Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thetimesbelowareaccurateasofthisprinting,butconfirmscheduleslocally.Theseare
the daily train times (a few do not run on Sunday; more trains are added in the busiest sea-
son, June-Sept):
Trains leave La Spezia Centrale for all or most of the Cinque Terre villages at 7:12,
10:06, 11:10, 12:00, 13:15, 14:09, 15:10, 15:58, 17:10, 17:20, 18:06, 19:10, 20:18, 21:25,
23:10, and 00:50.
Going back to La Spezia, trains leave Monterosso at 6:20, 8:15, 9:29, 11:00, 11:55,
12:19, 13:28, 14:20, 15:22, 16:17, 17:30, 18:18, 19:22, 20:07 or 20:20, 21:32, 22:22, and
23:45 (these same trains depart Vernazza about four minutes later).
Again, convenient TV monitors posted at several places in each station clearly show ex-
actly what times the next trains are leaving in each direction (and, if they're late, how late
they are expected to be). I trust these monitors much more than my ability to read any prin-
ted schedule.
By Boat
From Easter through October, a daily boat service connects Monterosso, Vernazza,
Manarola, Riomaggiore, and Portovenere. Boats provide a scenic way to get from town to
town and survey what you just hiked. And boats offer the only efficient way to visit the
nearbyresortofPortovenere(thealternativeisatedioustrain-busconnectionviaLaSpezia).
Inpeaceful weather,theboatscanbemorereliable thanthetrains,butifseasarerough,they
don't run at all. Because the boats nose in and tourists have to gingerly disembark onto little
more than a plank, even a small chop can cancel some or all of the stops.
I see the tour boats as a syringe, injecting each town with a boost of euros. The
towns are addicted, and they shoot up hourly through the summer. (Between 10:00 and
15:00—especially on weekends—masses of gawkers unload from boats, tour buses, and
cruise ships, inundating the villages and changing the feel of the region.)
BoatsdepartMonterossoabouthourly(10:30-17:00),stoppingattheCinqueTerretowns
(except at Corniglia) and ending up an hour later in Portovenere. (Portovenere-Monterosso
boatsrun8:50-17:00.)Theticketpricedependsonthelengthoftheboatride(shorthops-€4,
longer hops-€8, one-way with stops-€10, five-town all-day pass-€15). Round-trip tickets are
slightly cheaper than two one-way trips. You can buy tickets at little stands at each town's
harbor (tel. 0187-732-987 and 0187-818-440). Another all-day boat pass for €25 extends to
Portovenere and includes a 40-minute scenic ride around three small islands (2/day). Boats
are not covered by the Cinque Terre Park Card. Boat schedules are posted at docks, harbor
bars, Cinque Terre park offices, and hotels (
www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it
)
.
