Has anyone done this as a day trip from Florence? Since there are not a lot of hotel accomodations in CT, I thought I would ask this question. I suppose you take the train to La Spezia &amp; change there for CT. Plan to do some hiking, but we don't have to do it all.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance.

Some of the great charm of the Cinque Terre is when the daytrippers go home!<BR>BUT...<BR>If you take the Eurostar from Florence to La Spezia, it would only be about a 90m. journey, otherwise you'd use up 2.5 hrs. travelling one way. Then you have to wait for local train to come through! <BR>If you want to hike easy, exit at Riomaggiore and build up to the hike to Vernazza and quit! The hardest part is Vernazza to Monterosso, but worth it for the views. Maybe lunch in Corniglia or Manarola and gelato and dine in Vernazza. <BR> Hotel accomodations in advance are tough, and if this is summer, then it will be very difficult. But off-season, you just stroll down the street and ask the shop owners--they always seem to know who has a place for rent, and you can always look before you take a place. <BR>It seems every country has a favorite town: the Americans flock to Vernazza (thanks, Mr. Steves), the Germans seem to nest in Manarola, the Italians want the resort of Monterosso and I'm not sure who stays in Corniglia, but I really loved it!<BR>Bottom line, you can do it in a day; use it as an audition for the region! Collect room info, numbers and restaurants, and then come back and spend a few days-it's a great place to decelerate before you head home!

Too far for a daytrip. It's about 3 hours each way. I don't think you could really go from Florence to CT, hike the trail, and then train all the way back to Florence without wanting to keel over and die.

the best way to go to the CT is take advantage of Alessandro Cammilli's services.He drove us there in less of 2 hours,he suggested typical restaurant,and he was very patient.If you go by train,you miss a lot!contact Mr.Cammilli at [email protected] and you won't regret!

Who's this Mr. Cammilli and how did you find him? any other references?

I'd give you some train schedules and timing, but my apartment-mate took both my train books with her yesterday on her trip from Florence, where we live, to Cinque Terre. If you'd rather have a driver, I also know of a couple of them, one of whom is based in Florence. He owns a small vehicle fleet and is extremely reliable, courteous and affordable. I've used him frequently and have recommended him to others. His name is Marco Ceccarini, and if you'd like some further information, let me know and I'd be happy to help!<BR><BR>

rail.ch or trenitalia.com are all the schedules you need

&lt;&lt;rail.ch or trenitalia.com are all the schedules you need&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Perhaps so -- but for those of us living in Italy, we can't always get instant internet access and it's extremely expensive So we rely on the schedules we keep handy so we can look it up fast and see what's running which day, etc.<BR><BR><BR>

Yes I guess I'm lucky that I both live in italy and have dsl

We used Mr.Cammilli for our day trip to Siena,SG and Cinque Terre.I highly recommend to contact him.He is native of Florence,super trustworthy,he started this business with his girlfriend from L.A.<BR>His english is perfect and his knowledge of the territory is amazing.I remind you his email([email protected])

&lt;&lt;Yes I guess I'm lucky that I both live in italy and have dsl &gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Dang, yes you are! Still having to do the dial-up thing here.<BR>

During a dinner in Florence,I started to talk with a couple from Miami and they told me about their day trip to CT and about Mr.Cammilli.They seemed to me very happy and satisfied about him and they recommended me to contact him.I called him and luckly he was available!After my day trip to CT,I felt very happy and satisfied too.

Interesting! I just assumed that a train was the only way from Florence to CT. A car ride seems so much more enjoyable and fast!

MariaV, do you have Marco's contact info? I've emailed Alessandro but just in case he's already busy that day. We're just looking for a 1 way ride to CT. We were planning on renting a car at La Spezia and driving to Tuscany afterwards.
Thanks!

My wife, child and I hired Alessandro last June while we visited Italy for 3 weeks. Though not a professional tour guide, he was better in that he has lived in the area his entire life and knows everything about the total general area. He absolutely was the BEST part of our entire trip to Northern Italy. He drove us all over the central area surrounding Florence finding us out-of-the way restauants, wineries and such that really made our trip special. At the end our time with him, he drove us to Cinque Terre where he dropped us at our hotel. It was like losing our best friend at that point. He's a quiet man and not for anyone that would be extremely demanding, but for anyone else, he's FANTASTIC! To this day we continue to communicate on a regular basis. I highly recommend him but please please be sure to pay him what he's worth and then some.