Raply426

From the info I've found about traveling to Cinque Terre, there is no driving in the area.

We are planning a trip in the fall to fly into Italy travel to Cinque Terre, onto some areas in Northern Italy and up into Munich, Germany. We definitely need to have a car for the trip. What does anyone know about parking a car in the Cinque Terre area, how to get baggage to our lodgings, etc....???

If anyone has any idea the best way of visiting this area in the midst of a driving trip please advise!!

aprillilacs

You can in fact drive to some of the villages, but the train is more convenient, if you can find multiday parking at or near the station in one of the towns along the train route before you get to CT. On one of our visits (in May) we planned to park in La Spezia but couldn't find anywhere close to the train station, so we decided to chance it and drove on to the villages, hoping for the best. We found that there is indeed some public parking on the edge of Monterosso. We were staying in Corniglia, so we drove the narrow, rather precipitous road to just outside that village and found a place where we could park for a couple of nights on the side of the road (you can't drive into the village itself), walking distance to our accommodation. It was an adventure, for sure. We were a little nervous about leaving the car there, but it worked out just fine. Travel light!

bab706

As you are unable to bring your car into town, it's really best to use the train system. Why pay for a rental car when you really don't need one in CT? You can easily get from town to town within CT by using the local train. The ferry also takes you from town to town with outstanding views from the ocean. When your trip to CT is over, you can easily take the train to LaSpezia to rent a car there and resume the driving portion of your trip.

leftmespeechless

Oh, how lucky. I wanted to visit Cinque Terre this year but simply didn't have time in my itinerary.

I wish I could offer advice on the car. Perhaps you could call a B&B and ask the manager what their past clients have done.

Images2

There is parking at the top of the village of Varnazza. We parked there this past September with no problem. The road in is slow. You'll want to use the train while in the CT.

HappyTrvlr

There is large pay parking lot in MOnterosso by the sea.

christycruz

Check to see what day of the week you are arriving. Even in the fall, weekends are extremely crowded. You'll have a better shot at a parking space during the week.

bobthenavigator

I have always driven to the CT but stay in Portovenere or Levanto. And, Monterosso has a large lot on the water that is easy to access.

bmw732002

What images2 said! I parked just outside the main square of Vernazza. Tough to find a spot however! And dragging luggage down the road is no fun!

Went back to the car after 3 days and found broken glass around the passenger window. Being a NY'er I immediatly expected that the car was broken into. Turns out a rock rolled off the cliff (yes it is hilly!) and smashed my side window!

-john

treplow

Get on the website for Rapallo and select a hotel near the station. Make that your "center", and take the local trains to the different Cinque Terre locations you want to visit - -covering on foot 2 or 3 locations a day. Solves the parking and luggage schlepping problem. Besides, Rapallo is a nice place in its own right.

anniemackie

Depending on how long you plan on staying in Cinque Terre, I'd suggest either ditching the car, or planning your car touring for after you've visited the area. It is very easy area to get to by train, from either direction, and why pay for a vehicle to sit in the lot, not to mention schlepping your luggage farther than you'd prefer?

My DH was *very* hesitant to give up his car keys for our trip there. After three days he said it was a pleasure not to think about what was going on with the car. When we have cars in distant lots, we usually end up checking the baby at least once during the day. Even now, we still think it's amazing that not once did we feel a need for a car, and for us, that's saying a lot!

--Annie

leuk2

We stayed in Riomaggiore.(sp), town #1. We stayed at a hotel at the top of the town.We took the train and walked up, but there was a road by the hotel and I believe there was parking. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the the hotel. I'd recognize the name if anybody out there knows the name of the place.

colleenbee08

We stayed at Manarola (2nd from the south) and took the train. I agree with some of the above to ditch the car (figuritively speaking)and then pick it up again at the end of your CT visit. It is such a wonderful place to visit, regarldless which town you stay at. If possible,take the hike up to Vernazzia as you can catch the ferry back to your home town. The scenery is spectacular. One of my favourite places in Europe. (Banff in Canada still takes the first prize)

irishface

We landed in Milan and took the train to Vernazza where we spent a week. We then drove our rental car from there to other places we stayed. On the next to last day in Vernazza, we trained to La Spezia and picked up a rental car as we were doing ancestor research off the beaten path for one of the party. When we returned we parked in the lot above town. (It was a dark walk back to Vernazza). two mornings later one member of the party went up to retrieve the car and the rest of us waited at the gate with the luggage. He was allowed to drive down to the gate to meet us, we packed up and were off to other adventures!

Raply426

Well, we have definitely decided to not rent a car until after our stay in C.T.
Is 5 nights a good amount of time to spend in the area? Also, we are flying into Pisa. Is figuring out the train system easy? Any problems we might encounter??

kellyee21

I see you decided about the car but in case anyone is still wondering, we were able to park just outside of Manarola. This was in mid-July, but we arrived just before noon on a weekday and it wasn't a problem. You can get a temporary pass to drive into the town to deposit your luggage to get you a bit closer to your accomadations (20 minutes or so I think).

zeppole

Raply,

It is very easy to get from Pisa Airport to Le Cinque Terre. The people behind the ticket window at the Pisa Airport train station speak English. If the "b" team, is one, have it written down on a piece of paper which train stop you want.

I think 5 nights is a LOT to spend in le Cinque Terre unless you are all devoted hikers -- and even then I would spend 3 nights in le Cinque Terre and two nights around the Portofino Promotory to hike there (either in Santa Margherita Ligure if you like upscale or Camogli if you like egalitarian). If you like food and wine, try Chiavari.

You can rent a car in Rapallo (closer to Genova) or La Spezia (closer to Parma, Tuscany) after your seaside stay, depending on where next you are going.

lynclarke

I think 5 nights is a perfect amount of time! We rented an apartment in Manarola for 7 nights and did not want to leave. One day we walked the trail through the 5 villages, one day we walked up into the hills to Groppo and Volastra, one day we layed on the beach at Monteresso and drank box wine, one day we visited La Spezia ( and brought back groceries), one day we ---- It went by in a flash. Now, if you are wanting 10,000 things to do in one day then it may be too long. It was perfect for us.

zeppole

My recommendation about not staying 5 nights was about experiencing the seacoast without so many foreign tourists, not about moving to a location with more to do. I recommended switching to places on the Riviera with excellent hiking and actually better swimming, but where it is more Italian in feel than le Cinque Terre. It's actually more relaxing away to be in the Italian resort towns, and there is better food and wine (including in La Spezia).

Were I to pick 5 nights on the Riviera, I would pick a location other than le Cinque Terre, and see that as a day trip from a boat.

Raply426

Which of the 5 towns has the nicest places to stay? We are two couples and would like something apartment-like (2 rooms) or with a little kitchen area if possible(at least a frig). We are also interested in a nice ocean view. My husband has been looking and says a lot of places are already booked for the dates we will be staying. I was kinda interested in staying closer to the LaSpezia end...does anyone have any opinions on that? We will be there from Sept. 12th-17th. Thanks again, in advance!