The Best Tours in Cinque Terre – Boats, Trains, Trails & Portovenere

Most of them leave from La Spezia, not from the villages. A smaller group starts in Monterosso, Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Levanto or Portovenere. The title often names a village that the boat only passes, so read the meeting point on the booking page before you pay.

No. Corniglia sits on a cliff and has no landing, so no boat calls there. Whether a tour sails past the other villages or gives you free time ashore differs from offer to offer, and the booking page says which.

Not one of the five villages, but part of the same UNESCO site. Portovenere and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto have their own page here because many boat tours go there instead of, or as well as, the five villages.

Most paths can be walked on your own, but they are steep and stepped, and sections close from time to time after landslides or for repairs. A park pass or Cinque Terre Card is usually needed. Check the park’s current trail information before you set out; a guided hike takes care of the route for you.

No, and it is rarely a help. The villages are small and largely closed to cars, and the usual way to move between them is the train from La Spezia.

Some of the best-reviewed offers from La Spezia are shore excursions to Pisa and Lucca for cruise passengers. They are real and bookable, so they have their own page, but they do not visit the five villages. Florence has its own page on our sister site.

No resort strip, no big beach and almost no car access. Monterosso has the largest sandy beach; in the other villages you swim from rocks or tiny coves. The villages are small and crowded in summer, which is why where a tour starts and how much time it gives you ashore matter more than its title.