Cinque Terre & Portovenere: Unforgettable Day Trip from Florence

Fred and Grace were our drivers/guides and they were fantastic! It was so nice to be able to see so much and not have to 1) drive or 2) deal with the logistics. We had plenty of free time too—which is NOT always the case with tours.

Transportation getting there was challenging but not the guides fault. A lot of walking so be prepared. Boat ride was very nice. This was a very long day from 6:30am until 9:30pm.

The ferry to Portovenere was the best part of the trip. If I did this again I take the ferry from La Spezia to Portovenere then to Monterosso al Mare and back to La Spezia. The train ride was very long & the other towns were nice, but Portovenere was awesome!

It is a long day as pre warned. Very picturesque. Beautiful. If mobility issues not for you. Walking hills, stairs and lots of people, very croudy. Lots of time spent on train. Boat rides can be rough on the water.

The destination is on our list of places we wanted to visit. The trip was exactly as described. Everywhere was very busy, but this added to the atmosphere. The combination of trains and boats for travelling from A to B was perfect with lots of opportunities for snacks and comfort breaks when needed. Each 'land' is unique and has different things to offer. Our guide, Marco, gave us lots of additional information about the different lands along with historical details. He was knowledgeable and friendly, spending time with each party member. We were a varied group both in age and nationalities.

After a not so good start, the tour guide was 20 minutes late. We had no clue as to wether the tour had been cancelled. I contacted the tour operator through the booking link. I received no response. Then I contacted Viator who were most helpful. By that time the tour guide approached us casually as if nothing happened. Not even an apology. Anyway the went very smoothly there on. He (the guide) was very knowledgeable and helpful. It wasn't as faced paced and gruelling on the feet as I was anticipating. We had a great day. Recommended.

Very nice your! Marco was nice and very responsible with his duties during the entire trip. It was a long day

Lucca is a very nice host who made the tour and getting around very easy. The stops are absolutely beautiful and I would highly recommend doing the tour by train and boat with him.

The most memorable parts of my experience were being able to visit multiple towns that were fabulous. Our tour guide, Marco, was there in each place to answer multiple questions. Having his computer tablet available to share knowledge of areas that we passed on the train was enlighting. Each town had it's own vibe. Especially liked the medieval buildings in each location. Ferry ride back to train station was like the whipped cream of the trip! Wonderful seeing Cinque Terre from the sea! There will be much time spent on train--2+ hours each way from Florence and 20.000 walking steps! Be ready to be a tourist!

Cinque Terre was beautiful. The tour guide Luca was very disappointing. He only dropped us off at each town and didn’t even bother to say anything about the history of each town. He didn’t recommend any places to eat, he kept changing the way we were getting from One place to the next-very unprofessional.