You can see all of the Cinque Terre without a car, and you’ll have an easier day than the people circling for parking. One regional train line runs from La Spezia through Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso to Levanto, and hops between villages take a few minutes. In the 2026 season a single ride cost €5 to €10 depending on the day, and the Cinque Terre Treno Card (€22 to €35 a day, €17.30 from November) covers unlimited trains plus the paid trails. One thing to plan around right now: as of 29 October 2026, the coastal path from Corniglia to Monterosso is closed.
How the Cinque Terre train works
The five villages sit on the La Spezia to Genoa railway, most of it in tunnels cut through the cliffs. Regional trains on the stretch between La Spezia Centrale and Levanto stop at every village, so you can treat the line like a metro:
La Spezia Centrale → Riomaggiore → Manarola → Corniglia → Vernazza → Monterosso → Levanto
A few practical points:
- Validate paper tickets in the machines before you board. A single ticket is valid for 75 minutes for one direct trip, according to Trenitalia.
- Check the timetable in the Trenitalia app before you set out, especially in the evening and off-season, when gaps between trains get longer.
- Be ready before your stop. Some stations are squeezed between tunnels and stops are short, so move toward the doors as the train slows.
- Expect crowds on summer weekends and in the middle of the day. The first trains of the morning and the evening trains are the calmest.
Rail operator RFI started accessibility works at Riomaggiore and Manarola stations in late October 2026, due to finish around May 2027. Local press reported that some weekends will see trains suspended for 48 hours between Corniglia and La Spezia, with changes on late-night trains. Check Trenitalia’s travel alerts for your dates.
How much is a Cinque Terre train ticket in 2026?
For 14 March to 1 November 2026, Trenitalia sold a special Cinque Terre fare for any one-way trip between two stations inside the park, including La Spezia Centrale and Levanto. The price depended on the crowd band of the day, shown on the park’s A-B-C calendar.
| Band | Typical days (2026) | Adult one-way | Child 4 to 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A (green) | Weekdays from March to May and in October | €5 | €2.50 |
| B (yellow) | June, September and some weekends | €8 | €4 |
| C (red) | July, August, most weekends and public holidays | €10 | €5 |
Two details save money. Trains between 19:30 and 4:00 charge the band A fare, the “Cinque Terre evening fare”. And the fare is the same whether you ride one stop or the whole line, so a single ticket from La Spezia to Monterosso costs the same as Riomaggiore to Manarola.
These special fares applied until 1 November 2026. For winter and the 2027 season, check the price at the station machine or in the Trenitalia app, since the 2027 fares weren’t published when we checked.
Is the Cinque Terre Card worth it?
The Cinque Terre Card comes in two versions, both sold by the national park:
- Cinque Terre Treno Card: unlimited second-class regional trains between La Spezia and Levanto, plus everything in the Trekking Card.
- Cinque Terre Trekking Card: access to the paid coastal trails and the Via dell’Amore, the park’s village shuttle buses, free toilets at the five village stations (otherwise €1), park Wi-Fi and guided walks in season.
Treno Card prices, 14 March to 1 November 2026
| Card | Band A | Band B | Band C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 1 day | €22.00 | €29.50 | €35.00 |
| Adult, 2 days | €36.50 | €51.00 | €61.00 |
| Adult, 3 days | €49.00 | €68.00 | €81.00 |
| Child 4 to 11, 1 day | €15.00 | €20.00 | €23.50 |
| Over 70, 1 day | €18.50 | €25.00 | €29.50 |
| Family (2 adults + children 4 to 11), 1 day | €56.50 | €77.00 | €91.50 |
Treno Card prices, 2 November to 31 December 2026
| Card | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | €17.30 | €29.00 | €34.00 |
| Child 4 to 11 | €11.00 | €16.70 | €22.30 |
| Over 70 | €13.70 | €21.30 | €28.50 |
| Family | €43.70 | €67.10 | €89.10 |
The Trekking Card alone cost €10 for an adult for one day (€15 on high-crowd days), according to the park’s price list. Cards are valid until midnight on the last day and are sold at the park Infopoints in every station from La Spezia to Levanto or online.
Does the card pay off?
Count your train rides. A classic day out from La Spezia, visiting all five villages and returning, is six rides: La Spezia to Riomaggiore, then four hops north, then Monterosso back to La Spezia.
| Day type | 6 single tickets | 1-day Treno Card | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | €30 | €22 | €8 |
| Band B | €48 | €29.50 | €18.50 |
| Band C | €60 | €35 | €25 |
On a band A day you break even at five rides; on band B and C days, at four. If you plan to walk one section of the coastal path or the Via dell’Amore, you need a card anyway, so the Treno Card is the obvious buy. Skip it only if you’re visiting one or two villages, or staying put on a beach in Monterosso.
Which Cinque Terre trails are open?
Trail status changes with the weather. After an orange or red weather alert, the paths close until geologists check them, and the park had alerts as recently as 20 October 2026. Here’s where things stood when we checked on 29 October 2026:
| Section | Status (29 Oct 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Riomaggiore to Manarola (Via dell’Amore) | Open, booking required | One way only, about 30 minutes, needs a Cinque Terre Card and a time slot |
| Manarola to Corniglia, coastal path | Closed long-term | Use the high route via the hill village of Volastra |
| Corniglia to Vernazza (Sentiero Verde Azzurro) | Closed since 10 September 2026 | Awaiting geological checks, no reopening date announced |
| Vernazza to Monterosso (Sentiero Verde Azzurro) | Closed since 10 September 2026 | Same notice; this stretch also closed from February to March 2026 after a wall collapse |
The park notice of 10 September 2026 says updates will follow once the geological checks are complete. If you’re traveling in the next few weeks, look at the park’s website the day before you go.
How the Via dell’Amore works now
The famous cliffside path between Riomaggiore and Manarola reopened after more than a decade of repairs, but it now runs as a timed, one-way walk:
- Direction: enter at Riomaggiore, exit at Manarola. Only authorized categories may walk it the other way.
- Booking: pick a time slot online at the park’s card site or viadellamore.info, or at an Infopoint. Groups of up to 30 must book and pay ahead.
- Price: the park’s FAQ says access is included in both the Trekking and Treno cards with no extra cost. Some older guides still mention a €10 supplement.
- Hours: 9:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:30, from 26 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. In summer 2026 it ran 9:00 to 21:00.
Getting between villages by boat
Ferries run along the coast from La Spezia and Portovenere to Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso. They don’t stop at Corniglia, which has no harbor. Boats run from roughly late March to early November, depend on the sea, and cost more than the train: day tickets were roughly €37 to €42 for an adult in 2026, depending on the route and the seller.
The boat earns its price for the view. Seeing the villages from the water is the postcard angle you never get from a train that spends most of its time in tunnels. A good compromise is the train in one direction and the boat in the other.
If you’d rather someone else handled it, these are the options worth comparing:
- Full day by boat from La Spezia: this 8-hour Cinque Terre boat tour from La Spezia stops at villages including Riomaggiore and Monterosso and had more than 3,500 reviews when we checked.
- Small group from the north end: the guided Cinque Terre boat cruise from Levanto or Monterosso runs in small groups and suits travelers based in Levanto.
- Off-season: a few operators keep going in winter, such as this Cinque Terre boat trip for fall and winter 2026-27 from La Spezia.
Corniglia, the awkward one
Corniglia is the only village not at sea level. From the station you either climb the Lardarina, a zigzag staircase of nearly 400 steps, or take the park shuttle bus, which is included with the Cinque Terre Card. With luggage or in summer heat, take the bus. It’s also why Corniglia is the quietest of the five, which is a good reason to stop.
How to get to Cinque Terre by train
Most people arrive at La Spezia Centrale and change to a regional train for the villages. A few long-distance trains stop at Monterosso and Levanto directly.
| From | How | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Milan | Direct Intercity to Levanto, Monterosso and La Spezia, roughly every 2 hours | About 3 hours |
| Florence | Regional train, changing at Pisa and/or La Spezia | 2.5 to 3.5 hours |
| Rome | Direct Intercity or Frecciabianca to La Spezia Centrale, then a regional train | 3 to 4.5 hours to La Spezia |
From Milan you can book Milan Centrale to Monterosso on Omio, and for other routes search Italian trains to La Spezia on Omio. Flying into Rome first? Our guide to getting from Fiumicino to central Rome covers the airport train, and how to find cheap train tickets in Europe explains when to book Intercity seats.
If you’re based in Florence and don’t want to manage the changes, a guided day trip is the simplest way to do it in one go. The Florence to Cinque Terre day trip with optional hiking or Pisa takes 12 to 13 hours and was rated 4.9 from over 6,000 reviews when we checked. Already in La Spezia, for example off a cruise ship? The guided Cinque Terre tour by train from La Spezia handles the tickets and timing for you.
Where to stay without a car
- La Spezia: the most trains, the widest choice of hotels and usually the lowest prices. You lose the village atmosphere in the evening.
- Levanto: at the north end of the line, with a long beach, a calmer feel and its own station.
- Monterosso: the largest village, the only one with a long sandy beach, and the one with direct Intercity trains from Milan.
- Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore: the most memorable evenings once day-trippers leave, but rooms are few, and many involve steep stairs.
A one-day car-free plan
- Early train from La Spezia to Riomaggiore, then walk the Via dell’Amore to Manarola in your booked slot.
- Train to Corniglia, shuttle bus up to the village, coffee with a sea view.
- Train to Vernazza for lunch by the harbor.
- Train to Monterosso for the beach, or the boat back to La Spezia if it’s running.
- Evening train home. In season, trains after 19:30 charge the cheapest band A fare if you’re buying single tickets.
Load your mobile data before you go, because you’ll want the Trenitalia app and the park’s trail updates on the move. An Airalo eSIM for Italy sets that up before you land; our Airalo vs local SIM vs roaming comparison explains the trade-offs.
For village-by-village picks of where to eat, swim and stay, open the Cinque Terre Guidez map, in Hebrew. Continuing south to Rome? Book ahead with our Colosseum tickets guide.
