Livorno to La Spezia-port chg, help please!

According to RIL The Chianti wine/Butcher tour we were planning from Liverno is not available from the port in La Spezia. When NCL cancelled our cruise last weekend we changed to RC/Allure ship and in doing so this port changed. This had been the tour I was most looking forward to. Any suggestions what to do now from La Spezia? I have been watching YouTube videos on Cinque Terre and Lucca as RIL suggested alternative places but eh....not so interested. Rick Steves' book I had purchased months ago doesn't even mention La Spezia! Go figure. Anyhow, I was hoping to get advise from the CC world. Can you help me? We are a young 45-50, fun loving couple who loves wine, food, history, not very religious-but will pop into a church or two, and not big on shopping or crowds and this is our first European vacation.

TIA!!

Even though the videos of Cinque Terre left you less than impressed, that would be my first choice on a port call in La Spezia. Cinque Terre is a very special place and so convenient to the port.

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy your first European cruise...

Lew

-Lew- thank you so much for your response. Why is CT so special? What did you do there?

Why not a ship tour to Florence with free time there? Have you been there before? I would go there any chance I get. I understand that it's 25 minutes further out than Livorno, but it looks like RCI gives you 5.5 hours there, including 3 on your own. Not bad.

 

Why is CT so special? What did you do there?

On our day there we just walked around in four of the five villages exploring and enjoying just being there. Some village are close enough to walk between, others require a train.

Lew

I,ve never heard of ANYONE who did,nt want to visit the magical Cinque Terre . Five villages largely accessible only by sea or train . They cling for life onto the hilly rocky Medieranean coastline between Genova and La Spezia . Just magical in a 1940's time warp .

Alternatively you can do Pisa easily in a day by train from La Spezia Centrale, or alternatively magical Lucca (requires a change of train at Viareggio) .

Also accessible by public bus P from stop P in Via Garabaldi in La Spezia (near Corso Cavour) is Poertovenere and the Bay of Poets . Bus takes 30 minutes to Portovenere and leave stop P at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour .

Awesome information! I knew I could count on the cc experts to put me straight! Thank you all so much-this is very appreciated :)

As much as we like the Rick Steves books, they do have their limitations :). The port of La Spezia is simply the gate way town to the 5 villages off Cinque Terre which is a very popular (and beautiful) part of Italy. So that would always be our first recommendation for anyone going to this area for their first visit.

As to the Chianti wine region, we really enjoy this part of Italy and recommend spending at least a week in that part of Tuscany :). But as a tour destination from La Spezia it does not make a lot logistical sense since its about a 2 1/2 hour drive (one-way) from La Spezia to the heart of Chianti along the S222 wine route.

Hank

Cinque Terre is one of those places where you do not need a tour, and you do not need a guide to "tell you/interpret what you are seeing." Experience life in a magical set of small villages. Wander the streets. Stop off and pick up some local specialities - the foccacia, some trofie al pesto. Hit up the little food stores in Vernazza and make your own picnic to eat on the seawall. Notice the differences between the villages (on the hill, on the rocky shore, a beach…).

I spent some days in CT - it was sooo relaxing. It was nice to be around at night, after the daytrippers left. Grab a evening drink at one of the little places, grab a bite at a quiet restaurant on the harbor (or a boisterous dinner with the brothers who run Il Pirata up the hill from the train station). I just fear that, with the ships stopping in La Spezia, having 2000+ people descend on the area for a day in search of quickie thrills is going to spoil the location.

Regarding Rick Steves: his book was done before La Spezia was really used as a cruise port by the mass lines. BUT, if you look at his Italy book, you'll see that he considers CT as one of his favorite places in all of Italy. Used to be that CT was a little-visited place until Steves wrote about it.