My husband and I will be traveling from Riomaggiore (Cinque Terre) to Bolzano in May 2026. The quickest route would be to rent a car. From my research it seems that the closest car rental would be in La Spezia. We would take the train from Riomaggiore to La Spezia (8 minutes). Can anyone recommend a reputable car rental near the train station? We could also take a 18 minute taxi to the car rental. It's 4 3/4 hrs to drive and almost 10 hrs if we just take the train from Riomaggiore. I am not sure if it is worth the effort to rent a car, but the 10 hrs on the train seems long. Has anyone done this route? Either by train or car? Thank you
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1926 posts
I wonder if there is another way of arranging your general itinerary, for example putting a stop in Florence in the middle. I see a lot of people traveling to/from Cinque Terre and criss-crossing the country without understanding that the place is surrounded by mountains with few transportation options taking a lot of time.
I did not drive that itinerary but I remember my late father doing a similar one, Viareggio to Brunico (north of Bolzano) and complaining it was long and not too pleasant. 4 3/4 hours looks like an optimistic Google Maps extimate, I am afraid 5 1/2 hours or even more if there is traffic is more likely.
Posted by
6061 posts
Agree, first post your complete itinerary so we can see if any way around this. Have you determined what the drop off point would be? Let us know what is flexible and what is not.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1344 posts
Hi quimby. Where are you getting the 10 hours info for train? On trenitalia website, I am seeing many options taking much less than that. For example, 9:02 am to 3:48 pm - total time under 7 hours. Have a great trip!
Posted by
29 posts
We did Bologna to Manarola by train in May. Route is Bologna to Firenze SMN (30 min, Frecciarossa train, with seat), then regional train to La Spieza (3.5 hr, no seat assigned but we got seats cos Firenze is the terminal). The ride was pleasant and didn't feel that long.
There is currently Frecciarossa train from La Sp to Firenze in 1.5 hr, then Firenze to Bolzano 3.5 hr, not bad.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for all of the suggestions. We fly into Florence, spending three nights, then meet up with the Rick Steves Best Of Tuscany tour. 11 days. Ends in Lucca . We will catch the train to Cinque Terra. Spend 4 nights. We then have 2 days to get to Bolzano to meet up with a planned cycling tour. I looked at the train from La Spezia to Florence and Florence to Bolzano. What I found was that the direct train to Florence to Campo Marte and the train to Bolzano leaves from a different station. I will take another look. Thanks again for the help!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8331 posts
Are you looking on the official train site?
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
I see several solutions 6-7 hours with 2 or 3 changes
We always book our cars with AutoEurope.com and choose a well known agency like Europcar or Hertz
All drivers must have an IDP
That is not a drive I would want to do