Hi,
I will be in Florence with my mother and sister, and wondering if a day trip option to Cinque Terre is feasible? We wanted to go check out Positano and Capris, but realized that perhaps that's too far and hoping to squeeze in Cinque Terre as an alternative. Cost is not an issue, and wondering if:
1. a day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence is enough time and even doable in the first place?
2. what is the fastest way to get there?

Any advice or suggestions would be great! Thanks so much!
JT

By train

florence-La Spezia (usually change at Pisa Centrale) takes about 2 hours

LaSpezia has milk trains abut twice an hour to each of the 5 Cinque Terre towns

are you hikers or walkers? the path between some of the towns is gentle (especially Riomaggiore to the next town north ?? - the Via d'Amore a wide boardwalk along the sea but paths between others are rougher

boats in season go between all five

pick one or two and either walk or take train between them - the middle three are the most dreamy as Riomaggiore and Monterosso, the two bookend towns have cars and are much bigger.

Cars not allowed in other three towns.

Perhaps there are bus tours there from Florence.

2.5 hours each way on train should leave you several hours to explore. doable IMO

train schedules: www.trenitalia.com

The home page on the Trenitalia site no longer shows a link to the English version. Here is the URL you need: www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html.

man trenitalia.com seems determined not to allow americans or english speakers easy access - why don't they just say Italians only?

I heard trenitalia's fares were subsidized so much - it's actually a real political issue i believe - that some feel the lower fares should be only available to Italian residents and there has been talk of some kind of card that may be required in the future to qualify for such fares.

If cost is truly not an issue, I'd hire a guide with car.

thanks much for all the information everyone! by chance do you know of any private guide/cars for hire that are legit?

www.Viator.com have a tour from Florence, it is a bit costly but worth consideration.

We stayed in Santa Margherita (near Portofino) and took the train down to Cinque Terre. Can't remember how long the train trip was, but the whole experience was a full day. Once there we hopped on the boat to get to the south end (I think this was the easiest hiking between the towns) and then hiked from 1st to 3rd towns. it was breath taking. Allow a full day if you take the walk between towns, because you will want to stop in each of them. We also walked up to the top of the castle.

In my opinion, a day trip to CT from Florence is a bad idea.

You're looking at about 6 hours of travel back and forth, which doesn't leave you a lot of time to explore the area and get a full appreciation.

Just my opinion, however.

Thanks everyone for the feedback- I guess we'll just play by ear and see how our time in Florence goes.

5 Terre gets a lot of hype and deserves it but there are also swell places a lot closer to Florence:

Lucca - one of finest walled old towns in Italy - known for its gaggle of towers

Siena - large but great hill town of your dreams

Assisi, Perugia - again quintessential hill towns with lots to see and do

all are manageable in a day trip - 5 Lands needs more than a few hours IMO