3 days in Cinque Terre: the itinerary you’ll love

3 days in Cinque Terre: a detailed itinerary to see all five Cinque Terre towns with two nights / three days in the area, plus travel tips, transport info, best spots.

Last summer, I brought the kids back to Cinque Terre.

We spent two nights in the area and had a lovely time discovering the five Cinque Terre towns, riding the ferries, the train and eating our body weight in pesto!

I love this part of Italy: I love the colorful houses, the fact the fact that you don’t need a car here, and the laid-back atmosphere of this welcoming yet not over-the-top glamorous destination.

For this trip, I decided we’d spend 2 nights / 3 days in Cinque Terre and decided not to hike.

I felt this gave us enough time to see the towns without rushing; I also decided that skipping hiking would allow us to pack light, a compromise that, in this case specifically, we felt was worth making.

Since I know 2 nights is a common length of stay in this area, today I decided to share our exact itinerary, hoping an actual experience can be useful for you to make your own plans.

At the end, I am also going to share the two alternative ways we had considered for our 3 days in Cinque Terre, should they fit better with your style of travel, budget and itinerary!

Good to know: if you are unsure about visiting this area with small kids, find here >>> our guide to visiting Cinque terr with kids.

Please note: this post contains affiliate links: should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission.

2 nights / 3 days in Cinque Terre itinerary summary

Day	Activity	Stay
Day 1	Train from Rome to La Spezia and then Levanto. Explore Levanto.	Levanto Orto dei Nonni Apartment
Day 2	Train and Ferry to Manarola, Vernazza, Corniglia, Monterosso	Levanto Orto dei Nonni Apartment
Day 3	Ferry and train to Monterosso, Riomaggiore, Pisa, Rome	Rome

Day 1: Arriving in Cinque Terre and settling in

The first of our three days in Cinque Terre was a travel and settling-in day.

We were traveling from Rome and caught the mid-morning train to La Spezia

11.57 departure from Roma Termini

The journey was comfortable and easy: the train Rome-La Spezia was fast and the views from the windows pretty.

For a long stretch of the journey, you are following the coast so, despite being a journey of over 3 hours, the time passed quickly.

15.44 arrival in La Spezia

We arrived in La Spezia on time and quickly caught the local train to reach the terre and our final destination.

15.50 departure to Levanto

Before we went, I was worried about this change of train from the high-speed one to the local one.

With only 6 minutes between our arrival time and the departure of the next train, I was worried we would not be able to make and spent hours agonizing over this connection.

It turned out there was nothing to fear!

First of all, the connection turned out to be exceptionally easy.

As we stepped out of the train from Rome, we saw the train to Cinque Terre and Levanto was due at the platform immediately in front of us, so 6 minutes were plenty!

Also, we noticed there were plenty of later trains serving the same stretch. My fear of being stranded in La Spezia was completely unfounded so if you are worrying about that connection, don’t! It is genuinely a very easy journey.

Since I hadn’t rebooked tickets, I used my phone to swiftly book tickets online last minute: I used the trenitalia.com app, which is the app of the main rail provider in Italy.

N middle man, no intermediaries, no extra fees – it is just like buying from the ticket office at the station and tickets appear straight away on your phone. This is one of my must-have apps for Italy.

Top tip: since the internet connection can be hit and miss, I recommend you book your regional train ticket when you have a strong signal on the train and you know your exact arrival time. Trains are usually on time but delays can happen and with 6 minutes, this is an easy connection miss! I got tickets on the platform but I feel getting them on the train would be safer, just in case you don’t have a strong signal on arrival.

You can read here >>> how to get to Cinque Terre from Rome by train

16.10 Arrival in Levanto

We arrived in Levanto a little after 4 pm and took a short walk to our accommodation.

The place we had chosen is called Orto dei Nonni and it is a simple, clean and cute apartment close to the station and a shower walk to the town center. You can find it here.

We had decided to stay in Lavanto on a couple of accounts.

First, Levanto is lovely. It is a local town with colorful houses, a pretty center, vibrant piazzas and plenty of services.

Also, despite being only minutes from the famous Cinque Terre towns, it gets a fraction of the visitors, which means it retains a more local feel and lower prices.

Arguably, since it flatter, Levanto is not as scenic as, let’ say, Manarola. However, it is wonderful and the added local feel and lower budget required to stay makes it worth it.

Last but not least, Levanto is fantastic for kids! It has an amazing playground, a nice beach, and carousels, so we felt it would be perfect for a mom-and-children’s stay.

It was! You can read here >>> all about Levanto and why we love it

Apertitivo and dinner

Levanto is a seaside town and our host recommended heading to the beach for family-friendly aperitivo at Bar Nadia.

Bar Nadia is a simple cafe with a terrace overlooking the beach and the sea: I had a spritz (6 Euro, half of what you pay in many other parts of Italy!), the kids had juice, we all shared a plate of focaccia and just watched the sun set.

This moment captured all I wanted from this quick vacation.

We relaxed watching the local elderly coming out for their evening swim, the mothers wrapping up salty kids in big towels to get them home for dinner and we listened to the waves crashing on the pebbly shore.

I am Italian so I don’t know normally use the words ‘authentic Italy’ but, if there is such a thing, this was definitely it!

Since we were staying in an apartment, we opted to keep budget low and bought a simple dinner in the local supermarket that we cooked at home, with a side serving of delicious focaccia from the local bakery.

Good to know: Levanto has many shops and restaurants so you won’t go hungry! The local supermarket has all the staples you may need, including easy meals you can cook in minutes, such as stuffed pasta or fresh pesto and there are several focaccia places where you can get focaccia, bread and baked goods. Plenty of restaurants for all budgets are in the center, between the beach, the main square and the two blocks behind it.

Day 2 – exploring Cinque Terre by ferry and train

Day two was our full day in Cinque Terre, the one I had devoted to exploring the five towns.

The two best ways to explore Cinque Terre are the ferry and the train and we made good use of both.

Originally, I had decided we would only go by ferry: I purchased a day pass in advance and made a plan on how to get to all the cinque terre towns in a day.

If you leave early in the morning, in summer, it is possible to see all the terre in a day.

The schedule is done in such as way that you can easily see the four coastal towns in a full day and it has built in time to see each.

This is brilliant as it means you don’t need to agonize wondering how long to spend in each town: just stay as long as you need to catch the following ferry out!

Good to know: I booked the ferry pass in advance. However, there was no queue on the day to get the ticket and the lady told us it is usually ok to get tickets last minute, especially in Levanto, less busy than the other towns. If you want to get in advance, you can buy it here. Take a note of the schedule for the exact day of your trip as it changes with the season!

Ferry Levanto to Manarola

We decided our first destination would be Manarola.

The ferry ride from Levanto was lovely; seeing Cinque Terre from the water is truly special!

The day was overcast, so we didn’t get that extravaganza of Mediterranean shimmering waters I was hoping for; however, it was nice to be on the sea anyway and the views truly are spectacular!

Docking in Maranola is exciting as the coast here is really high and you get straight up to hige rocks so the day started with a bit of a rush.

Once off, we took our time to explore and wander.

We took photos of the colorful houses that matched our clothing, we found a fantastic playground with a view (one of the best playgrounds in cinque terre!) and we stopped at the harbor to watch the big daredevil kids jump off the huge rock in front of the Manarola docking station.

Manarola is tiny and cute, a wonderful first destination for a day in Cinque Terre.

You ca read here >>> what to see in Manarola with kids

Ferry from Manarola to Vernazza

The playground and divers kept us occupied for about 30 minutes but, after this time, we were ready to move on to the next town: Vernazza!

Vernazza is one of the most scenic towns in the area and has a distinctive feature: a pretty tower bell overlooking its small harbor filled with colorful wooden boats.

Vernazza is adorable and one of the best places in Cinque Terre for photos.

I was a little bit on a mission for nice photo spots and in Vernazza, we found three: the harbor itself, the starting point of the trail to Monterosso and the start of the trail to Corniglia.

I recommend you seek them out too!

Good to know: the starting points of the trail are very well indicated from the main street in Vernazza. The road up is a mix of steps and trails and while not difficult, it does take a steady foot – good shoes are a must (runners are ok for the road to the trail but on the trails themselves, you need proper hiking shoes)

You can read here >>> what to see in Vernazza (with kids)

Train to Corniglia and Lunch

Vernazza is adorable but also tiny and popular; so by mid-morning, when tourists started to flock here, we felt it was time to move on.

In an attempt to escape crowds, we took the train to Corniglia, the one town not on the water and one of the least visited.

The train from Vernazza to Corniglia only takes a few minutes and leaves you at the bottom of the town.

From here, you need to walk up hundreds of steps to the town itself – this is one of the reasons why many skip this town!

However, for us, the walk up was a highlight!

The steps are many but not overly tiring and large and low and the views from them pretty. Also, if want to work up an appetite, there is no better way!

If you cannot take the steps, there is a bus going up but to be honest, we say many people waiting for it and no sign of it for a long time.

Therefore, if you cannot take the steps, I recommend factor it in a little bit of a wait.

Arriving into the town from the main staircase means you enter a lovely part of the village, with churches, colorful houses and local feel.

As you get closer to the center, the number of restaurants and people increases. However, there is no doubt we found fewer people in Corngilia than in any of the other four towns.

We were looking for a simple and family fridnlhyplace to eat and had an informal lunch at bar Matteo, who had delicious lasagne al pesto!

You can read here: how to see Corniglia (with kids)

Train to Monterosso

After lunch, we decided we were ready to get closer to home and so we took the train to Monterosso.

Monterosso is probably my favorite of all cinque terre towns.

It is a little less scenic than others as it is flatter and since it has a reputation for being the best town for families in Cinque Terre, ti often gets overlooked in favor of its more photogenic neighbors.

The upside of this is that it is, by far, the town I felt was the most ‘real’ out of the five.

All Cinque Terre towns are tourist destinations, and a lot of the local economy is based on tourism.

However, in Monterosso, I was still able to feel in a real place, more than I did di Manarola and Vernazza and immeasurably more than I felt in Riomaggiore (which I had visited before and is next on the itinerary).

I appreciate this is a personal observation.

However, I hope you follow my advice and don’t skip Monterosso: it is a lot nicer than you may expect!

We spent a lovely afternoon in Monbterosso and had a not-so-special-yet-nice ice cream on the main promenade.

We rested in the main square in the old town, browsed the shops, the kids had a play in the playground and we finally got the train back to Levanto.

Aprtitivo and dinner in Levanto

Once back in Levanto, we had aperitivo on the main square at a place called La Vineria (wine, juice, sodas, water, platters etc); the kids had a play with the local children in the big playground in the main square and then we were ready for dinner.

Good to know: we wanted to eat out this night but the place that we had been recommended to us was closed for their weekly resty so we opted to cook at home instead! If you are the whe open, the restaurant in Levanto we were recommended is La Cantina dei 1000.

Day 3: Monterosso, Riomaggiore, Pisa

On day three, we had planned on taking the bikes to Bonassola, then train to Riomaggiore and then home.

However, the night had brought torrential rain (buckets!!) and while the morning was dry, we opted for a more conservative approach and ditched the Bonassola plan.

Instead, we hopped on the ferry and headed to Monterosso again.

The night before, we had seen the city under an overcast sky and we were left with the curiosity to see it under brighter conditions. And so, off we went!

Going early to Monterosso proved to be a great idea: there was hardly anyone around, we got coffee with freshly baked focaccia in absolute peace and had a lovely walk around the town.

My daughter loved her focaccia from a place I believe was called Panificio Testaferri, in a small street at the back of the main square and the children spent ages in the main playground, which is fenced, fun and safe.

You can find here >>> our guide to Monterosso (with kids)

We then headed to Riomaggiore for an early lunch.

Train to Riomaggiore

Despite the beautiful weather, we weren’t able to use to ferry to Riomaggiore as the sea was too rough for safe docking.

So we got the train and headed there via land.

Riomaggiore is a lovely and scenic town and we quickly discovered the pretty photo spot fro where everyone takes hots of this ton, beside the harbor!

From there, we had a wander around the town and stopped for lunch in a place called Maggiore, where we had a quick bite (ok, nothing to write home about, but nice to sit on the main street and watch life pass by).

We then got a treat of fried fish in Mi Va down the road and wander in and around town.

Overall, we didn’t love Riomaggiore.

The harbor is wonderful but, compared with the other towns, we found it busier and, for some reason, overrun by American college students.

Nothing wrong with them, but not the vibe we were going for!

So after a walk around town and some more photos, we decided to move on and that we would make the most of your early departure for cinque terre to stop in Pisa!

We had a ticket for a later train to Rome so we decided to throw money at the problem, buy a local train ticket to Pisa and join our train later from there.

It was a great decision: the stop in Pisa was fun and the last minute decision gave the whole day a sense of freedom and adventure more scheduled plans would not have allowed.

You can read here >> to see the leaning tower of Pisa

We spent a couple of hours in Pisa and then hopped on the train to Rome, wrapping up our wonderful 3 days in Cinque Terre.

Three days in Cinque Terre itinerary – daytime private boat tour alternative with snorkeling stops

When planning our three days in Cinque Terre, I looked into booking a boat tour, instead of relying of ferries.

The advantages of a boat tour are the comfort of the boat, the opinion to stop and swim and overall added comfort. However, boat trips come at a pretty high price point here and, this time, we did not take one.

I am, however, happy to share my research and the best Cinque Terre Boat tour I got recommended by trustworthy friends:

>>> Private Cinque Terre Boat Tour (3h with the option to add two more ) with swimming stops, life jackets, towels, refreshments, and snorkeling gear provided.

Should you opt for a boat tour, your itinerary would include:

• Day 1: Arrival and settling in Levanto
• Day 2: Private boat tour (Morning) with snorkeling stops. Afternoon exploring Manarola, Vernazza and Corniglia in your own time
• Day 3: Exploring Monterosso and Riomaggiore.

Three days in Cinque Terre itinerary – pin this