visiting Cinque Terre from Bellagio

Easy peasy: search train schedules on the Trenitalia website. Pick one village to stay in based on your accommodation preferences--all villages are minutes apart by train. I would hike both days, but you could hike one day and ferry around the other, or do shorter hikes bookended by ferry rides on both days.

Personally I like Vernazza, but they all have their charms. Check out Gianni Franzi rooms with great views (https://www.giannifranzi.it/english/rooms.html).

We haven’t gone yet, but we booked Room 31 at La Mala in Vernazza. It looks beautiful and has wonderful reviews.

Fascinating! I looked up La Mala and it is in the very same building as the place I recommended, Gianni Franzi. Looks a bit more upscale. Its a wonderful location; you couldn't go wrong with either.

Hello hilstone,

Just so you're aware it is probably at least 6 hours of travel oneway between these two locations.

Assuming you don't have a car you'll need to ferry to either Varenna or Como to catch a train to Milan and then onto La Spezia (the big city jump off point for CT) or to Monterosso itself. I did nearly this journey last year - Varenna to La Spezia and onto Porto Venere and it was a solid 6 hours without the ferry leg between Bellagio and Varenna.

I just want to be sure you know what you're singing up for if you're looking at going back and forth in 3 days. It seems like a lot of travel time versus time on site to me.

Practical tips:
-Varenna-Esino is the Varenna train station name. The train station is probably a 10 minute walk from the ferry and is easy to do.
-Milano Centrale is the main train station and is big and bustling but changes are pretty straightforward.
-I would suggest the Trenitalia phone app for anyone using the trains. In addition to letting you buy tickets it lets you track trains in real time and know which track number you need ahead of time for tight changes.
-Landing in La Spezia will give you access to the local CT train if you're looking to go to a specific town. You can also take the ferry - a great way to see the cities from the ocean - but the ferry terminal is probably a little more than a mile through town to the harbor.
-If you book directly to Monterosso it may route you through Genoa - check the details on the drop down when you choose a ticket to be aware of your route and changes.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

That trip is possible but it would be prudent to allow for the travel time between the two locations, so that you have sufficient time to enjoy the charms of the Cinque Terre. Three days in the C.T. will likely require four nights.

A few comments to add to the suggestions already posted.....

• The easiest travel route would probably be ferry to Varenna (~20 minutes), the previously mentioned 10-15 minute walk up the hill to the station, train from Varenna-Esino to Milano Centrale and then train to Monterosso (or whichever village you choose to stay in.... I like Monterosso as it's the largest of the five and therefore has the greatest number of accommodations and other tourist amenities). There's a direct train from Milano to Monterosso at 12:10. The overall travel time on that route will be 4H:30M.
• At that time of year, the C.T. will likely be quite "busy", but I've always been able to tolerate that. It likely won't make any difference whether you visit on a weekday or weekend. The cruise ship hordes will probably be the biggest issue, but they usually disappear in the late afternoon.
• It would be prudent to book accommodations very early. The hotels and other businesses that close for the winter typically reopen for the season about February or March.

Thanks for all the good tips. We have decided to rent a car to drive. Any other tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks for the couple of hotels to check out. Anything else.... much appreciated.

Since you have decided to drive, that's a whole new question. Parking is scarce, you don't want to deal with a car in CT, but it's no problem parking in a garage in La Spezia and take the train in. Since it's just a few days away, you will have small bags.
I'd check Booking.com for smaller places--there are many charming apartments.

Driving may not be the best way to get to the Cinque Terre, but it's certainly possible. Monterosso is probably the best choice as it has pay parking on the beach in the new town and at the top of Via Roma in the old town. Note that it's not possible to drive through the town, as it's a ZTL area (hefty fines!). A few of the hotels have some parking available.... Hotel Villa Steno in the old town has a small "first come, first served" lot and that's also close to the parkade in the old town. Another possibility is Hotel Villa Adriana in the new town which has parking on-site. IMO, the train is still a better option.

You could also check out hotels in Levanto, which is the next town north of Monterosso (only four minutes by train). Although not officially part of the Cinque Terre, it's also a nice place to stay with a beautiful large beach.

As usual for driving in Italy, each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, and you'll need to be vigilant to avoid ZTL (limited traffic) areas, speed cameras, etc.

You may want to have a look at the current RS Italy guidebook to get some idea on touring in that area, restaurants, hotels, etc.

My intuition is that renting a car will take longer and be more stressful / hassle than train. Note that it is not practical to drive between towns in the CT. Be sure to factor in when / where you will pick up the car, where you will park in CT, cost including insurance for the car, parking, gas, highway tolls, etc. etc. Good luck!

Thanks so much for all the great information. Very much appreciated. It does seem a bit challenging but we are hopeful to figure it all out to visit CT.

I’ll echo the comments that it’s a loooong trip for a 3-day peek. What about another Ligurian coastal town closer to Portofino?

a 3 day side trip to Cinque Terre

Is that "2 nights/3days" or 3 nights?

3 nights. Thought 2 wasn’t enough. Thoughts?
Thank you in advance. I am getting wonderful input and o really appreciate everyone who took the time

You definitely want three nights for two full days at the very least.
Since you are in Bellagio for a good chunk of time, I wonder if you had other day trips in mind and might be able to break up the trip with stops en route and back?

I agree with previous suggestions that three nights would be a good idea. You may find that once you get there, you wish you had booked a longer stay.

Thanks everyone for all the great input. We decided to stay at La Mala ( thank you @ hacksaw_bridles0z) and booked 4 nights so we have more time. We will drive and are looking into parking options but have a few.

Looking for any recommendations on guides/tours and restaurants.

Thank you in advance and this is the first time I am using this forum and it has been so helpful.

In response to a questions.... yes we are looking at visiting : Parma/ Modena/Bologna and maybe Lake Garda. Planning this one first and then will move onto the others.

Thanks!!!