We're travelling a few weeks in Italy, are flying into Milan-train down to Cinque Terre. We'd like to stash most of our luggage and hike Cinque Terre with a minimum. Does anyone have experience with this? Can you leave luggage in a train station locker in La Spezia or somewhere? I was thinking stash luggage, then take the train west and start in Monterosso and take a few days to head back east. Any ideas? Thanks.
Posted by
oregon
131 posts
It sounds like you are a good hiker! We stayed in Monterosso for two nights and hiked the 5- village trail as a day trip, taking the "milk train" back. I think you don't need 3 days to do it! There were some great trails higher up we didn't have time for- so if you had longer, you could do those another day. The trail between Monterosso and Vernazza was steep and switchbacking - I would not want to do it burdened with a heavy day pack...one thought might be to stay mid- way, in Vernazza or Corniglia. The hike levels out as you approach Riamaggiore anyway.
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
If you are going to spend a few days' hiking, where do you intend to be spending the nights? Usually in the cinque terre it is best to get a place in one of the five towns, stash your stuff there, and just take the train out to your hiking destination in the morning. Or am I mis-reading something here?
Posted by
Cramerton, NC, USA
71 posts
CG-
La Spezia has a staffed counter to check luggage, not lockers. You may also see lockers toward the end of one of the platforms, but they are out of service. We were there in September and intended to leave our luggage, but didn't because we needed to catch a train that left before 0800 and the counter didn't open umtil after that hour. A caveat: if your connection is tight or you're leaving La Spezia even shortly after 0800, think twice about leaving your luggage there as they seemed to be pretty casual about schedules and staying behind the counter.
Enjoy!
Duane
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15582 posts
I was in Italy in October. I used the left luggage storage rooms in the train stations in Verona, Padova and Pisa without problems. Charges were per piece, with a maximum rate per day (every station had different rates). I had 2 pieces and paid less than 10 euro each time. La Spezia has a storage room.
If you are returning to Milan after CT, maybe leave the luggage at your hotel (perhaps for free). Or stay in Monterosso? I think the trains from Milan stop in Monterosso. Dump the luggage there.