Livorno to Cinque Terra

Has anyone planned a trip on their own from the Livorno port to Cinque Terra? How did you do this? What is a reasonable amount of time to spend there?

Many threads on the topic, just takes a search or a look around. Start with:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2570415&highlight=Cinque+Terre

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2541997&highlight=Cinque+Terre

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2322405&highlight=Cinque+Terre

You could easily spend days there...we did, but that was on a land tour.

Has anyone done the Livorno to Cinque Terre excursion thru Celebrity. I will be on the Reflection, and want to go. I’m just not sure if there are large bus groups going.

Has anyone planned a trip on their own from the Livorno port to Cinque Terra? How did you do this? What is a reasonable amount of time to spend there?

We have done it a few times, always the same way. We simply rent a car from Sifracar (Sifracar.com) who is the local Livorno Hertz Franchisee. They deliver reserved cars to the pier and you simply walk off the ship, do the paperwork pier-side, and drive off in your car. When you return you can drop the car right next to the pier :). We normally drive up to Riomaggiore where we park the car (you can park in a paid parking area/garage or look for free parking along the approach road. On one of those day trip we took another couple (who found us on the CC Roll Call) who split the car expenses. Since they had never been to Pisa we decided to head back to Livorno (from Riomaggiore) a little early so we could drive them over to see the Leaning Tower.

On other trips we have driven to some of the other villages of Cinque Terre, but for most folks it just makes sense to part at Riomaggiore and use the train, boats, or hiking to move between other villages. Why the car instead of a tour? 1. I enjoy driving and like the flexibility of having our own car. 2. The cost per person (when you have 4) is generally about $35 (including fuel).

If an excursion of shared tour is available for no more then $50 per person it would be a great deal...especially if it was a small group. For us, we feel like the cruise line should pay us to take large bus tours :). We understand that many love those large bus excursions, but to us that kind of excursion is always our last resort.

Hank

Hank,

How easy/difficult was the drive from Livorno port to Cinque Terre? Were you comfortable driving? Thanks. We are considering driving ourselves, but a little hesitant. Thank you.

[Hank,

How easy/difficult was the drive from Livorno port to Cinque Terre? Were you comfortable driving? Thanks. We are considering driving ourselves, but a little hesitant. Thank you.

EDITQUOTE

quote=Hlitner;56600883]We have done it a few times, always the same way. We simply rent a car from Sifracar (Sifracar.com) who is the local Livorno Hertz Franchisee. They deliver reserved cars to the pier and you simply walk off the ship, do the paperwork pier-side, and drive off in your car. When you return you can drop the car right next to the pier :). We normally drive up to Riomaggiore where we park the car (you can park in a paid parking area/garage or look for free parking along the approach road. On one of those day trip we took another couple (who found us on the CC Roll Call) who split the car expenses. Since they had never been to Pisa we decided to head back to Livorno (from Riomaggiore) a little early so we could drive them over to see the Leaning Tower.

On other trips we have driven to some of the other villages of Cinque Terre, but for most folks it just makes sense to part at Riomaggiore and use the train, boats, or hiking to move between other villages. Why the car instead of a tour? 1. I enjoy driving and like the flexibility of having our own car. 2. The cost per person (when you have 4) is generally about $35 (including fuel).

If an excursion of shared tour is available for no more then $50 per person it would be a great deal...especially if it was a small group. For us, we feel like the cruise line should pay us to take large bus tours :). We understand that many love those large bus excursions, but to us that kind of excursion is always our last resort.

Hank

Hopefully you understand most of the Cinque Terre is a car free zone. While that doesn't stop you from driving there, it makes the train a much more attractive choice, as the train goes into each village, stopping in or near the middle.

Hank,

How easy/difficult was the drive from Livorno port to Cinque Terre? Were you comfortable driving? Thanks. We are considering driving ourselves, but a little hesitant. Thank you.

DW thinks I am completely "nutz" because I love driving in Italy :). So given that....for me the drive between Livorno and Cinque Terre (generally Riomaggiore) is quite easy and stress free. Would it be like that for you? I guess it depends on you. The good news is that most of the drive is pretty rural and the roads are fine until you get near La Spezia. Once you get into La Spezia you have to navigate through this small city...and then you get on a pretty curvy country 2 lane road. That road goes round and round...up and down....and eventually gets you to Riomaggiore. If you want to drive to the other villages it becomes somewhat more complicated...although having GPS will handle the directions.

Also keep in mind that most rental cars in Italy are standard shift (stick shift). If you cannot handle a "stick" or prefer automatics you need to make that very clear when you reserve a car and be prepared to pay a premium.

Hank

Thank you for your quick reply. Appreciate your insight.

DW thinks I am completely "nutz" because I love driving in Italy :). So given that....for me the drive between Livorno and Cinque Terre (generally Riomaggiore) is quite easy and stress free. Would it be like that for you? I guess it depends on you. The good news is that most of the drive is pretty rural and the roads are fine until you get near La Spezia. Once you get into La Spezia you have to navigate through this small city...and then you get on a pretty curvy country 2 lane road. That road goes round and round...up and down....and eventually gets you to Riomaggiore. If you want to drive to the other villages it becomes somewhat more complicated...although having GPS will handle the directions.

 

Also keep in mind that most rental cars in Italy are standard shift (stick shift). If you cannot handle a "stick" or prefer automatics you need to make that very clear when you reserve a car and be prepared to pay a premium.

 

Hank

I will also tell you about our last experience renting from Sifracar. We arrived in Livorno about 7 and passengers were allowed to disembark about 7:30. I left DW in the cabin and walked off the ship where the Sifracar folks were waiting at the bottom of the gangplank (they had set up a small portable kiosk). It took less then 10 minutes to do all the paperwork and they handed me the keys to our car...telling me to just park it near the ship and leave the keys in the car. I went back on the ship, got DW, and we were on our way before 8am. Later that day we returned around 5:30 and was surprised to find a couple of Sifracar people waiting on the pier. They quickly checked in our car and we walked a few feet to the gangplank. It does not get easier then this anywhere else in the world.

Hank

Has anyone done the Livorno to Cinque Terre excursion thru Celebrity. I will be on the Reflection, and want to go. I’m just not sure if there are large bus groups going.

We did the ships excursion several years ago because we were concerned about the time factor. It was a big bus but we only stayed together as a group to travel from 1 town to another. In each town you were on your own, but would meet at a particular place to catch the boat or train to move to the next town. I normally do not take the ships tours, but this one worked out very well. The only other place we take a ships tour is in Santorini, so we can tender to the other side of the island.

Hi Hank (or anyone else who can help)

We're off to Tuscany on Saturday for a few days & planning to visit

- Cinque Terre. We reckon to drive from our accommodation to Viareggio, the nearest station (& easy parking) on a direct line to La Spezia centrale, then buy all-day tickets for La Spezia to 5 Terre. Reckon to tour between the villages by train & ferry but have given up on figuring ferry times on the 'net & will play that by ear - unless anyone reckons there are obvious bits best done by ferry.

- Portofino. About 90 minutes from our accommodation. Planning to drive & hope to find available parking in the village. Guessing the road may be slow but we have no deadlines.

Alternatively drive to Santa Margherita Ligure or Rapallo & take the ferry from there. Whaddaya think?

Both for mid-week days next week

JB :)

OK, not about cruising. But I mentioned ferries a coupla times ;)

I "think" is strange to have a Brit using the word "reckon." You have spent too much time driving the roads of America and unlearning proper English :).

Your plan sounds fine and I would think you should be OK parking in Portofino. We have only driven there twice (once when we were staying nearby in Santa Margherita) and never had a problem finding a parking spot. We never did try the ferry so I have no clue whether that is a good option.

As to the Cinque Terre day, we have always just driven the entire way to Riomaggiore and used that as our base to explore the other villages. There is limited parking at Riomaggiore, but we have always been lucky to find a spot in their paid parking lot/garage that is right in the town. There is also free parking along the approach road (which becomes a rather steep hill as it leaves town) but we have never been lucky enough to find a spot. I suppose parking in La Spezia is a fine option as long as you can find a spot near the train station. We also have never paid attention to ferry and train times and just do what works at the time. But you do need to check the schedule when you arrive so you have some idea how to plan your day (I am sure you already have looked at all these options).

My only piece of advice is that if you can somehow figure out how to check the port schedule for La Spezia...you would ideally want to drive there on a day when there are no cruise ships. You probably have noticed that I am outspoken about how using La Spezia as a cruise port is quickly leading to the ruination of the Cinque Terre villages. On some days there are just too many tourists for those small towns (this can happen without cruise ships) and when you add thousands of cruisers into the mix the situation is not always pleasant.

Hank

P.S. Tis a shame you will not have a Mustang convertible for the trip :).

Thanks for that, Hank.

My poor English is 'cos I is wantin' to get down with the street talk like what the young peoples here is usin'.

Yeah right, innit bro. :cool:

Portofino. We'll see how the timing pans out - mebbe drive the attractive coastal road 4 miles past Santa Margherita to see if we can park in Portofino, & if there's nowhere head back to a parking lot in Santa M. & take the ferry.

Cinque Terre. First thing I saw on street-view was a ZTL sign in Riomaggiore :eek:

The villages at the other end seem more car-friendly but we'll still chicken-out & use the train.

We're driving to Viareggio then train to La S. then Cinque T train. Less driving for this old codger, & free & easy parking near Viareggio station.

Thanks for the reminder about cruise ships in La Spezia. No actual port website, but according to other websites there are no ships in on the Monday so that's probably the day we'll go.

JB :)

ps No, not a Mustang this time - that would be rude in Italy.;)

Considered a Ferrari - but didn't consider it for long when I saw the cost :D