How To Make The Most Out Of A Day Trip to Cinque Terre

This might shock you, but you don’t have to spend a night in one of the beautiful villages of Cinque Terre to get the full experience! 👀

My husband and I explored Cinque Terre on our own without a tour guide, and though we were worried we wouldn’t be able to find our way around at first, it was very easy! As long as you can hold yourself accountable and manage your time in each village accordingly, exploring the villages at your own pace will be much more rewarding, and certainly more tailored to what you’d like your personal experience to be! ☺️

Here are 5 Things You Have To Do To Make The Most Out Of Your Day Trip To Cinque Terre 🇮🇹

1️⃣ Take the earliest (and most direct) train from where you’re staying to Monterosso 🚆 My husband and I were staying in Florence when we did our Cinque Terre day trip, so we took the 7:54 AM Trenitalia train from Firenze Campo Marte to La Spezia Centrale, then transferred to the local Cinque Terre train at La Spezia Centrale and arrived in Monterosso at 10:17 AM. Monterosso is the biggest village and the farthest from La Spezia Centrale, so you’ll spend your day making your way back towards La Spezia Centrale for when you leave in the evening. This train itinerary is the perfect way to get your day started in the area because you’ll beat the crowds that wait for the later train which will arrive around 12:00 PM. Also, be sure to book your train tickets directly through Trenitalia and not through a third party site! 

2️⃣ Travel between the villages by ferry instead of the train ⛴️ Not only are the views of the villages from the water spectacular, but this method of transportation naturally makes more sense when you’re trying to visit every village in one day. If you choose the train, you may have to back track in certain villages to use the train, whereas the ferry ports are typically more accessible and in a more natural path for your trip around whichever village you’re in.

3️⃣ If you’re planning on trying to eat at Nessun Dorma, make sure you download their app and join their online queue at least 2 hours prior to when you’d like to eat 🍽️ Nessun Dorma is the restaurant in Manarola with the viral “Pesto Experience” class. If you’re not planning on taking part in the class (which only takes place at 10:30 AM or 1:30 PM), you’ll want to be sure to join the online queue in time to dine there before your train back to your accommodation departs. We joined the queue probably 30 minutes too late and had to remove ourselves, because if we had sat down there for dinner, we would have missed our train back to Florence. Speaking of which…

4️⃣ Take the latest (but most direct) train from Manarola to where you’re staying, and do NOT miss your train ❌ No matter how many spritzes you’ve had, there is no good reason to stay and catch a later train back to your accommodations. We took the 7:25 PM train from Manarola to Firenze Campo Marte, where we arrived at 9:29 PM. All of the trains that were departing later had more stops and also would have taken much, much longer to reach our final destination. Though the train system in Italy is very convenient, just like airplanes, they can be delayed. If you’re adding more stops in your journey back to where your accommodations are, you’re increasing the likelihood that you’ll run into a delayed train, possibly missing one of your connections, and making your trek back after a 12 hour day of exploring that much more difficult and certainly much less enjoyable.

5️⃣ Research your restaurants and their operating hours to have the best experience ✨ We had lunch at Al Pozzo in Monterosso, arriving at 12:00 PM when they opened to get a nice seat on the patio. Within 20 minutes of opening, both the patio and interior were full, and their wait time was 45 minutes. With most restaurants in the villages on Cinque Terre, arriving when they open is key to ensuring you’ll stay on schedule for your time sensitive day trip, especially considering not many restaurants offer reservations. 

🌟 BONUS TIP 🌟 Restaurant service may be slower in Cinque Terre, but it isn’t the end of the world. Our whole meal at Al Pozzo took about 90 minutes, and while a handful of the surrounding patrons took the relaxed service approach personally, my husband and I enjoyed our bottle of wine and people watched. Your ability to enjoy things - on vacation and in life - is purely based on mindset. As long as you’re receiving kind interactions and good food in a beautiful atmosphere, what more could you ask for? 

Save this for later ✅ and comment below any other tips/questions you may have about how to make the most out of your trip to Italy! 🥰