Hi aussie

Have a great trip!!!

I hope this helps: I think you may have other options. I did this (it was about 100 years ago, but it was a lot of fun). I went via train. Here's the deal, I think you may have better luck looking at train trips from Paris to <i>Genoa</i>, then to La Spezia then to 5 terre.

According to my notes, we left Paris at 8 pm staying in a groovy couchette. We arrived in Genoa at 6 am. At that time I thought we'd have to switch trains, but the train conductor told us not to get off the train, that it continued to La Spezia. We arrived in La Spezia just as dawn arrived. Descending the train in the still of the morning and hearing that beautiful language over the "altoparlante" is a memory I will NEVER forget.

From there we were directed to the "binario" that took us to Riomaggiore in Le Cinque Terre.

Aaaaah l'Italia, mi manca molto....

In boca al lupo (Good luck!!!)

>>>According to my notes, we left Paris at 8 pm staying in a groovy couchette. We arrived in Genoa at 6 am.<<<

That must not exist anymore as Trenitalia doesn't show any trains from Paris to Genoa that don't involve changes just to get to Genoa. I don't see any overnight train between the two.

ky: You are so right. Glad I prefaced my suggestion with the words "<i>may</i> have other options". Now that I did a little digging, it would appear that my suggestion is obsolete! I'm sorry aussie!!!

We rented a car in Paris, drove to Beaune and spent the night, then a night in Vevey, a few days in Canelli in Piedmonte, before heading down to the CT, it was all very easy drive. Why mess with planes and trains when you can just throw all your stuff in the trunk and travel your way :)

Thank you all for your replies. It was nice to wake up this morning and view some help from the Fodors friends.

An over night train to Genoa would have been perfect, dawn in La Spezia, alas its not running any more. Last night I checked about one thousand (slight exaggeration - felt like that any way) training combinations for stops here there and everywhere. What it boils down to I think is the leg after the fast train from Paris. Whatever combination either Milan, Zurich or Nice route the aweful part is the leg to Cinque Terre.

Should we hire a car after the bulk of the train journey? We have 4 nights in Cinque Terre and I thought it would be a waste to sit a car in some carpark for that length of time. We will need a car for our Tuscany leg (about 8 days) which starts after Cinque Terre. I must admit after reading some info on Fodors about driving from France into Italy it was a little scary - we do drive on the other side of the road here -. Not to mention the drop off rates in another country.

The Paris Milan train does stop in Turin, maybe that is an option to hire a car from there (1 day, worth it?)

If we fly to Pisa we would have travelled to Cinque Terre by train. I am trying to put the pieces together now as I am on a holiday break and have time to research. Some places in Italy are already booked.

My apolgogies, in my tiredness last night I misspelt Manarola.

Aussie, your trip and our trip are looking almost the exact same! I've recently looked at RyanAir out of PARIS (Beauvais) into Pisa, and then the hourly trains into Vernazza for me, but Manarola for you.
Super Shuttle from Paris hotel doorstep to airport is $60 total for the two of us, Airfare on Ryan Air $45 US each ( https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales...=Google#Select ), and $30 each train transfers from Pisa to Cinque Terre ( http://www.rome2rio.com/s/Pisa-Airpo...Italy/Vernazza ). We will be in Vernazza for dinner and vino for the price of $105 each.

Hopefully this works for us. I'm interested in what you have discovered or booked since your last post in Dec.

That post was Dec 2010. The trip is long over, but it's always better to take Easy Jet from Paris than Ryan Air. Paris Orly is easily reached (and much cheaper to reach) from central Paris (closer than CDG too). The airport Ryan Air uses is an hour way from Paris. Easy Jet is a much better airline also.

Yes Ryan Air goes often in Beauvais - at least an hour northwest of Paris - you have to pay for the Ryan Air bus too - all things equal do as kybourbon suggests - Orly is much more practical.

Anax yes our trip was in 2011 and we had a fantastic time.

WE flew Easyjet out of Orly. I looked at catching a train to Orly but in the end we got a taxi trip was quick and cost us 35euro well worth it in my opinion, rather than lugging our bags.

I have flown Easyjet on many sectors throughout Britain and Europe and all good, more reliable in my opinion than Ryanair.

Pisa airport is really easy to fly into and not very busy. We bought train tickets at the ticket booth and walked the short walk (200 meters?) to pick up a train at the airport into Pisa, from there we picked up a train to La Specia and then one to Manarola. We LOVED Cinque Terre, spent 4 nights there during a lovely September late summer.
Ate delicious foods, walked some great trails with amazing views and just loved the 5 towns. Enjoy!