Getting Around in Cinque Terre
 

Does anyone know (about) how long the drive from Florence (on the NorthWest side of the city) to the Cinque Terre area would be? Once at Cinque Terre, how long does it take the walk/hike the trail that leads through the 5(?) towns? And is it more of a hike than a walk? If you only have one day (and factoring in the drive to/from Florence) what are the MUST-SEES in the area? <BR>Thanks.

David, Can't help with the drive time but:The hike from Riomaggiore to Monterosso takes 6-8 hours, we've done it twice and that is the average, with stops. Once you leave the paved walk from Riomaggiore it definitely becomes a path and from Vernazza to Monterosso sometimes hard to find, but there are blue/white blazes to follow. Must see is the trail from Corniglia to Vernazza, but the whole trek is a "must see" in our opinion. I should qualify my opinions by saying the last time we did this trek was in 1991.

Hi David! Are you going to drive to La Spezia and take the train from there or try to drive to one of the villages like Monterosso where it's feasible to park? On April 20th we drove from San Gimignano to La Spezia, which took 2 hours. Your location in Firenze is similar distance or less on the FI-PI. The tough part was finding the train station once we got there (another hour, with my somewhat limited language skills). I had printed out a GPS map to the station before I left home and then, in a flurry of condensing information, decided "how hard could it be???". ANYWAY, we did bring our printout of the train schedules, and all the trains had been cancelled except for the one that was 3 hours late, which left just as we got there and got on it. This was a lesson in over-planning. So we cut back our hike and did only the last leg...rode the train to Vernazza, got off there and had lunch then hiked to Monterosso, which was QUITE a challenge, mostly because of the mud on the descent into Monterosso, but worth it for spectacular views on the first sunny day of our trip! We took the train back to La Spezia after a gelato and a bit of beach time, stopped for dinner on the back and were home in San Gimi by 9pm. A long day, but a great adventure. Hope this helps. Jan

Thanks for the info. I was thinking of drving to Cinque Terre, but now I'm considering the train. If you had to pick a destination/town in Cinque Terre via train, which one would it be? We're primarily interested in scenery, good eating spot for lunch, a little shopping, and light hiking/walking (no climbing the sheer face of Mt Everest, or anything like that). <BR>Thanks.

David, La Spezia is the main rail town, from there, take a local to Vernazza, very touristy but moderate walking trails north (toward Monterosso) and south, which will give you a "feel" for the place.

David <BR> <BR>You should also consider getting the boat from Lerici or La Spezia. You can get off and on anywhere (except Corniglia for some reason). So you can get on a boat at Lerici at 9.30am, arrive at Vernazza at 11.30am; walk to Monterosso for lunch at 1pm, get the boat back to Vernazza (or Manarola, or Riomaggiore) spend an hour or so there and get the next boat home. See posting on Lunigiana. <BR> <BR>Lerici is slightly closer (c 1/2 hr) to Florence than La Spezia. The boat also stops at Porto Venere

Found a web site- try www.navigazioneglfodipoeti.it

David, I would take the boat over the train if you really want to enjoy the scenery! We took the boat from Lerici last summer and hiked from the first town to the second, then got back on the boat to visit the rest and had plenty of time in all the glorious little towns. Do'nt forget to take your bathing suit and a towel along as well as a water bottle. It also took us just under 2 hours from the florence airport to Lerici. We are planning on doing the same trip next year, but will use Portovenere as our base next. (The ferry also stops there do'nt miss it!) Have a great time!

typo in above web address <BR> <BR>www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it <BR> <BR>I'll get this rigt if it kills me!!

Thanks to everyone for giving me some really useful info. <BR>Fodor's is a great website and it's because of people like you. <BR>Thanks again.

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