Patti_lovestravel

Hi fellow travelers. My friend and I will be on a cruise in Sept and will have a 2 day stop in La Spezia, Italy. We are trying to decide btw a few options on how to spend those 2 days while in Port there. We love the outdoors, sea views and touring quaint colorful fishing and/or historic villages. We are considering:
1. Ship excursion to Rapello, Santa Margherita Ligure & Portofino. We have never been to either of these places and always wanted to see lovely Portofino. Includes shuttle drive and ferry.
2. Bus or taxi to Lerici & San Terezno and spend the day there. We have never been here and it looks very pretty.
3. Train over to Cinque Terre, including a hike btw 2 of the villages. I have been here twice but love it so would be willing to go back to see it again with my friend who has never been.
4. Florence and/or Pisa via ship excursion - we've been to Florence and Pisa so have no desire to go back there; especially since it's a 4hr RT drive.

We would appreciate any input you may have to help us decide btw Options 1-3.
Thank you!

KayF

We stayed once in Santa Margherita Ligure and really liked it. The bus to Portofino was only about 20 mins from memory. Portofino was attractive but quite upmarket. You could do no.1 and decide at the time on no.2 or 3. If the weather is poor or trails in Cinque Terre are closed, which is common, you could pick no.2 instead. I haven't been to either of the places in no.2 but generally speaking, I'd pick a visit to somewhere new, rather than going over old ground.

nylilly

I spent four nights in San Terenzo last summer and loved it. It’s quiet and somehow off the radar to most non Italian tourists. There’s a lovely waterfront path to walk to Lerici, which is larger and more lively than San Terenzo. If you’re looking for a place to relax, eat good food and take scenic walks, I recommend the area.

lrice

We spent a few nights in Santa Margherita and loved it! Can't go wrong there!

ekscrunchy

I'd much prefer a taxi/driver than a ship tour.

You can see Portofino is about half an hour.

I would include Camogli, which I think ice one of the prettiest ports in Italy.

Portovenere also lovely but can get crowded with ship tourists, I think.

Not much to see in Rapallo...no reason to go there. None as far as I'm concerned.

SML very lovely but not as charming as Camogli.

Lovely walk on flat path from SML to Portofino.

Patti_lovestravel

Thank you for the additional input. Gives us some more to think about. The photos of San Terenzo look lovely!