Flying or travelling into Florence and want to know how to get to the Cinque Terre? This guide has all the information, including advice on buses, train journeys, car rental and transfers - both from the airport and the city centre.

Updated May 2023

One of Italy's most alluring destinations, the Cinque Terre offers quintessential Mediterranean charms and experiences to the traveller in summer or shoulder-season.

It’s also a realistic and accessible next stop on your Italy itinerary once you've spent a few nights or longer in Florence (Firenze) - and that’s exactly what we did last summer! From the city which forever changed our perception and appreciation of art with the Uffizi Gallery and a moment alone with the flawless perfection of David, it felt right to have a complete change of pace to lazing by the sea, eating locally caught seafood, and walking along dusty roads by steep vineyards on the north-west coast.

In this short guide, we've shared the essential information on how to make the onward journey from Florence to Cinque Terre by train, bus, rental car, or taxi transfer - plus advice on why you should possibly reconsider trying to squeeze this in as an independent day trip.

The first section covers how to get from Florence Airport to the city centre; if you’re already going to based in Florence simply scroll a little further.

the essentials

// Regular daily departures by train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella station.
// Quickest travel time is 2.5 hours, average cost is €15 per person.
// Travelling from Florence to Cinque Terre by bus, rental car or tour is possible but does have disadvantages.
// If you’re set on a day trip tour, this one is super popular and has excellent reviews.

Where To Go in Cinque Terre?

We provide more specific Cinque Terre travel advice in this guide, but the first thing you need to know before planning your journey from Florence is that there are five villages in the Cinque Terre National Park: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

Each has a train station, with frequent connections between them and to other parts of northern Italy. From Florence, you'll be able to reach all of the villages via public transport with only a slight difference in total cost and travel time.

There’s no ‘Cinque Terre’ train station, and you instead need to search schedules using the specific village you’re looking to end up in.

If you're going to stay for a few nights in the Cinque Terre, we recommend you have your accommodation booked well in advance and that village will be your end destination from Florence. If you're planning a day trip independently, then you can arrive and begin at any of the villages.

Read Later | 23 Things To Know Before You Visit Cinque Terre

Florence Airport to Florence city centre

We assume that most of you reading this article will be choosing to spend a few days in the city first - if so, just skip to the next section. If you’re flying into Florence and planning on going straight to the coast - read on!

The Cinque Terre has no airport, meaning Pisa and Genoa are the closest, most practical entry points by air. However, the surprisingly small Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR) - also known as Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola AND Amerigo Vespucci Airport - is not a bad alternative.

It's only 4 kms / 2.4 miles outside the city, and from there you have three options to reach your next stop - Florence Santa Maria Novella train station (Google Maps)

By Tram

The tram service is the cheapest and most convenient, running from 5 am to midnight (Sunday to Thursday) and until 1.30 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Departure are around every six minutes, tickets cost €1.50, and it takes 20 minutes to arrive at the train station. Buy tickets from the machines before you board and make sure to validate them.

Note that there are no train connections between Florence Airport and the city.

By Bus

The cheapest and most practical option is the Volainbus shuttle service, picking up outside arrivals. With departures every 30 minutes, 7 days a week, it will take you to Florence’s BUSITALIA Bus Station (Google Maps) in 20 - 25 minutes. From the bus station, you're a two minute walk from Santa Maria Novella train station!

A one-way ticket costs €6, and you can purchase at the airport and on board.

By Taxi or Transfer

Stationed in front of the terminal, it's a fixed fee from the airport to downtown Florence, including the train station: €22 during the day, €25 from 10 pm - 6 am, and €24 on national holidays. There's also a supplement of €1 per piece of luggage, something which is quite a standard charge from Italian taxis.

Travel time to Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station will be about 15 minutes.

A private transfer from Florence Airport to Cinque Terre (188 km / 116 miles) will be expensive - at least €250 - and take about two hours.

Florence to Cinque Terre by Train

Aside from the most affordable and practical way to travel between the two, the train is also the most enjoyable.

If you're already staying in Florence, then you also need to make your way to Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station (also referred to as Firenze SMN). This is the main train station of the city, but do note there are others so be very clear that you're heading to the right one! Situated on the western edge of the historic centre, you can find it here on Google Maps.

There are a myriad of ways to reach the station from elsewhere in Florence: the majority of the city's bus lines include it on their route as does the Tramvia tram, it's walkable from several popular accommodation areas, whilst a taxi from central Florence will cost about €13 + €1 per luggage item.

From Santa Maria Novella station, you'll find regular Trenitalia trains (at least one an hour, sometimes two) to bring you to any of the five Cinque Terre villages in 2.5 - 3.5 hours.

Departures run from about 6 am in high season, and all train journeys from Florence to Cinque Terre will require a connection (change of train) at La Spezia Centrale station.

This isn't anything to worry about.

However, a quick search of departures on any day will also bring up a variety of routes with two connections, usually in the combination of Florence > Pisa Centrale (1 hour), Pisa Centrale > La Spezia (60-90mins), La Spezia > your final stop in Cinque Terre (8-23 minutes).

You may also get an option involving Sestri Levante.

What's important to know is that these two connection routes are often quicker from Florence to Cinque Terre - usually by about 30 minutes - than those involving only a single connection..

For example:

/ / 10.20 Firenze S. M. Novella > 13:26 Manarola | 2 hours 58 mins, change in Pisa and La Spezia

/ / 1.53 Firenze S. M. Novella > 15:26 Manarola | 3 hours 33 mins, change in La Spezia.

You'll also find a few options pop up with three connections, but we'd understand if you've got a bunch of luggage that this may not be worth the hassle! Journeys on the Florence to Cinque Terre line will usually be on Regionale trains, which are slower, older, spacious, affordable, and have loads of room for luggage.

Typical travel times and costs listed (January 2022) for all five villages are:

// Florence to Monterosso | 2.5 - 3.5 hours, 1 - 2 changes, €15 - 19 per person

// Florence to Vernazza | 3 - 3.5 hours, 1 - 2 changes, €15.20

// Florence to Corniglia | 3 - 3.5 hours, 1 - 2 changes, €15.20

// Florence to Manarola | 3 - 3.5 hours, 1 - 2 changes, €14.60

// Florence to Riomaggiore | 3 - 3.5 hours, 1 - 2 changes, €14.60

Note that the closest village to La Spezia Centrale is Riomaggiore (8 minutes), whilst Monterosso is the furthest (23 minutes).

When searching for your tickets online or buying at the station ticket terminals, it's not unusual to find a couple of options with the same departure time from Florence, but involving different connection stations and arrival times. The connection stations make little to no difference to you in practical terms, but connecting to the Intercity train in Pisa or La Spezia to Monterosso does increase the ticket coast significantly (i.e .€15 increases to €25), so should be avoided.

In Italy, it's also required to validate tickets (paper or mobile) before boarding any Regionale train - you risk a heavy fine if you forget to do it.

Travel Tip // You may also read that you should just book a train from Florence to La Spezia, and then transfer to the Cinque Terre Express train. This is not wrong advice, but is slightly misleading. We’ve explained how the Cinque Terre Express transport system works in this article, but the relevant information is that it’s always easier when booking on TrenItalia to insert your final destination rather than trying to work out transfers or changes yourself with single tickets. Similarly, getting off at La Spezia station and buying an onward single ticket to a Cinque Terre village is often a teeny bit more expensive. The only time that we’d recommend doing it is if you are planning on taking the Cinque Terre Express a few more times that day between the villages and / or going on a section of the Blue Trail hike - in that case you will save a few euro overall by purchasing the Cinque Terre Treno card, which includes unlimited travel within the Cinque Terre Express train network.

Find out more about the Cinque Terre transport system, and how to save money on it, in 23 Things To Know Before You Visit Cinque Terre, plus read our Essential Tips for Train Travel in Italy.

Cinque Terre Day Trip from Florence

As we’re slow travel advocates and the Cinque Terre deserves much more than a single day, we don't recommend trying to visit it as a day trip from Florence. Even the best case scenario of doing it independently, this would involve a minimum of five hours on the train.

However, we do appreciate that some of you may have your heart set on visiting during your time in Italy. If that's the case, then you're going to be much better served by taking a guided tour with private transport from Florence. Four excellent options, all with hundreds of fantastic reviews, are:

// Cinque Terre Day Trip with Optional Hike (our pick)

// Best of Cinque Terre & Porto Venere Day Trip

// Seaside Beauty Day Trip to Cinque Terre

// Cinque Terre Semi-Private or Private Day Tour from Florence

By Bus

There is no direct bus from Florence to Cinque Terre.

You are able to go by bus from Florence to Genoa and transfer to take a train from there. This takes longer and is more convoluted than simply taking the train, with minimal if any savings, so we do not recommend it.

Just take the train from Florence.

Rental Car from Florence

Some of you may be reading this as you plan for a longer Italian road trip, picking up the car at the airport or in Florence and incorporating Cinque Terre alongside other highlights of northern Italy.

Not a bad idea at all, but there's a couple of caveats.

We're huge fans of road trips but the truth is that a rental car is not only impractical and unnecessary for accessing and enjoying the Cinque Terre, it's going to end up being an expensive burden for the nights you spend there (we've explained more in 23 Things To Know Before You Visit Cinque Terre).

If you're focussing on only travelling between the two, then it’s simply easier and more enjoyable to take the train.

However, if you're already planning on picking up your rental car in Florence and including a few nights in the Cinque Terre on your road trip itinerary, then you just need to plan ahead a little more. The drive to the coast is pretty straightforward (2.5 hours, 150+ kms / 93+ miles), but you're strongly advised to only considering staying in Monterosso al Mare or Riomaggiore as they have parking for non-locals. However, spots are very limited and expensive, and your car will only sit there for the days you're exploring the Cinque Terre on foot or by train. Further, the narrow, winding roads which lead to them ain't fun.

If you do this option, please do further research to confirm parking availability and costs.

What we'd actually recommend is to consider basing yourselves in one of the larger towns outside the Cinque Terre i.e. La Spezia (2 hours, 141 kms from Florence) or Levanto (2 hours, 166 kms). Both these towns have more ample and affordable short and long-term parking, are much easier to navigate with a rental car, a bunch of accommodation options, and they're also included within the Cinque Terre Express train network, which makes travelling to and between the villages quick and straightforward.

Less stress is always a good thing on road trips!

Time | 2-3 hours

Cost | Varies depending on where you park and toll roads.

Book | We use and recommend AutoEurope when looking for an affordable car rental in Italy - and you can pick up from either the airport or train station in Florence. Also, make sure to read 9 Car Rental Tips for Travellers before you book anything online or in person - it’s guaranteed to save you money.