horizon56

Hi there
We are a group of 6 adults late 50s looking for the best way to explore Cinque Terre mid July this year. Our ship arrives at 7am and departs 7pm. Some of our group have had feet/knee surgery in the past making long distance walking not desirable. We know it is going to be crowded and very hot. We don't want to do the ship's sheep tour and are trying to smooth the way a little and avoid the trains which I have read are not the most reliable.

So, because of the walking issue and also as we are concerned about getting back to the ship on time, we have contacted a tour company who can pick us up early from La Spezia and recommended dropping us off to one of the first 2 villages either Manarola or Riomaggiore as they said it would be easier to make our way downhill. Then we can make our way by ferry to explore ourselves and then pick us up late afternoon from Monterroso.

Can anyone advise how hard is the walk down to the villages/ferry after we get dropped off at Riomaggiore or Manarola? Also for being picked up at Monterroso is that relatively flat for us to meet the driver? At some point we were also looking to possibly take in a boat tour to see the villages from the sea (and thus avoid walking!) but that coupled with a private driver may end up being too pricey.

Also I have read there is a beach at Monterroso. Are there any change rooms/showers available?

Any advice or opinions of this plan would be much appreciated!

bvlenci

The Cinque Terre villages are very tiny, and the cruise ship tours are overwhelming them with far more people than they can accommodate. Even if you have a private excursion, you have to share the same streets with the mass tours.

I don't know how the boat tours are on days when there are cruise ships in La Spezia, but they might be a better option. Or, you could ask your private guide if he could take you to one of the towns not visited by cruise ships. I imagine that the interior towns (Vernazza, Corniglia, and Manarola) are not as accessible to tour buses as Monterosso and Riomaggiore, and therefore might not be overrun. However, I have no personal experience.

I haven't been there in ten years, and the cruise port in La Spezia wasn't ready then. Even so, the towns were too crowded for my taste.

Here is an Italian newspaper article about the problem. You can see the photo and watch the video; the article is in Italian, but the video doesn't have any spoken audio.

http://genova.repubblica.it/cronaca/...ti_-123899365/

When I tried to play the video, it got stuck on an ad that wouldn't play. So I examined the source code and found the actual video, without the ad. If you have a problem with the video in the article, try this instead:

http://video.repubblica.it/embed/edi.../213075/212250

horizon56

Thanks bvlenci

I have emailed your video to our group. It is quite alarming! We have spent so much time researching just this one stop on our cruise. I'm beginning to wonder if we should just stay on the ship!

We have another option of getting picked up by boat (it can take 7 passengers)from La Spezia and then dropped back off at La Spezia. They stop off at a couple of villages. But I have no idea how rough the water will be. It sounds like we would be on the boat for quite a while.

I'm wondering if this might be the better option after seeing your video!

greg

Some comments:

>>> Then we can make our way by ferry to explore ourselves and then pick us up late afternoon from Monterroso.

Ferries don't run on rough water days. Even on days that they do run, it is a trek down pretty steep path to boat dock at Riomaggiore and Manarola.

>>>Can anyone advise how hard is the walk down to the villages/ferry after we get dropped off at Riomaggiore or Manarola?

Use google earth to see what you are up to. For example, at Riomaggiore, you walk down from where you get dropped off, then further down past train track, then even further down to this level,
""https://photographytraveltours.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Riomaggiore_blue_boats_500px.jpg then walk up that narrow path you see on the left. Then you go down to the water level on narrow path like this: http://onceinalifetimetravel.com/wp-...2066973911.jpg. See that gangplank connecting the boat? That goes up and down on rough water days.

>>> Also for being picked up at Monterroso is that relatively flat for us to meet the driver?

Presuming you are interested in the old town where the boat lands, you have two choices. About 800m about 4 floors up hill, through tunnel to the train station direction where a car can get to. Or about 500m steadily up the old town to above town where a car can get you. Look at the google map.

>>> We have another option of getting picked up by boat (it can take 7 passengers)from La Spezia and then dropped back off at La Spezia. They stop off at a couple of villages. But I have no idea how rough the water will be.

This is weather dependent as you noted. Unless you arrange your car to take you from village to village, you need to use train if boats are not running. Trains are frequent if not on time but crowded. Train stations require less walking than car at Riomaggiore and Manarola but not Monterosso if your driver can drop you off at the top of the Monterosso old town.

Macross

We left on the ferry from La Spezia at 9 am, remember that well because it is like herding cats with my group and did not think we would make it from our apartment. The ferry had a lot of cruise ship passengers on board. It was foggy at 9 am but cleared up later so we got off at the second stop and wondered around a bit, got back on and went to Monterosso where we had a walk around, very pretty, lunch and then did the hike to Vernazza, both villages were beautiful and the town itself was an easy walk. I wonder if google street maps might help. We went down to catch ferry after our hike and it stopped running from that village at like 3 so we had to train it back. It was 25 euro for the ferry so we were a little upset. Check the times for each ferry departure from each village so you will get back in time. They advertise they run till 7 but not from every village. The train was not bad but the train is a little bit of a walk from the ferry terminal.

Macross

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...a_Liguria.html

I remember going to use the restroom here after lunch and people were taking showers from the beach. Hope that helps. I did some google earth pics and you can see the streets are a bit hilly but nothing horrible. I loved all the laundry hanging. We were there in May and the water was a bit chilly but the views hiking were fab. I know you can't do that but it was one of my top ten things I have done.

horizon56

Thanks everyone for your fabulous and detailed responses and great photos! I didn't realise the ferry route actually included La Spezia. Thought the ferries were based only at CT.

Can anyone tell me how far roughly by foot is the ferry wharf from the cruise ships?

Maybe we can hop on the first ferry of the day from La Spezia and go straight to Monterroso. Going by the 2016 timetable it takes about 2 hours so I imagine the voyage would be quite spectacular. We could then spend a bit of time there, have a swim and head back, and maybe depending how the day is panning out, could stop at Vernazza.

How does this plan sound?

vincenzo32951

The ferry is a good way to see the towns and the shoreline, but one warning: Getting **onto** and **off* the ferry, especially if the sea is a bit rough, can be difficult for those with mobility issues. The ferry use a gangplank that bounces around and requires some sure footing. It was pretty bouncy the day we went, and crew members had to assist some passengers.

travelhorizons

check out shoretrips.com

Macross

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/en

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...a.html#REVIEWS

Some of the reviews are from cruise passengers. I could see the cruise ships in port but not sure of the distance. Cabs will be there to take you.

hpeabody

I have only done CT using the ship's excursions. I normally opt out of ship's excursions, but this is one of those exceptions. The "guarantee" that the ship will be there waiting to get back onto and the logistics of getting around IMO is best to be done by those who know. It can get crazy as it is so dependent on the ocean conditions. The ship's tour can handle the unexpected. That said, I do love CT, but my most recent experience July 2015 was pretty awful due to extreme heat (over 100 degrees F) and the horrible crowds. I think there needs to be limits set for the number of tourists allowed in this area

horizon56

Gosh after reading the reviews we might not even get on a ferry. Even our own ship might book out the ferries for the sheep tours we are trying to avoid. That would be ironic. Seems very unfair that the ferries can be booked out ahead but on reading up on it, the ferries will accept a group booking of minimum 20 people. Maybe we should take the private boat tour after all.

Thanks again everyone for your help and advice!