My boyfriend and I are planning a backpacking trip through parts of Europe. While in Italy, we planned to go from Venice (3 days) to Florence (2 days) to Cinque Terre (1 day) and then on down to Naples/Capri/Sorrento/Amalfi (3 days) coast area, then back up to Rome to meet up with my family.

Here's the question: Is Cinque Terre worth the trip out there? I heard that it was very beautiful, but then I heard that it is now overrun with tourists. Anyone have an opinion on this? We only have time to spend a day trip out there (and I hear you can see it all in a day), so I was curious to see if time could be better spent in one of the other cities mentioned. Curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

I would suggest you just head down to the Amalfi coast - both are beautiful coastal areas and there can be alot of american tourists in CT (although the AC has no lack of tourists but they are not all american carrying Rick Steve's book). So instead of spending the time on the train for a short time in CT, spend the extra time on the Amalfi coast.

I love the CT region but yes, it is very touristy in the summer. We're going back for the 4th time this year though, we like it that much.
If you want to avoid the hordes of people, stay in Corniglia, Manarola, or Riomaggiore. Vernazza and Monterosso are the most over run.

I think it's worth it, the towns may be a bit crowded but if you get there early and hike the trails between each city it's just amazing!

Could we arrive at Cinque Terre (from Florence) early in the morning and then head out in the evening from La Spezia to Naples. I know that we'd be extremely tired and dirty - just wondering if this sounds like a doable possibility.

Originally we were going to go back to Florence after visiting Cinque Terre, and then take a train down to Naples, but it seems like it'd be easier to just take off for Naples after seeing Cinque Terre (or part of Cinque Terre).

La Spezia to Naples via train is at least 6.5 hours.
We are taking a night train between Naples and La Spezia and it is a 7+ hour trip.

That would be great with me - it would save money on accomodation. So it would be doable I suppose - as long as I could figure out what we were doing and our transportation went as planned! Sounds a little bit hectic.

Here is an idea, start at the southernmost town of Riomaggiore and hike the path to the end at Monterosso which is really on the beach. You could go into one of the beachclubs, for a fee, and take a shower and/or swim, get cleaned up and take the train to La Spezia for your connection to Naples. Just thinking out loud

Lewis has a really good idea.
I checked Trenitalia and it looks as though you could leave La Spezia right about midnight (11:58pm), and arrive in Naples between 6 and 6:30am depending on which station you want to get off at (you would have to do a train switch to get to the central station).

Train 761
Departure - La Spezia Centrale 23:58 Arrival - Napoli Campi Flegrei 06:01

SWITCH TRAINS

Train 7599
Departure - Napoli Campi Flegrei 06:13 Arrival - Napoli P.za Garibaldi 06:30

Napoli P.za Garibaldi is the same as Napoli Centrale (the central station).

For a 6 bed couchette, it would be 39,40€ each.

Personally, I would try to catch the 10:32pm train out of Monterosso to La Spezia. The trains (depends on which kind you get on) can take 15 to 30 minutes to go from Monterosso to La Spezia. HOWEVER, the trains can be late or not show at all once it gets late into the evening. So even though there is an 11pm train that would likely get you to La Spezia in time, I'd take the 10:30 train and be SURE I made it!

P.S. If you are physcially fit, you can do the hike between the towns in approximately 3.5-4.5 hours. But leave yourself some extra time to stop and explore each little town, they are wonderful!

If you were to leave from Florence, this is how I'd do it (and it would be a LONG day!).

Train 523
Departure - Firenze S. M. Novella 07:51
Arrival - La Spezia Centrale 09:52

Switch trains!

Train 11370
Departure: La Spezia Centrale 10:06 Arrival: Riomaggiore 10:14


So you'd probably start your hike (or you can cruise between the towns by boat - very scenic, a little more costly but not bad) around 11am.
Assuming you stop for a short time in several of the towns... you'd end up in Monterosso around 5-6pm. You could hit the beach for an hour and then clean up and have dinner in the town (lots of good restaurants). Then sit on the promenade by the beach and have gelatto and catch the 10:30 train out of there!

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola is flat and very short, also very beautiful. Probably 15 minutes. The other hikes are strenuous. If you have luggage, either leave it at La Spezia's station (make sure they have lockers in advance) or take the boat or trains for the other towns!

Lewis and TexasAggie: Thank you so, so much for your advice. This is exactly the plan that I was trying to figure out, but I wasn't sure on the logistics.

TexasAggie: I couldn't have planned out that itinerary more perfectly myself! We're in our mid-twenties and are fairly fit and looking forward to the hikes. And there's even a place to clean up at day's end! Thanks for checking out the times, etc. What websites are you using for the train fares/schedules? Thanks again - this is going to be a wonderful trip.

www.trenitalia.com

Click on English at the very top of the screen.

We're mid-20s as well and also love hiking, you'll love the CT!