Traveling by train in Italy is one of the best ways to see the countryside and get around as economically as possible. Traveling from Florence to Cinque Terre by train is so easy it is basically a must if you’re going to be in Florence at all during your trip. Heck, Rome to Cinque Terre by train is almost just as easy, it’ll just take you a little longer.
Cinque Terre is my favorite place we visited in Italy. Getting there is actually relatively affordable and accessible and in general, you can entertain yourself pretty easily on a budget while you’re there.
If you’re following along my 7-Day Italy Itinerary, I leave from for an overnight stay in Cinque Terre, but a day trip is also a great way to explore the area.
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Getting from Florence to Cinque Terre by Train
Trains from Florence to Cinque Terre depart from Firenze Santa Maria Novella Station, the main train station in Florence. Firenze Santa Maria Novella is conveniently located within walking distance of many popular tourist areas in Florence. The ride is about 2 hours without a change.
If your Apple or Google Maps is showing more than a 20 minute walk to the station, Florence’s tramway system is excellent and affordable if you don’t want that long of a hike. The T1 goes to “Firenze S. Maria Novella” as it will show up on your maps app. Most navigation apps have a public transit option, so toggle to that mode (usually signified by a train or bus icon), and it will tell you how to make your way around using public transit.
Like a lot of Americans, I had never ridden a train until I visited Europe. Now most days of my adult life, I lament the fact that we do not have widespread access to such a magnificent form of transportation in the United States. You too will go on this journey of enlightenment once experiencing train travel in Italy.
I recommend purchasing your tickets ahead of time. You can certainly do so at the station, but you just never know how big of a line you’re going to run into filled with other people who had the same idea. Purchase your tickets through ItaliaRail or TrenItalia. Both will be similar, but feel free to check them both.
You could book through Rail Europe, Omio, or Trainline, but I would just go directly with one of the two sites above so you don’t have to deal with any potentially confusing fine print that sometimes comes with a third party site. As I detail in my travel tips for Italy, you’ll want to pay close attention to validation instructions.
When searching on ItaliaRail, it will automatically only search “High Speed” trains for you. That is going to show you fewer departure options, often at a higher price. It will only save you about 20 minutes on this route, so I’d uncheck that and see if you can save some money instead.
Note: it automatically does that every time you’re back on that page, so don’t think you’re going crazy when the train you looked at last night has suddenly disappeared. You likely just need to uncheck the “High Speed” box again.
When booking your trip, I’d suggest you book “Firenze Santa Maria Novella” as your departure station and “La Spezia Centrale” as your destination. You can select one of the villages in Cinque Terre, but I’ll tell you more below about why I would opt not to do that.
Pay attention to whether or not you’re booking a direct train or a train with “1 change.” A change is functionally a layover if you’re used to flying by plane. You get off one train with all of your belongings, walk around the train station until you find your next train, wait until it boards, and then off you go. It can sound intimidating, but train stations are significantly smaller than airports, so it’s hard to get lost in them.
The Florence to Cinque Terre train route often has a change in Pisa. If you’re wondering, I’ll save you the Google search, no you can’t see the Leaning Tower of Pisa from the train station, nor can you make it there and back in 30 minutes. It’s about a 25 minute walk each way.
Side note: we had a lovely time in Pisa when we visited, don’t let internet haters who say it’s overrated stop you from visiting. The tower literally leans. Read my full thoughts on whether or not Pisa is worth it here.
If purchasing your tickets ahead of time online, you’ll get a confirmation email with your ticketless ticket. Just make sure you give the fine print a quick glance in case it asks you to check in for the train like on a flight or has special instructions for your ticket. In most cases, your digital ticket will be all that you need, but if for some reason you have a ticket that says you need to print it, print it.
Now, you’ve just got one day in Cinque Terre, and my recommendation would be to take the 7am train that leaves from Firenze Santa Maria Novella. With a 25 minute change in Pisa, you’ll arrive at La Spezia train station around 9:30am. Mad props if you take the 6am train from Florence to Cinque Terre instead. You’ll definitely beat the crowds.
Arriving in Cinque Terre from Florence
Once you get to La Spezia, you’re going to take the 5 Terre Express. I recommend just getting the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card as it allows you access all day in between the villages on the train. Here is the current timetable. You’ve only got a day, so you’re going to want to see as much of it as possible. To purchase the card on TrenItalia website:
- click on Others/Best price directly from the purchase form on the Home Page;
- select Advanced Search;
- enter the Offers and Regional Services section;
- select Multiservice Cards.
The card is also huge for your single day in Cinque Terre because it gives you access to the two chargeable hiking paths: from Monterosso to Vernazza and from Vernazza to Corniglia, otherwise you have to pay a fee. You also get free use of the toilets at all 5 train stations. Not sure if there’s one thing Europeans like more than charging you for water at restaurants and charging you for when you need to pee.
Want to slay your trip to Italy? My free 1-page Italian phrasebook download will give you the savvy to navigate the train stations and command gelato lines like a boss. Screenshot it and charm the local Italians.
How to Spend a Day in Cinque Terre
Here’s the tl;dr on all of the 5 towns in Cinque Terre:
- Riomaggiore: the first village and the OG of Cinque Terre. Probably the cover of your guidebook with picturesque views of colorful houses stacked on top of each other (but you don’t need a guide book – you read this blog).
- Manarola: strikes that perfect balance between quaint charm and coastal cool. You can wander through narrow alleys and stumble upon cozy cafes. The perfect place to enjoy regional wine.
- Corniglia: a lot of stairs (and I mean a lot) are required to reach this village. As a result, it’s the quietest village by far. Likely the most authentic of all the villages you can visit.
- Vernazza: my personal favorite of the villages. Old world charm present in its narrow streets, restaurants, gelaterias, harbor, and actual medieval castle are all available for your delight.
- Monterosso: the beach babe of Cinque Terre. The most commercial of all the villages with the newly developed beachside resorts. Great access to the water in case you have time for a kayaking or boat excursion.
If I were you and I was trying to avoid crowds, I would go all the way to the last of the 5 villages, Monterosso. By now it’ll be around 10am and the crowds won’t be far behind you if they’re not already there with you.
Monterosso is more of a beach resort vibe than any of the other villages. If you’ve got 2 days in Cinque Terre and have nice weather, it’s a fair enough idea to rent some beach chairs and an umbrella, but you’ve got one day, so I’d keep walking.**
**Unless you love the ocean and want to spend part of your day in Cinque Terre on the sea. Then you should 100% do that. Then book this kayaking experience from Monterrosso and enjoy the sparkling sea. Love the ocean but looking to do as little physical activity as possible on your Italy vacation? This boat tour leaves Manarola at 2pm and takes you up and down the breathtaking coast of Cinque Terre with a drink in your hand.
The hiking path between Monterrosso and Vernazza is gorgeous with views of the blue sea on your right and sweet Vernazza nestled into the cliff in front of you. Enjoy that hike early before it gets more and more crowded as the day goes on. It’ll take you about 2 hours once you factor in how many times you’ll want to stop and take pictures (hint: it’s a lot). It’s considered moderately challenging, so I’d recommend decent footwear.
Things I love for this Cinque Terre day trip:
- These Chaco sandals are perfect for the hiking trails.
- This sunscreen is my favorite travel size sunblock. The Mediterranean is way too sunny to be without it.
- This crossbody bag because you don’t want to be lugging around a backpack all day.
- For my full Italy packing list, click here.
Once you arrive to the village of Vernazza you’ve more than earned your lunch after that hike. And mostly importantly, your gelato. Gelateria II Porticciolo has a cinnamon gelato that will absolutely knock your socks off. Have it before lunch if you need something delicious and, most importantly, cold.
There is no shortage of options when it comes to sit-down restaurants in Vernazza. Wander around and take your pick. Or, a Basic Economy B move, stop at the Salumi E Formaggi grocery store right in the village and grab some cheese, crackers, and prosciutto and have a little picnic on the beach at Vernazza.
Once you’ve finished eating, you have a couple of options. If you absolutely loved your first hike, go ahead and hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. This trail is a little shorter than Moterrosso to Vernazza at about an hour and a half depending on how crowded it is and how many pics you’re still snapping. It’s considered moderately difficult as well.
If one hike was enough for you, thank you very much, you can now use your Treno MS Card to take the train to any of the villages that you’d like to explore. The trains come approximately every 30ish minutes, so you have to plan a little bit, but the villages are so small and the train stations so conveniently located that you shouldn’t have any issues on the logistics side.
Corniglia is one of the more notorious villages in Cinque Terre as it’s the most difficult to reach. From the train station, you have to walk up 33 flights of stairs on a long brick stairway of 383 steps to be precise. For that reason alone, some pressed for time choose to skip Corniglia. I think that’s a miss because those that do make the trek get some of the best views in Cinque Terre and the fewest tourist crowds.
If you make it up the stairs in Corniglia, enjoy it for a while. Have a glass of wine at the Terra Rossa wine bar. You’ll forget every one of those 383 stairs. This region is known best for its white wines.
After you’ve enjoyed Corniglia, head to Manarola or Riomaggiore (both if you’re trying to see all 5 villages) and find yourself some dinner. If you’re a wine lover (and who isn’t?) this one and half hour vineyard tour and wine tasting in Manarola can easily fit in your Cinque Terre schedule
Returning to Florence from Cinque Terre by Train
The nice thing about traveling from Florence to Cinque Terre by train is that the train times are so frequent going in both directions. You’re able to enjoy a nice dinner (or another Basic Economy B approved grocery store picnic) and take in golden hour in Cinque Terre, depending on the time of year, before you catch your train from the villages to La Spezia and then back to Florence.
The 8:15pm La Spezia departure train will have you back in Florence around 10:30pm. (3 trains go through the villages from 7:15-7:45pm and all get back to La Spezia with enough time to find your train back). This one usually only has a 5 minute or so change time in Pisa, so stay frosty and hustle between your trains. Since you’re basically a pro at trains, you’ll have no issues.
If you have an extra day to explore, check out my itinerary for 2 days in Cinque Terre.
Once you’ve arrived back at Firenze Santa Maria Novella, retrace your steps back to your accommodations, either on public transit or walking. Or if you got real crazy and took the 9:23pm train out of Cinque Terre and arrived back into Florence at 11:50pm, you can always just call an Uber. Then, collapse into that delicious type of sunshine-sea-air-and-wine induced slumber.
More time in Florence to explore nearby Tuscany? Check out my post on 7 Reasons Why You Need to Visit Cortona in Tuscany. Heading to Rome? Read my 2 Days in Rome on a Budget post to help you plan your adventure.
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