Description
Your adventure from Florence to Cinque Terre begins with a comfortable coach ride, during which your guide will regale you with tales of the region. You’ll hear anecdotes about the Tuscan town of Lucca and its famed inhabitant Puccini, followed by insights into the Cinque Terre and its quintet of fishing hamlets—Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso, and Riomaggiore—that constitute the national park.
After approximately two hours of travel, your trek across Cinque Terre will commence from the heights above Manarola. Guided by your expert, you’ll navigate a picturesque route to Corniglia, concluding with a challenging ascent of nearly 382 steps. It’s worth noting that this pristine region remains unspoiled, meaning paths might come close to the cliff’s edge without safety barriers. (For those who opt out of hiking, villages are interconnected by train).
Upon reaching Corniglia, relish some leisure moments to soak in the panoramic vistas, before embarking on a trail to Vernazza, meandering through olive terrace farms and vibrant eateries. Refresh with a swim in the bay and later, proceed to Monterosso via train. Here, immerse yourself in its renowned beaches, wine stalls, and local crafts. The next leg involves a boat trip (or train journey based on weather conditions) to Riomaggiore, celebrated for its vividly painted homes.
Conclude with a hike leading back to Manarola, and then your excursion from Florence to Cinque Terre will wrap up with a return coach journey to Florence.
ADDITIONAL INFO
WHAT’S INCLUDED
MEETING POINT
Piazza della Stazione, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Check-in: 7.15am – Your guide will be holding a WALKABOUT sign, right by the taxi stand at Santa Maria Novella train station across from the outside McDonald’s
Start time
07:30 AM
Jessica –
This is a fantastic experience that gives you a great introduction to and a little ‘taste’ of Cinque Terre. It is a very well planned tour – there is a lot to do during the day but we didn’t feel rushed, and thought there was enough time to see all 5 villages. I would highly recommend doing the hike – it is a challenging walk but you can do it mostly at your own pace and are rewarded with stunning views and a monumentally amazing lemon slushy which keeps you going. Finished off with a lovely, cooling swim in Monterosso which capped off a beautiful day. Finally a huge shout out to our amazing guides Chiara and Victoria who anchored the whole day and were fantastic, well-informed, and made the trip fun 🙂 Thank you for a lovely day!
Shana –
What an amazing tour! Chris, Ado and Davido were absolutely amazing tour guides, they were so excited to be there, so excited to share knowledge with us, and they were incredibly flexible and understanding for everyone’s needs. We learned so much on this tour, and are still dreaming about the delicious pesto we got to try. The tour was organized, and we knew where we needed to be and at what time at all times. We had the chance to explore the little towns, and also the chance to rest or go into the water in some of the towns. The 2 hour drive from Florence was not bad at all, as the guides spend time telling us about the history and fun facts of the towns and places we pass. I will warn, this is a very active tour, there are many stairs and many need to walk fast to keep up the pace with the guides. Be prepared to walk ALOT and it is very humid, so make sure you hydrate and wear comfortable shoes. But again, our amazing guides were really flexible and understanding to everyone’s needs. We didn’t do the hike, but were able to take the train to the next town and spend more time in that town. The boat ride was gorgeous, and the best way to see the costal towns that we just spent time exploring. Our guides had so much excitement and enthusiasm, and they were quick on their feet if any problem like a train delay arose. We would say this is the absolute best tour we have been on in Italy, and I 100% would recommend you book this tour with them! You will not regret it one bit!
Peter –
We had Davida, David and Jena as our guide. They were amazing guides, they were attentive, ensured we were on time with the schedule and had great local knowledge of Cinque Terre. We had Davida as our individual guide, he was great fun, always a step a head ensuring we’re comfortable and safe and going above and beyond to ensure all our questions were answered. We were very pleasantly surprised how great the day was. Highly recommend doing this tour !
Natasha –
An absolutely incredible day trip with great guides! They did an amazing job show us each town and where to find the best of the best in each place. The hike was amazing! It had the most breathtaking view and was an experience Ill never forget. Probably my favorite of my entire Italy trip.