Cinque Terre Day Trips From Florence Sunshine and Discovery
Description
Cinque Terre is an absolute must-see while you are studying abroad or traveling in Italy! The five towns are filled with colorful homes, cobalt-blue sea, amazing food, and great shopping! Our company offers the most fun way to travel: with a group of young, like-minded travelers. Whether you are a solo traveler, a group of study abroad students, or on a gap year, we would be delighted to have you join our tour! Don't worry about the logistics of organizing a day in Cinque Terre... Simply relax under the sun, enjoy a pina colada, and we will take care of it!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Let’s discover Cinque Terre and begin an unforgettable beach day!! Meet your young, fun tour guides at Piazzale Montelungo Bus Terminal, located about 5-10 minutes behind Santa Maria Novella Train Station. Our guides will be wearing bright orange clothing, ready to check you in! Hop on the comfortable, air-conditioned coach bus, choose your seat, and relax! As we begin the 2 hour drive, your guide will go over the itinerary for the day. If you have any questions, he or she will be happy to help!
We will arrive in La Spezia, the coastal city closest to Cinque Terre. The bus driver will drop our group off at the local train station. Follow your guide onto the famous coastal train, which transports between the five towns of Cinque Terre. Enjoy views of the bright blue water as we zoom towards Manarola. The train ride will take approximately 10 minutes.
After exiting the train, you will be greeted by an absolute PARADISE! As you look to the right, you will see vibrant, green vineyards nestled into the cliffs. To your left, you will see a panorama of endless, brightly colored buildings seeming to glow under the sun. Straight ahead, the cobalt sea will be glittering with gentle waves as fishermen head out for their day of work. Enjoy exploring the town, dipping your toes in the sea, picking up some souvenirs, and taking plenty of photos! Your guide will be happy to point out the famous viewpoint (an instagrammer’s dream come true)! You will have about an hour of free time in Manarola.
Next, we will head to Riomaggiore. This ancient fishing village is filled with hidden gems… Follow your tour guide to our favorite restaurant to pick up some fresh pesto pizza and focaccia! Spend some time exploring the picturesque alleyways and make your way down towards the natural port to see the best of Riomaggiore! We will spend about an hour before heading to Monterosso al Mare.
After a 10 minute train ride to Monterosso, your guide will lead you directly to the wide, white sand beach, pointing out some of our favorite local spots along the way! You will have about 4 hours to relax on the beach, swim in the crystal clear water, and explore the town! Grab a pina colada, a cone of fresh fried seafood, and a perfect afternoon under the sun awaits! *If you prefer to explore another town in Cinque Terre, your guide will be happy to give you instructions to reach Vernazza, another town with a much smaller beach.
We will depart from La Spezia back to return to Florence. Enjoy the 2 hour bus ride back as the sunsets over Tuscany. You will be able to relax in the air conditioning and reminisce about your unforgettable day of beautiful scenery, amazing food, and new friends! We will arrive back in Florence in the early evening.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum age is 18 years, maximum age is 35
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
- Please note that most participants will be college aged students
Reviews(24)
The tour itself was satisfactory, but the total logistics around it were a disaster. Upon arrival at the designated meeting point ten minutes early, there were no tour guides in Orange jackets as advertised. There are several tours gathering at the location so lots of people everywhere. We went to every tour guide we could find asking for guidance. We finally found one young lady who offered to make a call on our behalf. Ultimately, she was able to send us to a tour guide already on a bus (with no orange jacket) who said we were indeed on her list but she didn’t understand why as her group were all 20ish and we were late 60’s. She said she didn’t think we would have a good day with her group so she talked to a man who had previously told us he had no idea where we belonged and we joined his group. Again, the tour was okay. We enjoyed ourselves. When part of his group was preparing to take a brief boat ride, he said that he didn’t have tickets for us because we hadn’t booked that tour. Ultimately, he got us on the boat. I have no idea what that was about. After the final train segment, the guide disappeared leaving about 15 passengers wondering where to go. Again, after 15 minutes or so, everyone got rounded up and headed for (home). Again, the tour itself was okay. We did enjoy ourselves. It was a lot more walking than we thought, but we are in decent shape so 15,000 steps didn’t kill us. Hopefully, the tour company will get their logistical problems worked out.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We're glad to hear that you ultimately enjoyed the tour. We’re very sorry to hear about the confusion at the meeting point. Our staff was present at the designated location and wearing orange Smart Trip shirts to help guests locate the group easily. However, we understand how overwhelming it can be at a busy gathering spot with several tour companies present. We’re grateful that you were eventually connected with one of our team members, and we appreciate your patience in that process. As for the group assignment, we’d like to clarify that Smart Trip is specifically designed for travelers aged 18–35, which is clearly stated in the tour description. When our team noticed that your preferences might not align with the typical group dynamic, they offered the opportunity to join the tour run by our parent company, Ciao Florence, which caters to a broader audience. This option was given to ensure your comfort and enjoyment, and ultimately, the decision to switch groups was entirely yours. I apologize for any confusion that may have occurred and hope that you enjoyed Cinque Terre nonetheless. Thank you again for your feedback!
This was our best day in Italy. Hands down. We are a family of 5 with three teens. We wanted to see Cinque Terre in one day without having to figure out travel. This trip made it easy. The bus ride was comfortable. And I cannot say enough about our tour guides, Emma and Ana. They were very enthusiastic and kept the whole group on moving from village to village on the trains. They had food and drink suggestions for each stop. Best part - jumping off the rocks into the harbor in Manarola. Monterosso had a great beach and highly recommend renting beach loungers. Also recommend the fried calamari cones, pesto focaccia and the drink buckets. I would recommend this trip for families with teens/college kids. And I would highly recommend Emma and Ava as best tour guides ever.
Hi Mark! Thanks for booking with us and taking the time to leave a review! It is great to hear that you and your family enjoyed the trip and that Emma & Ava made your day even more unforgettable. Thanks again for booking with us, and we wish you a lovely rest of your vacation in Italy!
It was such an amazing trip. Our guides Lizzie, Alexa, and Will made the trip 100% better. It was such a great trip, everything was planned perfectly, we were able to do more than expected and the guides were always helping us, giving us tips, and taking us to the best places. So grateful to experience this trip with my friends!
Hi Ana, thanks for your review of our Amalfi Coast trip! All of us at Smart Trip, both in the office and our on-tour staff work really hard to offer great itineraries and ensure every student has an amazing time. It is wonderful to hear that you enjoyed traveling with us! Thanks for choosing Smart Trip; we hope to have you travel with us again in the future!
Justin, tour guide was knowledgeable, respectful, & kind. Would love to have Justin with next Vistor Day Trip in Florence
Hi! Thanks for your review of our Cinque Terre tour. We are thrilled to know that you enjoyed your time there and that Justin made your trip even better! We look forward to having you travel with us in the future!
All the towns are beautiful but Gabrielle made it much more with sharing the details of the area and sights to see. We had lunch and met people from several countries and enjoyed conversations. Took a swim with plenty of time. Must do trip.
Hi! Thanks for your review of our Cinque Terre tour! The towns of Cinque Terre are breathtaking and we are thrilled to know that you had a wonderful time on our tour with Gabrielle! Thanks for choosing Smart Trip!
Amazing company and staff. My friends and I booked trip to Cinque Terre through SmartTrip. It is so easy and organized. Colette helped us through the entire process and was so informative. Using her code "Cheers" got us a discount too. If you are studying in Florence and want to travel, I highly recommend using SmartTrip. Ask for Colette.
Hi Thomas! Thanks for your 5-star review of our Cinque Terre tour! This tour is one of our best sellers and Cinque Terre is a must-see while abroad! One of our main goals is to take the stress out of traveling, so it means a lot to us that you found the tour to be organized and fun and that Colette was a great resource! Thanks for choosing to travel with us!
Would def recommend! The guide was very informative and lovely. Enjoyed the bus ride as long as the flexibility that we head at each stop.
Hi, thanks for your review of our Cinque Terre tour! We are glad to know that you enjoyed the flexible schedule and had a great time seeing the beautiful villages!
Going to Cinque, Terre? Be sure to look up Sandro- BEST TOUR GUIDE ! He did such a magnificent job of answering questions and keeping our group together. The trip itself was AWESOME and so much more memorable and enjoyable with the help of this lovely person and guide. Sandro made the trip most pleasant and memorable. Having been surrounded with the knowledge of area made our trip so much fun!
It was so easy to plan this trip! I love how this company makes it easy to get where you want, along with guides that are just there for help. Overall 10/10 experience I wouldn’t trade for the world!
These guys are the best! Everything was so easy since the whole trip and activities were already planned for us. Cinque Terre was absolutely beautiful and having guides gave us a unique experience and better than if we had just walked around on our own without any information. Find one of the guides around town or at their office in Florence and they'll give you a special discount code :)
