I'll be coming to CT from Poggibonsi. We're actually staying in San gimignano. We'll go to CT and come back to San gimignano. I'll have a car. Is it better to go there and back by train or drive?
Also, I'm thinking two days and one night to see all five towns. What's the best town to start and end in?
Thanks. Jim
Drive to La Spezia and take the train from there to CT
I'd just drive it and drop the car off at the rental location in La Spezia. You could go to your next stop by trains, especially if you're returning to Florence.
Google Maps has the route noted, and it says it's 2 hrs. drive:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Gimignano,+Province+of+Siena,+Italy/La+Spezia,+Italy/@43.8513588,9.8719868,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x132a3c317c73e353:0x4082c90e3e5a6b0!2m2!1d11.048549!2d43.4654323!1m5!1m1!1s0x12d4e6f63081fe9f:0x305e67d473c7e10!2m2!1d9.7678687!2d44.2447913
I was planning to go back to San gimignano before going to Florence. But I guess I could go back from cinque. Train all the way back to Florence or pick up a car a La S and drive back?
Easiest thing may be to drive from San G to cinque, leave the car and take the trains and then drive back to Florence as planned but drive back from cinque
From San Gimignano or Poggibonsi (wherever you are staying) you could drive to Levanto or La Spezia and from either town take the train.
La Spezia is a bit closer from where you are coming from, therefore it would be about 10-15 min faster.
However, if you are going to the farthest towns from La Spezia, i.e. Monterosso or also Vernazza, then Levanto is probably better, because Monterosso is only 4 min train ride from Levanto (and Vernazza is right after Monterosso), therefore you could save a few minutes by driving a bit longer to Levanto and taking the train from there.
But if you are going to Riomaggiore or Manarola, which are the two easternmost villages, therefore closer to La Spezia, then parking in La Spezia would be faster, because it's a shorter drive and also a shorter train ride.
I wouldn't take the train all the way from Poggibonsi, because it takes 4 trains, therefore too many train changes (Poggibonsi to Empoli; Empoli to Pisa; Pisa to La Spezia: La Spezia to Cinque Terre village).
If you are going only for a night or two, then driving back to Tuscany, then you could keep the car. If you want to park your rental car, closer to where you are staying, instead of leaving it in a parking structure in La Spezia, then Monterosso offers the most parking options. Some hotels even have parking in the new part of town (Fegina).
A few of the hotels in the old part of town (Centro Storico) also offer limited parking for guests. One example is Hotel Villa Steno (parking is limited and on a first come, first served basis). There's also an older car park at the top of the old town, outside the ZTL area. I don't remember the rates, but would have to check my trip records to see if I made a note of them.
