Cinque Terre day trip from Florence: travel tips and everything you should know

A day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence is a great way to spend a day, and the opportunity to add this famous destination to your trip to Italy. It’s so beautiful and unique that has been turned into a National Park in 1999.

Cinque Terre is a wonderful stretch of coast where you can get lost among ancient fishing villages, hike on hills facing the sea, and taste some delicious food. You’ll discover the flavors and traditions of Liguria, an Italian region with totally different traditions from Tuscany.

The name means Five Lands and refers to the five villages overlooking the Mediterranean Sea that make up the National Park. They are Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso and Riomaggiore.

Cinque Terre is not just one of the most popular day trips from Florence for tourists, but also a very popular destination among Italian travelers. So it can be very crowded, especially in summer. I’ve personally made this day trip several times: in this post you’ll find all my expertise as an Italian tour guide, and my best tips as a traveler.

How far is Cinque Terre from Florence?

Cinque terre are approximately 200 km away from Florence (124 miles). Cinque Terre is in the Italian region of Liguria, in the province of La Spezia, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. While Florence lays in the heart of the region of Tuscany. 

Cinque Terre are close enough to Florence to be reached in less than 2 hours. So it makes a perfect destination for a day trip!

How to get from Cinque Terre to Florence

If you want to make a day trip to the Cinque Terre from Florence you have two options:

• A self-planned day trip
• A cinque terre day trip with transport from Florence

If you choose to take a self-planned day trip, you can go there:

• By train
• by car

In my opinion the best way to reach Cinque Terre from Florence is by train. I definitely don’t recommend going by car, because in Cinque Terre it is almost impossible to drive and park due to the tiny size of the roads and restricted traffic areas.

Bus is just not an option: there are no buses connecting Florence to Cinque Terre.

How to get to Cinque Terre from Florence by train

To go to the Cinque Terre from Florence by train you will have to take a train to La Spezia first (or more probably two), and then another train to the villages. Most of the trains from Florence to La Spezia are non direct: you’ll have to change train in Pisa. So it’s two trains to get to La Spezia:

• a first one, from Florence to Pisa (this is always a regional train)
• a second one from Pisa to La Spezia (on this route there are both regional and high speed trains).

The travel time from Florence to Cinque Terre is 3 hours, but sometime is takes 15-30 extra minutes, depending on connection times.

Train expert tip: there’s no much difference between taking a high speed (Frecciabianca) or a regional train from Pisa to La Spezia. The travel time with the combo of 2 regional trains is 2 hours and 45 minutes, but the combination of 1 regional + the high speed train will only make you save 10-15 minutes.

There are some high-speed trains (Frecciargento) connecting directly Florence to La Spezia in about 1 hour and 40 minutes: they leave from the suburban Firenze Campo di Marte station (not from Santa Maria Novella). Unfortunately there is only one train in the morning, leaving a 7.54am. Find timetables, schedules and train prices on the Trenitalia website.

Once in La Spezia you will then have to take another train that reaches Cinque Terre, and which touches all 5 villages, one after the other. The first you will meet along the train journey will be Riomaggiore, then Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. You will use the same train to get from one village to another. The 5 towns are all very close to each other, and the journey by train from one to the other takes just a few minutes. The train that connects the Cinque Terre runs very frequently, about one train every 15 minutes. In summer the trains are unbelievably crowded, you will have to fight to get on board!

To return to Florence you will have to take the train again from one of the Cinque Terre villages to La Spezia, and from La Spezia another train (or two) that will take you to Florence.

Florence to Cinque Terre by car

As I said before, I think that driving from Florence to Cinque terre is a very bad idea. The coastal villages are strictly restricted to traffic, and roads are narrow and packed with traffic. Even if you are able to manage the traffic and the tiny alleys, once there, you won’t find any parking place.

Driving around the Cinque Terre is such a nightmare that not even Italian travelers would dare go by car there. Most of us will go by train, and the few ones will only drive to La Spezia, leave their car there, and hop on a train to Cinque Terre villages.

if you still want to drive to the Cinque Terre from Florence, you have to take the A11 motorway, and then, at Viareggio, continue on the A11 to La Spezia. From here take the SP370 (provincial road) which reaches and crosses the Cinque Terre.

Unfortunately there are no buses from Florence to Cinque Terre. There are Flixbus buses connecting Florence to La Spezia, but once there you’ll still have to take a train to reach the five villages. I don’t recommend taking the Flixbus instead of the train: the train journey is way more comfortable, and in case of traffic the bus can make you waste precious hours.

Cinque Terre Card 2025

One of the best tips I can give is to make the Cinque Terre card. It’s a daily pass offered by the National Park, and there are two types of card:

• Cinque Terre train card (18,20 euro). Gives a daily access to trains + hiking trails
• Cinque Terre trekking card (7,50 euro). Gives a daily access to hiking trails.

The Cinque Terre train card is way more useful, as it covers also all the many trains that you’ll take to go from one village to another, and the ones to and for La Spezia. You can buy both versions on the official website of the National Park.

Hiking the Cinque Terre National Park

Hiking (or trekking, as it’s called in Italian) in Cinque Terre National Park is a really special experience, and I highly recommend it. There are some very easy hiking trails that anyone with a good mobility can do, and other ones for more experienced hikers.

The good news is that the most scenic hikes are quite easy and short. The bad news is that many of them are currently closed due to mud and land slides.

The most popular is the Blue Trail, that starts in Monterosso and ends in Riomaggiore, hitting all of the five villages along its way. The most scenic part of it the route between Riomaggiore and Manarola, called Via dell’Amore, the Way of Love, and unfortunately is closed again. It has been closed for 12 years and reopened in the summer of 2024, but another landslide happened in October 2024, so it was closed again. It should reopen in February 2025.

Remember that, being part of Cinque Terre National Park, the hiking trails are not free. You must buy the Cinque Terre Card.

Important tip: if you’re planning to hike in the Cinque Terre National park, dress appropriately, and pay special attention to shoes. And don’t overestimate your skills taking trails that are too hard for you. Dozens of accidents happen every year to tourists hiking with regular shoes (or even flip flops) or adventuring on dangerous trails.

Cinque Terre day trip with transport from Florence

If you don’t feel like taking all these trains and having to organize the excursion yourself, you can choose a Cinque Terre tour from Florence for groups.

This is one the best Cinque Terre tours from Florence: an organized full-day trip to the Cinque Terre from Florence will allow you to visit these places without having to worry about anything: transportation, an expert guide, tickets and transfers by boat or train. All of those are included. It is the perfect solution for solo and low budget travelers, and for those who don’t want to drive a car in Italy.

Please note that those excursions are neither organized nor guided by me personally. they are offered by reliable tour operators with great prices, which I recommend.

Day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence with boat ride and optional hike

This full-day excursion with boat ride and optional hiking is a great deal to see the Cinque Terre in one day. The meeting point is in Florence, in Piazza della Stazione. From here you will reach the Cinque Terre with a coach trip of about two hours. Once you arrive, you will move from one village to another on foot and by train. Don’t worry, they are close to each other and these journeys do not take long.

During this day trip you will visit all five villages of the National Park, reaching them on foot, strolling along the coast or along easy paths. After visiting Manarola and Corniglia you’ll reach Vernazza, then Monterosso. Then finally, you’ll get to the last village by boat (if time permits, otherwise by train).

You will have some free time to wander in characteristic streets, have lunch by the sea and browse the small shops. And you’ll have enough time to take tons of pictures.

Please note that the tour is not including lunch. That allows the company to keep the price low and lets you to choose where and what to eat.

There is also the opportunity of taking a short but fascinating hike among nature with the guide, but don’t worry if you don’t feel like doing it, because the hike is optional.

At the end of the day the coach will take you back to Florence just in time for dinner.

Day trip to Cinque Terre and Pisa from Florence

If you don’t have too much time available but still want to see as many places as possible during your trip to Italy, this Pisa and Cinque Terre day trip from Florence! is a smart option.

The tour lasts about 12 hours, takes place in a minivan and is for very small groups, maximum 8 people. The excursion includes a short ride on a public boat to go from the village of Vernazza to that of Manarola, and the possibility of doing some hiking trails. Before returning to Florence you will make a stop in Pisa to admire the leaning tower in Piazza dei Miracoli.

Entrance to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is not included, but if you want to visit it you can book tickets on your own.

The tour also does not include lunch or the entrance ticket to the Cinque Terre National Park. You also have the opportunity to book the pick up and drop off directly at your hotel.

Tips for a day trip to Cinque Terre

I have been to the Cinque Terre several times, so here are my tips and tricks for visiting that part of Italy!

• Be prepared to walk a lot. Even if the villages are tiny, you will constantly move around on foot. At the end of the day you’ll be surprised by the amount of steps you took.
• Dress appropriately for a moderate physical activity.
• Be prepared for crowds. Very large crowds. Especially in summer, and especially on trains.Wear comfortable walking shoes (or hiking shoes if your are also doing the hike).
• Bring sun screen in summer and a hat to cover your head. The sun is going to hit hard.
• Book the restaurants you really want to go with a large advance, especially in summer and in the weekends.
• If you have extra time, add the village of Levanto to your schedule. It’s right after Monterosso al Mare, just outside of the borders of the National Park.
• Enjoy the local street food: the local mouthwatering focaccia, and farinata, made with chickpea flour (I had a great one at Focacceria da Paolo in Vernazza).
• My favorite restaurant is Caffè Matteo in Corniglia!