Robbietravels

After a week on Corsica in early September, we will take a ferry from Bastia to Livorno. This daily ferry arrives to Livorno at 17:35 (price shown is abt 124 e, seems very pricy??).
We will spend 4 days using Camogli as base camp but need to overnight en route.
An hour after our ferry arrives in Livorno port, we can take a train to Sestri Levante (2 hrs.) or get off at Chiavari (1 hr 4x min), staying at Hotel Santa Maria.
We may be tired from the ferry and train ride so we want to get from the drop off train station in either town to the hotel quickly. We'll want a good dinner in town and some strolling. We might want to spent the morning doing more exploring before training it to Camogli.
Is Chiavari or Sestri Levante easier to navigate?
Which has hotels around central or historical part of town?
Which town has more character and less touristy?

c0106

I'd choose Chiavari. Both aren't difficult to navigate - and this is just a personal preference for me, as I do like both towns, but Chiavari is very Italian. There are few tourists, great shopping, a nice beach and tons of open markets and great shops for artisenal bread, pastries and so forth.

bobthenavigator

I agree, Chiavari will be easier logistics, but you are close to Camogli at that point--why not keep trucking?

Robbietravels

I thought of going straight to Camogli too but thought it would be too tiring ( DH is 74) to do a
4 hour ferry, a one hour wait and then a 2.5 hr train to Camogli, arriving at 9:10 PM. We'd probably collapse rather than have an evening to enjoy. So Chiavari seems the better option... unless I'm miscalculating???

zeppole

Why don't you just stay in Livorno? You are likely to get an excellent dinner.

http://www.emikodavies.com/blog/livorno-for-foodies/

This looks like a nice place to stay:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/al-t...5f8cdX20;tab=4

The Hotel Santa Maria in Chiavari sits right on top of the train tracks and the main coastal road. It is not air-conditioned, and in September it can still be quite warm, so the traffic and trains outside will keep you awake if you try to leave the windows open.

Chiavari is a marvelous town, but it really doesn't have good hotel options. I suggest you visit Chiavari from Camogli.

I realize Livorno is a city, badly damaged in WW2, but no Italian city I can think of is without interest. If you are put off, you can head out first thing the next morning for Camogli.

http://www.travelplan.it/livorno_guide_places_charm.htm

http://www.livornonow.com/livornos_s...ceci_and_ponce

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...no-TG-C-1.html

Robbietravels

I think bobthenavigator and zeppole offer sound advice about staying in Livorno UNLESS there are some high speed ferries from Bastia to Liverno (still operating on Sept 7) that do not yet show up on the ferry websites. If so then we'd arrive early enough to go straight to Camogli. Any intel here??

zeppole

bob can speak for himself, but I'm not sure what his advice was. He seemed to be suggesting you take the train from Livorno to Camogli, not spend the night in Livorno. I'm not sure why he suggests staying in Chiavari is easier than staying in Sestri Levante, since Sestri Levante has far better accommodations (and is a lovely town). I'm not sure he's ever been to Chiavari. (I must have missed those pictures.)


Anyway, how about taking the ferry from Bastia to Genova? Direct Ferries shows a Sept 7 ferry leaving just before 3pm that arrives in Genova about 7:30pm. Fares are about 50e pp. From the Genova docks you are about 90 minutes to Camogli using taxi + train, at about 20/30e in costs. A taxi all the way will cost you between 80/100e and get you there in 30/40 minutes.

In Camogli, La Primula serves dinner, including light suppers and salads, until 11pm.

Otherwise, stay in Livorno. You'd be well rested, and most likely will eat well and have an interesting experience of another side of Tuscany.

zeppole

PS:

It just occurred to me that every September, the town adjacent to Camogli -- the town of Recco -- holds its big-time celebration called the Sagra del Fuoco, which is essentially a fireworks competition between rival neighborhoods in town. For 2012, the dates of the festival are Sept 6-8.

Camogli gets some of the spillover when it comes to accommodations and restaurant reservations, so you should book well advance. If you are thinking of staying at the Cenobio dei Doge, you can often see the fireworks from the hotel terrace or restaurant, where you can also have a light supper until fairly late -- but book a table in advance.

Also, if you decide to take the ferry from Bastia to Genova on one of those days, you should take the train from Genova to Camogli, rather than a taxi (which could easily get stuck in a traffic jam).

zeppole

Sorry for my typo -- it's Cenobio dei Dogi.

I'll also add here that it is possible that people who post on the Tripadvisor message boards for Corsica know more about the ferries from Corsica than people who post here do.

Robbietravels

Thanks for all the above input, still want to know any info about high speed ferries Bastia to Livorno in early September.

Robbietravels

Just found an overnight ferry Bastia to Livorno; have to check if it runs in mid September.