Tuscany is an extremely popular holiday destination and after several emails asking me for advice about the area I am writing with some helpful hints. The area that borders Tuscany is called Liguria and is home to Cinque Terre a rugged Italian coastline which is a pleasure to visit.
The main decision to make is how to travel to and around Cinque Terre, whether you choose to use public transport or hire a car or a scooter you can be sure of beautiful scenery. If you decide to use public transport then the train service from Pisa to Spezia takes about an hour or so, you can check the schedules at the website below:
http://www.trenitalia.com/
If you decide to hire a car then you can drive directly to La Spezia, where you can take the boat along the coast and discover the sights of the different villages that punctuate the scenery. Arriving by ferry is spectacular and you can check departure times at the link below
http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/
I would highly recommend hiring a car and enjoying the scenic drive through the coastal villages as it gives you a great way of experiencing Italian beauty. The Ferry runs along the coast so guests can visit all the villages. I also would like to recommend the town of Portofino which requires a little further travelling but is very rewarding. If you disembark at Monterosso al Mare, which is the last stop on the ferry trip, then you can take the local train to Santa Margherita Ligure which is about a 45 -50 minute journey on the train. Once you arrive there you can take a local bus to Portofino.
The bus route is just one block from the train station and takes a couple of hours. In addition to the ferryboat tour of Cinque Terre there is also the public train service, as mentioned above the main station is La Spezia, and the villages of Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore all have connections to it, so you can also discover the beauty of the area from the comfort of the train.
For those who plan to spend several days in Tuscany a day spent at Cinque Terre is a must. I recommend visiting in the first few days of the trip and allocating the whole day to this wondrous place.
As always I hope this information will be helpful.
Kind regards
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