Italy | Cinque Terre in 2.5 Days
Our Cinque Terre itinerary consisted of using Florence as a base and doing a two-and-a-half-day side trip, spending three nights total. To maximize our time, we knew we wanted to stay in one of the five villages. The only question was, ‘which one?’. Early on, we narrowed it down to either Vernazza or Manarola. We wanted an area where we could stroll around in the evening after the crowds had left, take in the panoramic views, and maybe have a glass of wine. For these reasons we chose Manarola.
Day 1: Travel Day + Manarola & Riomaggiore
Coming from Florence on the first day, we took an early train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to La Spezia. The travel time is anywhere between two and two and a half hours, often transferring trains in Pisa (more on this later!). This allowed us to check-in to our accommodation and still have half a day to spend exploring our ‘home’ village and then heading to Riomaggiore for aperitivo and dinner.
Trains in Cinque Terre
The best way to get around in the Cinque Terre is by train. Our train ticket to and from Florence covered the legs between Cinque Terre and La Spezia. For travel between the five villages, you will need to purchase a Cinque Terre Card.
We chose to go with the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card because it gave us access to the hiking trails with unlimited train travel on the Cinque Terre Express trains.
Tip: Be sure to keep on eye on the train timetables as some trains do not stop at certain villages throughout the day.
Day 2: Hiking Day!
From everything we read, hiking between a few of the villages was highly recommended. Please note that the trails from Monterosso to Vernazza and from Vernazza to Corniglia are the only ones that require the Trekking Card. Also, the Via dell’Amore trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola was closed while we were there.
Our day started out by grabbing breakfast in Manarola, then taking the Cinque Terre ferry boat from Manarola to Monterosso. While there, there was an early morning ferry that stopped at both Riomaggiore and Manarola then headed straight to Monterosso. Please make sure to check the ferry schedule for your visit. Taking the ferry was a great way to beat the crowds on the train while also seeing the villages from the sea.
Once arriving in Monterosso, anxious to see another town, we decided to walk around before heading to the trail. Instead, I would recommend hitting the trail right away and coming back to Monterosso. You will have enough time. This will allow you avoid the crowds and hike out of the mid-day sun. Otherwise, the hikes may take much longer than they need to. The trails from Monterosso to Vernazza and from Vernazza to Corniglia both take about an hour and a half and although hiking north-to-south is slightly more difficult, you’ll be rewarded with better views coming into Vernazza and Corniglia. After grabbing lunch in Vernazza, afternoon gelato in Corniglia, we took the train back to Manarola for the evening.
Day 3: Pick-a-town
Day 3, for us, was highlighted by a pesto making class in Vernazza in the afternoon. Until then, our time was free. We elected for a slower start in Manarola. We got breakfast and then headed to Monterosso. By train this time. There, we spent our morning on the beach, grabbed lunch and then went to Vernazza for our booked activity. Afterwards, we took the ferry down to Riomaggiore to see the village one last time (and from the sea). We took our time but only spent time in the harbour (since we saw the whole village the first night) before making our way back to our accommodation. Our last dinner was at a restaurant we found on our hike the day before. Purchase my map to find out where!
Day 4: Travel Day + Pisa
On our trip back to Florence we scheduled our tickets so that we had a time gap in Pisa on our transfer. Leaving our luggage at the train station, we spent our time in Pisa seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa and grabbing lunch before catching our train back to Florence.
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