Cinque Terre Card

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The weather in Italy in April this year (2024) was abnormal. Temperature ranged between 3°C and 28°C. Sun and rain alternated. The sky was grey and temperature low when we arrived at La Spezia, a living town and an excellent base for excursions to Cinque Terre and other towns in Liguria (e.g. Portovenere, Lerici, Sarzana, etc.) and Tuscany (e.g. Pietrasanta, Carrara, Pontremoli, etc.) 


The weather forecast predicted a fine day next to our arrival day. No doubt, we headed to Cinque Terre, five beautiful and colourful villages dotted the coastline of Liguria. La Spezia is very near to Cinque Terre. From the distance closest to La Spezia are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterossa al Mare. The train connection between La Spezia and the villages is frequent in summer. 

Cinque Terra is one of the most visited tourist spots in Italy, frequented by Italians and tourists from all parts of the world. The five villages are packed with people and so as the hiking trails with breathtaking views between the villages.  Cinque Terre Card was introduced to impose fees on two hiking paths, between Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza, between Vernazza and Corniglia between mid-March and early November. Other hiking trails are free. 


There are two types of the Cinque Terra Card: 

1. Hiking only for the two hiking paths, 

2. Hiking + unlimited train rides between La Spezia and Levanto (a town after Monterosso al Mare, not part of the Cinque Terra yet beautiful and a hiking trail connecting to Monterosso al Mare). 

The price of the two types of Cinque Terre Card cost €7.5 and €18.2 for one day shortly prior to my departure (early April 2024). During my travel time, a new policy was implemented to increase the price drastically on peak days. The price of the hiking card doubles, €15 and €32.5 including train rides.  There are options of one day, two and three days. Hiking of the two charged routes takes about 2 hours (including stop for photo shoot) each. We also visited Manarola and Riomaggiore. The heading back was shortly after 8pm. So, I recommend one-day Cinque Terre Card.

Train ticket price also soars a lot. A 30 minutes ride between La Spezia and Levanto on a local train costs €5.7 during the week but €9.12 on peak days, a 60% increment. It’s immensely expensive comparing to our ticket price from Milan to La Spezia on a quick train (around 3 hours). It can be €18 if it is bought much in advance and the departure time is not at the peak hours.  

We were lucky to have visited Cinque Terre on a weekday prior to the implementation of price increase and purchased the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card online (https://card.parconazionale5terre.it/). It let us bypass the super long queues at La Spezia Central Railway Station.  The online purchase of the Cinque Terre Card requires one to create an account first. The first page was till in English but the subsequent pages were only in Italian. My partner is fluent in Italian and we could proceed further.  At the end of the process, two passes personalising our names and the valid date shown. It’s better to capture the screens for showing them at the kiosks screening / selling the card.  The day at the Cinque Terre was gorgeous and memorable albeit the little lengthy purchase of the card.

If you are interested in visiting Cinque Terre or other popular tourist spots, it's better to action quick. The double price of the Cinque Terre Card and the day visit tax for visiting Venice were imposed suddenly and straight ahead. No chance for objection. No one knows if other similar policies or 'enhancement' are in the loop for 'anytime' implementation. Therefore, seize the day to enjoy the wonderful nature at the best affordable price.

Location: Cinque Terre, SP, Italy

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