be much in the way of commercial boats in PV - it was mostly personal marina storage. The commercial services are clustered more in La Spezia where the cruise ships dock and train comes in.
It looks to me like at least one of the ferries runs until 5:00 leaving PV. It's not dinner but it could be a hike, exploring and lunch before you return.
https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/boat-excursions
Hope that helps,
=Tod
That was very helpful. I read it wrong. I think we will do that and ferry back. Thank you!
I'm jealous I'd love to hike that section of the trail with the view of the Mediterranean from the cliffs.
In PV definitely check out the church and tour the beach peninsula part of town and find a place to eat on the streets up away from the harbor front.
There is a nice ocean front promenade that leads away from to the old town to the newer town that curves around the bay. How far you want to go is up to you - especially after hiking the trail in. In think once you hit the first beach chair rental spot you're passing out of the old section and down towards the newer section with the public beach.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
What a good idea. The views from that trail are incredible. Depending on your desired energy expenditure, you could avoid much of the initial uphill from Riomaggiore by taking the local bus up closer to Trail 1. I think it's free with the CT card.
There are freelance boats usually available along the dock at Portovenere. People often hire one impromptu to cross to Palmaria island as well as to Cinque Terre. There is a cooperative of boat operators on this website in Italian and it mentions CT tours and includes a contact form: https://barcaioliportovenere.com/ One captain also has this website which mentions night service: http://www.portoveneretaxiboat.com/?pagina=home
