Cinque Terre on your own?

[nzdisneymom]

Hiya! We're sailing in just over two weeks and are planning to spend our port day in La Spezia exploring Cinque Terre on our own. We've done some research online and over at cruise critic and trip advisor, but thought we'd ask other DISers who have done this for their advice, experience, and opinion about how to do it. We are in port 7:45 AM - 7:30 PM. It is still scheduled to tender so we know we will be later getting off the ship (plus we have two teenage boys who will need some dynamite to get them up).

So train? Boat? Train there and back most of the way, boat the rest? Try to stop in all five villages? Or just pick one or two? If you only pick one or two, which ones?

Best way to the train station? Walk? Taxi (for four?), bus or other public transportation method? Is the boat pick-up nearby where the tenders drop you off? If the train breaks down or is delayed returning, are there cars for hire (taxis) that we could get from one of the villages to get us back to port so we aren't late (never mind the expense)?

What about once you are at the different villages? What were the highlights for you? What would you recommend being sure to see or skip seeing? What about dining? Was there a cafe you loved and are glad you lingered? Or did you just pack some snacks and water and just munch through the day?

 

[Four Swampers]

Well, my wife and I have visited Cinque Terre on our own, not from the cruise. We have also cruised DCL with a stop at La Spezia, so I can answer a lot of your questions.

First, the train station in La Spezia is an easy walk from where the tenders drop you. No trouble there. Trains in Italy are pretty regular, like a subway, so I would not fear getting stranded.

The Cinque Terre, or "Five Lands," are five villages joined by train and by a walking trail. You can reach each village on the train or by walking. We went to the northernmost village, visited, then hiked to the second village then the third. We then took the train to the fourth and did the short walk on a paved trail from the fourth to the fifth.

Of note, the path from the northernmost to the next village is very narrow at times and very congested. It can actually be a little dicey. I personally would want to do it only with children who can take direction well. (Teenage boys would be fine, I am thinking of fast-acting youngsters)

Also, they do close the hiking paths on rainy days and often for a day or two after rain, for risk of landslides.

The towns are lovely. I think it would be hard to go wrong with any cafe.

 

[DL1957]

Well, my wife and I have visited Cinque Terre on our own, not from the cruise. We have also cruised DCL with a stop at La Spezia, so I can answer a lot of your questions.

First, the train station in La Spezia is an easy walk from where the tenders drop you. No trouble there. Trains in Italy are pretty regular, like a subway, so I would not fear getting stranded.

The Cinque Terre, or "Five Lands," are five villages joined by train and by a walking trail. You can reach each village on the train or by walking. We went to the northernmost village, visited, then hiked to the second village then the third. We then took the train to the fourth and did the short walk on a paved trail from the fourth to the fifth.

Of note, the path from the northernmost to the next village is very narrow at times and very congested. It can actually be a little dicey. I personally would want to do it only with children who can take direction well. (Teenage boys would be fine, I am thinking of fast-acting youngsters)

Also, they do close the hiking paths on rainy days and often for a day or two after rain, for risk of landslides.

The towns are lovely. I think it would be hard to go wrong with any cafe.

This is great information. We are doing DCL shore excursion to this location. They are doing it via boat. Any suggestions?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[mkmommy]

Cinque Terre is easy on your own.

Assuming nothing has changed in 2 years, when you get off the tender with back to the water walk left until you come to a TI office( probably closed if you are trying to make first train). Cross the road to a pedestrian road, follow that road to the train station , about a 15 minute walk.

 

[jrabbit]

on the what and how to "do" Cinque Terre - I would look at Rick Steve's Italy book.

5 years ago we went to Pisa (afterwards wished we went to Cinque Terre!) on our own from La Spezia - using the trains. It's an easy walk "uphill" to the train station. Remember this is NOT a tourist hotbed (but Disney has been here many, many times), so you will need some basic Italian to purchase train tickets (at least when we were there - no English was spoken in the train station).

I think that this is an easy to do on your own option - with some research like you are doing. And you will save a ton of money over DCL's offering - and probably have a better experience.

 

[o&smom]

Hey Cindy! We are on the first cruise with you and have been planning Cinque Terre on our own with our children 3 & 9. Our original plan was to take the train to Riomaggiore and walk to Manarola on the Via dell Amore. Unfortunately, this is still closed from landslides. We have really had to rethink our day! We will probably just train to Monterosso and enjoy the beach and good eats. Depending on the weather, we will maybe take the boat to Vernazza and enjoy the town and then continue back by either boat or train. With 2 younger children, we cannot really do much of the hiking between towns that I hear is spectacular! Just enjoy whatever you do with your time as a family. So far, the weather has looked a little cool for our first few stops, so we are going to play it by ear and just have fun.

See you in Barcelona!

Marni

 

[Four Swampers]

We will probably just train to Monterosso and enjoy the beach and good eats. Depending on the weather, we will maybe take the boat to Vernazza and enjoy the town and then continue back by either boat or train.

With 2 younger children, we cannot really do much of the hiking between towns that I hear is spectacular! Just enjoy whatever you do with your time as a family. So far, the weather has looked a little cool for our first few stops, so we are going to play it by ear and just have fun.

See you in Barcelona!

Marni

The hike between Manarola and Riomaggiore, the southernmost towns, can be done with young children, although it may be closed. If I remember correctly, the lover's lane portion of that hike is the last portion before Riomaggiore (or the first portion outside Riomaggiore, if you are heading to Manaola.)

That lover's lane section is paved and easy to walk. Of note, there was a geocache there in 2010. If you geocache it is relatively easy to find.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hey Cindy! We are on the first cruise with you and have been planning Cinque Terre on our own with our children 3 & 9. Our original plan was to take the train to Riomaggiore and walk to Manarola on the Via dell Amore. Unfortunately, this is still closed from landslides. We have really had to rethink our day! We will probably just train to Monterosso and enjoy the beach and good eats. Depending on the weather, we will maybe take the boat to Vernazza and enjoy the town and then continue back by either boat or train. With 2 younger children, we cannot really do much of the hiking between towns that I hear is spectacular! Just enjoy whatever you do with your time as a family. So far, the weather has looked a little cool for our first few stops, so we are going to play it by ear and just have fun.

See you in Barcelona!

Marni

Thanks - I should say that we are not interested in hiking and were hoping the Villa'Del Amore would be open but since it's not, we have some extra time in the villages themselves. I've read that the middle village doesn't have boat service and is often skipped so I thought we might actually want to stop there on the train. However, the mid-day train also skips a stop there, so we'll have to work our timing out so we can be there but not feel "stuck" there.

Marni, counting you guys and us, there are 6 families that I know of on our June 15th cruise that are planning Cinque Terre on our own.

mkmommy, thanks for the walking directions - I've been trying to look via Google maps, but your instructions are much easier.

jrabbit, thanks for the tip about being able to ask for what we need in Italian. I think I will make an index card that has where we want to go and "how do we buy tickets" so if we run into any confusion, someone can help us. Although I suspect there will be enough experienced DCLers at the station that our fellow passengers will help us out if necessary.

We were thinking if the weather is cooperative that we might train to the furtherest point and then work our way back and then take the boat from the nearest point back to the ship, particularly if the boat drop-off is closer to the ship's tender than the train station is. We have a full day in Rome the following day so I don't want to over-do it in Cinque Terre.

 

[Four Swampers]

... so I thought we might actually want to stop there on the train. However, the mid-day train also skips a stop there, so we'll have to work our timing out so we can be there but not feel "stuck" there.


jrabbit, thanks for the tip about being able to ask for what we need in Italian. I think I will make an index card that has where we want to go and "how do we buy tickets" so if we run into any confusion, someone can help us. Although I suspect there will be enough experienced DCLers at the station that our fellow passengers will help us out if necessary.

Please note this rather important information about trains in Italy:

After you purchase your train ticket, you MUST TIME AND DATE STAMP it in one of the nondescript little yellow machines. A train ticket in Italy is like a subway ticket, you can purchase it now and use it whenever. To prevent people from using the same ticket over and over, you are required to time and date stamp it before you board the train. If they check your ticket on the train and you have not stamped it, you will be fined $50 per person. Ignorance of the rule will not save you.

TIME AND DATE STAMP YOUR TICKET! See above.

Occasionally some tickets do not need to be stamped, but there is never any disadvantage to stamping them. So stamp them.

 

[cris0809]

Let me preface this by saying I am by nature not an organized/guided tour person as I spend the time very aware if things aren't paced properly.

However on our (non-cruise) trip to Italy a couple of years ago we did a guided tour of Cinque Terre. We bussed there from Florence and proceeded to hike, train and boat through all five villages.

I'm always the planner of our group, big or small, and pretty well traveled. Remember thinking that it was a relief someone who knew all the little intricacies was guiding us through. It was not a simple task.

We still look back on it as our favorite memory from that trip.

Good luck on figuring out what is best for your family!

 

[dkostel]

I would recommend both train and boat. Take the boat from the first to fifth villages then the train back (or the other way around). The views from the boat are unbeatable. Corniglia adds time to the trip because it is up a hillside from the train. You have to walk (365 steps) or take a bus which gets crowded. If you only have time for 4 I would cut that one out. I would definitely recommend whatever portion of the Via Dell'amour that is open. It is gorgeous!

And get gelato! We had better gelato in Monterosso than in Rome.
Enjoy!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Trail update here.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/th...in-single-parent-homes-has-nearly-doubled-in/

Most of the trails being discussed are probably still closed

 

[jennorthernireland]

Hi - very glad to see this thread as we are hoping to see Cinque Terre by ourselves in August. It would be great if some of you who do visit this summer could come back on disboards and tell us how it all went and update us on closed trails, etc. I can't wait to visit this area, it looks so beautiful

 

[nzdisneymom]

Please note this rather important information about trains in Italy:

After you purchase your train ticket, you MUST TIME AND DATE STAMP it in one of the nondescript little yellow machines. A train ticket in Italy is like a subway ticket, you can purchase it now and use it whenever. To prevent people from using the same ticket over and over, you are required to time and date stamp it before you board the train. If they check your ticket on the train and you have not stamped it, you will be fined $50 per person. Ignorance of the rule will not save you.

TIME AND DATE STAMP YOUR TICKET! See above.

Occasionally some tickets do not need to be stamped, but there is never any disadvantage to stamping them. So stamp them.

Thanks for this reminder! I had read that we needed to do that and someone on cruise critic had even posted pictures of the yellow machine where you stamp your ticket. We certainly don't want to add to our expense by getting a fine.

I would recommend both train and boat. Take the boat from the first to fifth villages then the train back (or the other way around). The views from the boat are unbeatable. Corniglia adds time to the trip because it is up a hillside from the train. You have to walk (365 steps) or take a bus which gets crowded. If you only have time for 4 I would cut that one out. I would definitely recommend whatever portion of the Via Dell'amour that is open. It is gorgeous!

And get gelato! We had better gelato in Monterosso than in Rome.
Enjoy!

Great idea! We've read about a gelato shop in Civitavecchia that we're hoping to get to on one of our stops there (we are B2Bing), but we'll definitely look for some at Monterosso.

Most of the trails being discussed are probably still closed

We've been checking periodically hoping they might have gotten the pathway open before tourist season was upon them, but it doesn't seem like that will happen. But that's ok - still plenty to see and do!

Hi - very glad to see this thread as we are hoping to see Cinque Terre by ourselves in August. It would be great if some of you who do visit this summer could come back on disboards and tell us how it all went and update us on closed trails, etc. I can't wait to visit this area, it looks so beautiful

We definitely plan to update on the threads we have participated in for pre-planning. We are also blogging (see my sig line) where we are gathering pre-cruise information and will be able to do some updating from the trip. If people have specific questions that they let us know about before we leave, we'll be on the hunt for answers to post when we return.

 

[Travelbee]

Marni, counting you guys and us, there are 6 families that I know of on our June 15th cruise that are planning Cinque Terre on our own.

We were thinking if the weather is cooperative that we might train to the furtherest point and then work our way back and then take the boat from the nearest point back to the ship, particularly if the boat drop-off is closer to the ship's tender than the train station is. We have a full day in Rome the following day so I don't want to over-do it in Cinque Terre.

Cindy, our friends DoubleTrouble are planning to do Cinque Terre on their own too. Not sure if they are part of the 6 families you are counting. We are splitting up as we and CasaMartinez are heading out to Florence this time.

We did Cinque Terre on our own in 2010 and this was BY FAR our favorite port. We walked to the train station, which took about 30 minutes (with kids 3, 6, & 7 in tow). We took the train to Monterosso and made our way back, stopping at all five. It's definitely do-able to hit them all. We took the train back because we had a short day and the boat would take too long, but if you have time, it may be worth it to take the boat back.

I would recommend both train and boat. Take the boat from the first to fifth villages then the train back (or the other way around). The views from the boat are unbeatable. Corniglia adds time to the trip because it is up a hillside from the train. You have to walk (365 steps) or take a bus which gets crowded. If you only have time for 4 I would cut that one out. I would definitely recommend whatever portion of the Via Dell'amour that is open. It is gorgeous!

I'd have to disagree -- Corniglia is a very charming town and is probably my second favorite (second to Vernazza). It has a very different feel than Monterosso and Vernazza.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy, our friends DoubleTrouble are planning to do Cinque Terre on their own too. Not sure if they are part of the 6 families you are counting. We are splitting up as we and CasaMartinez are heading out to Florence this time.

We did Cinque Terre on our own in 2010 and this was BY FAR our favorite port. We walked to the train station, which took about 30 minutes (with kids 3, 6, & 7 in tow). We took the train to Monterosso and made our way back, stopping at all five. It's definitely do-able to hit them all. We took the train back because we had a short day and the boat would take too long, but if you have time, it may be worth it to take the boat back.

I'd have to disagree -- Corniglia is a very charming town and is probably my second favorite (second to Vernazza). It has a very different feel than Monterosso and Vernazza.

Thanks for this - this is exactly why I'm glad I asked here on DIS - to get opinions and experiences! I am a "collector" by nature so my tendency is to want to "collect" all 5 of the villages

I did not have DoubleTrouble on my list of who is doing Cinque Terre on their own - I pulled the list from the Excursions spreadsheet for the Meet thread and had had some PMs with another family as well. So that makes 7 families doing CT on our own. We may have to get our own Tender (LOL). Or at least make sure to chat at the Meet in case any of us want to walk over to the train station at the same time (and remind each other to stamp our tickets).

 

[mkmommy]

Cinque Terre is easy on your own.

Assuming nothing has changed in 2 years, when you get off the tender with back to the water walk left until you come to a TI office( probably closed if you are trying to make first train). Cross the road to a pedestrian road, follow that road to the train station , about a 15 minute walk.

I will add to my post. If you have a Rick Steves Italy book there is a map of La Spezia.

The Tender area was just the below the TI on the waterfront, turn right there and then turn left on Via Del Prione.

 

[mca]

.

 

[o&smom]

Since someone mentioned good gelato in Monterosso and food is my favorite thing, I just had to Google! For all the gelato lovers it looks like "slurp - Gelato Artigianale" is the place to go! Via Fegina, 86

See you all there!

Marni

 

[nzdisneymom]

Since someone mentioned good gelato in Monterosso and food is my favorite thing, I just had to Google! For all the gelato lovers it looks like "slurp - Gelato Artigianale" is the place to go! Via Fegina, 86

See you all there!

Marni

Thanks for this!