livorno to cinque terre by train

[thatbloominplace]

we have looked into a private tour from livorno to cinque terre. however the rates are very high and the cars cannot get to all of them leaving you to walk to the rest on your own. this seems like an expensive ride since you have to get around on your own once you get there. does anyone know how to get to cinque terre from livorno by train or bus?

[Artemis]

You can get train schedules at http://www.trenitalia.com Get your map out; decide which Cinque Terre city you are aiming for, and plug it into the search engine. You can study the schedules and figure out timing. Basically, you will go from Livorno to La Spezia and then, I believe, catch another train from La Spezia into the Cinque Terre.

 

If you use a travel guide that gives you an overview of the Cinque Terre, e.g., Fodors or Frommers, most will discuss options for getting to/from and between the towns by foot, train, etc.

 

An alternative for cutting the time between Livorno & the Cinque Terre, and again on the return trip, is to rent a car in Livorno (we used Hertz w/ pier car waiting in the a.m. and pier return in the p.m.) and then drive to the most convenient train station in/near the Cinque Terre. I am thinking La Spezia again. Read carefully about driving conditions and choose the entry you feel most comfortable tackling--extensive driving in the Cinque Terre is definitely NOT for the faint of heart. My husband loves to talk proudly about doing it. I was down in the floorboard half the time thinking we were falling off the tiny roads down the vineyard-covered cliffs into the rocky seashore. (This was during a land trip, not a port day.) I think (but you should check me on this) of the five villages, driving into Monterosso on the north end of the five is the easiest. So, you could head out early in the a.m., drive all the way up to Monterosso (mostly by autostrada before you cut over to the shore), then do a bit of connecting via train before you reverse back to Monterosso, get the car and shoot back down to Livorno.

 

Have fun!

[doubled]

thatbloominplace....we did Cinque Terre by train from Livorno. we took taxi to station and had to switch trains in Pisa and La Spezia, it was a 2 hour trip. Coming back we only switched at La Spezia. We did 2 of the hikes between the villages and had a great lunch harborside in Vernazza. We enjoyed it so much we plan to do again in Jun 05. Have a great time.

[thatbloominplace]

thank you both for your answers. it sounds like this is worth a try.

 

steve