Our Family Trip to Italy Itinerary: Cinque Terre
So far we have made it through four stops on our Italy itinerary! We are now on day 7 of our trip and if you are not quite caught up, you can see the previous stops here…
When we left our stay on Lake Como on day 7, we drove to La Spezia, which is just outside of the popular Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a group of 5 colorful fishing villages on the western coast of Italy in the region known as the Italian Riviera. These villages are close enough together to hike between if you are adventurous and don’t mind rough terrain, but as a family, this was not our style of travel this time, so we opted for trains and boats!
First, let me talk about where we stayed when we arrived. This was one of our favorite stays because of the charm and views and the host! Angelo and his wife met us at the apartment in late morning when we arrived and we loved how sweet and hospitable they were! They let us know they were at our disposal with any advice or question, which was very kind. With 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen, and an amazing terrace, their apartment felt so comfortable and homey. I’m sharing this listing HERE for those traveling to this area!
In the distance from the terrace, you can see Cinque Terre on the coast, and we were just far enough away for a little more quiet from all the busyness of the towns.
And the views at night were just beautiful too!
There are markets nearby, perfect for getting a few items for breakfast and Dave cooked some up for us in the morning!
Traveling to Cinque Terre was simple, once we understood the trains and scheduling. We learned that the simplest way to get down there was to park at the quieter of the two train stations in La Spezia, which is the La Spezia Migliarina station. Here, there is free parking and the area is a little more residential and quieter than the busier La Spezia Centrale where you have to pay to park and we were warned of more common car break-ins. At La Spezia Migliarina, there are some trains that go straight to the Cinque Terre circuit, or you may need to change trains at the La Spezia Centrale station and then get to Cinque Terre. Either way, you may buy ticket online or at kiosks in the station. The trains run regularly and get you to and from the different stops in Cinque Terre within 10-20 minutes. We essentially had two half-days in Cinque Terre, so we visited all 5 towns in those two days and saw everything we wanted to in that time!
On that first day, we visited Riomaggiore, Corniglia, and Monterosso. Abby had done plenty of research and knew that these were the towns best not to take strollers due to the terrain, so they used the carrier for this day.
We had also been advised to take a shuttle bus immediately when getting off the train in Corniglia because it was a very steep climb to the town otherwise. You can pay on the bus and can also expect a crowd. Still worth it to save the steep climb!
The views in each of the towns are simply amazing! And the shopping and restaurant choices are lots of fun.
We had dinner the first night right on the beach in Monterosso. Such lovely views.
The second day, we visited the towns of Vernazza and Manarola and went back to Monterosso once more.
The water was so clear and yet so vibrant and beautiful!
On our list of things to do here was take the ferry along the coast so we could see the towns from the water! So, on our second day, we took the boat from Monterosso, which was the farthest stop, down to Manarola, which was the 4th town down. From there we could easily take a train straight back to our car in La Spezia.
Seeing the towns from the water was definitely a beautiful perspective!
Once we got back to our car in La Spezia, we were on our way to our next stop, which was just a quick stop off in Pisa to see the leaning tower. It was just an hour’s drive down the road…
We had fun posing for fun pics with all the other tourists, then we were back on the road! Our next stop is coming soon! Stay tuned…
