smlri

we will be in pisa and want to know if it is possible we can store large piece of luggage there and then go to Cinque Terre for a couple of days with small bag. After the 2 nights we are headed to Florence but will need to go through Pisa to get our luggage. Is this all possible? How do I find out about the train schedule and also, any recommendations on where to stay in Cinque Terre? Thank you

lynclarke

smlri- Although I have no first hand knowlege, I have heard that there is luggage storage at Pisa. I do know there is luggage storage at LaSpezia and mostly likely you would go through there on the way to the Cinque Terre and the trip to Florence. I read the sign at the luggage storage and it essentially said that it cost 3E per piece of luggage for the first 12 hours and then 2E for every succeding 12 hours. The storage place was open like 7 or 8 am to evening hours. As long as you aren't traveling in the middle of the night, it should work out fine for you. You need to go over to the trenitalia site and start working out your train plans. I would be glad to recommend the casa capellini in Manarola. They have one apartment and two rooms in their home, but you didn't say specifically what you are looking for. Look at the 5terre.it site and see if you can decide which town is best for you. Monterosso-busy, family oriented, pebble beach, fairly flat. Vernazza- steeper, busy during day, plenty of services Corniglia- up higher on the mountain, fewer tourist, lots of stairs, plenty of services Manarola- smaller, STEEP, (esp. with luggage!), much quieter, plenty of services (our favorite) Riomaggiore- busy like Monterosso, huge boulder beach, plenty of services. lynclarke

smlri

thank you for your help. we are coming to pisa from a house we rented in tuscany with a car. we (3 couples) were nervous about leaving it in La Spezia overnight for 2 days so we were going to end use of it at Pisa airport and then take train to La Spezia from there and on to CT, leaving our big luggage there and just taking our small ones and pick them up on our way to florence for a couple of days. we think we want to stay in Vernazza. Any suggerstion.

Intrepid1

Topping for you..as I recall there is a left luggage room at Pisa Centrale.

lynclarke

smlri- One little tip. Not that I am trying to take income away from the CT area, but if you want snacks in your rooms while you are in Vernazza, then take a quick detour in LaSpezia. Go out the front of the train station, cross the street, and go down the flight of stairs to the street below. There is a grocery store across the street and to your left- less than 1/2 block. Prices are MUCH less. It may not be relevant for you but we stayed in an apartment in Manarola for a week and this one trip really stretched our budget and gave us far more selection. We also bought Genoan Pesto in a jar for souvenirs (less than 2E- ratnhe than 5E in the CT), salmon pate in "toothpaste" tubes, nescafe coffee(I ran out), a 1L boxes of wine similar to the ones we found in Venice- not terrific but not bad either- about 1E etc. We spent $58 and got 3 days of food and drink plus several food souvenirs. The grocery stores in any of the small towns are really limited. This is not a complaint! - Just an observation.
You will enjoy Vernazza. It is buzzing with people during the day. We bought a cute ceramic plaque with "Beware of cats" in Italian that we really like- I think we paid 12E- now I wish we had bought a couple more for our cat and dog friends.
One tip that someone gave us- walk the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso not the reverse. The hike is a little strenuous although I saw kids as young as 5 and seniors as old as 70+ hiking. The Vernazza side is not as steep as the Monterosso side. If you were to start in Monterosso, the first 30 minutes or so is climbing stairs straight uphill. Those same stairs are a lot more friendly on the way down at the end of one's climb. We loved our week in the CT!! lynclarke