Liguria Travel Forum

I am going on a freighter trip and want to take along a case (12 bottles) or two
of good italian white wine. Where can I buy it in town?

Is it possible to rent scooters for 1/2 day and then find a scenic route with stop, off the beaten path for lunch ? Any suggestions? Cost of rental?

My cruise, Celebrity just gave me a last minute notification that they decided to eliminate the port of call "Portofino" from today till the rest of year due to weather condition. My ship is supposed to arrive at Portofino on 10/26. I felt very devastated wthout visiting this place.

1. Can anybody who are now in Portofino or just been Portofino advise me of the weather condition at Portofino?

2. Anyone know if other crusie liners still sail to Portofino in the rest of October?

Would greatly appreciate your prompt input.

Regards

Stephen

HI I AM VISITING GENOA ON 24TH OCTOBER FOR ONE DAY, IT IS ONE OF THE PORTS OF CALL ON OUR CRUISE. COULD YOU TELL ME HOW EASY IT IS TO GET TO PORTOFINO FROM HERE. BUS/TRAIN/FERRY DETAILS IF POSSIBLE. THANKS IN ADVANCE. ANY OTHER TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF THE DAY WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

We'll be moonlighting somewhere along Cinque Terre in March next year. Would love to spoil my wife with a room overlooking Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza or Monterosso al Mare and the ocean. Of course, I'll do my research but hope some place stands out in the memories of a VT member, which they'd like to share.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Just came up with one quick question. If I take the train to visit the Cinque Terrre, is each train station closed to the waterfront/beach? Is the train route a scenic route?

Would appreciate your feedback

Thanks

Hello,

I will be going to Cinque Tere in April 2010 for my honeymoon with my wife. Right now I'm planning on 6 nights in Italy. Originally I was planning on staying most the time in CT, but now I'm thinking 5 days might be too much in CT. I'm planning on staying at Villa Steno for our CT base. From what I have read, I'm thinking the first full day in Portofino/Santa Margherita. The second day between Vernazza and Corniglia. The third day Manarola and Riomaggiore. I guess my main questions are as follows:

Is 5 days in CT too much?
Is having a base in Monterosso sufficient, or should I spend one or two nights there and choose another CT town to stay in?
Is three full days in CT enough or is 4 or 5 days better (pretty much the same question as the first)?
Is there somewhere near that would be better to spend time in(very interested in Tuscany wine country)?

I have been to Florence, but wouldn't mind going back. Please offer any suggestions you might have, and thanks in advance for any responses.

Thanks

I would like to find out what is the place or area where the cruise ships arrive. I might be taking a cruise next year and I would like exactly where are we going to arrive.
thank you

Hi:
I will be staying to a town called San Lorenzo della Costa and was wondering
if anyone knows anything about this town. I know it is a small town..but wondering if there are restaurants and stores?

Also, I will need to pick up a hair dryer and was wondering if there is an electrics store (or store that sells hair dryers) in Santa Margherita?

Thanks much!

Hi all,
I'm still undecided as to which city in CT to stay in.I need a nice hotel on the beach with views and easy access to a nice beach for my 3 year old son.Please help anyway you can :-)
lengleng

hello all,
Does anyone know of a beautiful bed and breakfast on the most beautiful beach in cinque terre? Is there a direct train from Rome to Cinque terre?What's the weather like first week of october?thank you in advance,lengleng

hello,Is October a good time to go to Cinque Terre?

We have some relatives in Northern Italy, saying that there are bad wildfires going on now all over Liguria, including Cinque Terre.

I can't seem to find any news online. Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you!

Hi Everyone!

In the interest of saving time later, I had wanted to find good walking maps of Santa Margherita and Portofino BEFORE arriving in Liguria.

People directed me to viamichelin.com for maps, but I noticed that these maps don't mark off the major tourist sites so unfortunately, they are not detailed enough.

Instead of having to buy a million different tourist books, does anyone happen to know if the tourist office in CAMOGLI might have good walking maps of the other towns? Or are there other sites online with better detailed maps of the towns?

Thanks a million / Grazie mille! --Betty

We are travelling soon fron Genoa Airport and need transfer to La Spitzia. Best way????

For sightseeing, what is the major transport, by boat? by bus or by train? How to ride on those transport? Any website I can visit to get the schedule and fare info? Any scenic spot, you can recommend?

Thank you for your assistance.

Stephen (ao_stephen@yahoo.com

The last time I was in Europe I brought home a bottle of Cinnamon and Clove flavor liquore (Tentura)and loved it. I have been unable to get it here in the U.S. I will be going to Europe again soon and would love to bring home a few more bottles. Does anyone know if I can buy this in Genoa? Thanks, Irv

Hi, My husband and I will be traveling to Vernazza, from Florence on September 22nd. We are planning to take the train from Florence to La Spezia, but we would like to travel by boat from La Spezia to Vernazza.

How do I get a boat schedule? Do we need a reservation on a boat, or just show up? Is it too far to walk with our suitcases from the train station to the boat docks? Thank you for your help and advice.

Andrea

Need an advice how to arrive in Rapallo. First, I look at Raileurope, but do not understand as both 1st and 2nd showed NA, which should mean not available for 14Sep.

Any bus from Nice to Genoa, how many a day ? From Genoa, I may take another bus to Rapallo or by train.

hello everybody!

i hope you can help me. I'm arriving with my brother in Genoa on the 28/09 next month. We have to catch a train to Savona on the next day as our cruiser is departing from there.
Therefore we need an accomodation for one night. I had a look on the Genoa Travelpage to check out recommodations, but there are quite contradicting.

We hope not to spend more then 90-100Euro for a double room.
Important for us is that it is central in a safe area (we want to go for dinner the evening and heard that Genoa can be quite dodgy/dangerous depending were you are) are that it is close to the train station (haven't found out the name of the station with trains to Savona, if anybody can help out would be great!
Something basic is fine as long it is clean and hopefully not too loud with street noise. Thanks for your help!

I am travelling from Canada to Italy. I have family heritage in Beverone and would love to go there to see the area. Can you tell me the best way to travel from La Spezia to Beverone. I will be coming to La Spezia by train from Florence.
Thank you..

If we drive to Sestri Levante and take the train to Cinque Terre, will we be able to park our car overnight at the train station?

Hi,
we are travelling to Loano with our 2 year old son. We are staying in Loano 2 Vilage and heard that we have access to the beach, but that it's paying. Is this standard in the region. Are all beaches paying. If not, where are the beaches for free ? and what are the best beaches to go to ?
Any other advice on the region is more than welcome !
Cathy

I am planning a trip to Levanto, this is last minute planning for the end of Septmmber of this year. I was hoping to find a nice B&B or hotel with a view close to the beach. I am mostly looking for a warm friendly family run establishment with Authentic Italian breakfast. Thank-you for helping.

Hi Everyone,

I am counting down the days to our Italian Riviera trip and want to thanks ekscrunchy, zeppole and the countless other people who have been so helpful in my planning.

If anyone wants to weigh in with comments and suggestions, here is our "loose itinerary" below:

6 nights, with a home base in CAMOGLI, staying close to the sea harbor;

1) drive to and park in MONTEROSSO; ferry to VERNAZZA; rent a boat in Vernazza, exploring all the coves and getting amazing views of the Cinque Terre; after a sunset dinner in Vernazza, train back to Monterosso & drive home;

2) park again in Monterosso; ferry to RIOMAGGIORE; do the hikes from Rio all the way to Corniglia, stopping in Manarola; find our way back to Monterosso in the evening before heading home;

3) ferry to SAN FRUTTUOSO from Camogli in the morning; explore abbey and swim if weather is good; back to Camogli; walk around and explore town of Camogli, including looking for that cool wood furniture store that someone on Fodor's recommended

4) on another day, ferry to PORTOFINO (via Santa Margherita); hike all the way up to the lighthouse for amazing views, maybe stop in the sculpture park; ferry home

5) one early evening, enjoy an apperitif and people-watch in "Sabor" in SANTA MARGHERITA; drive to Paraggi to enjoy our "Club Night" (whenever I'm in Europe I have to do atleast one nightclub because it's a blast)

6) time permitting: bus or hike to SAN ROCCO from Camogli; stop for a coffee, then hike to PUNTA CHIAPPA, enjoying the great views; look for that wonderful fish restaurant in Punta Chiappa right along the sea; take water taxi directly back home to Camogli;

7) if ANY time permits, take an overnight trip to any of the following: Balzo Rossi Caves (closer to French border); Genoa (not sure if we want to see a big city on this trip); Albegna (to explore the may castles in the area); Luni (Roman ruins!); -- this is the "wild card" extra day or so

Whew! Would love to hear your input...

Arriving Roayl Caribbean Navigator of the Seas on Aug 17..would like to rent a car for the day to drive to Portofino. Is there a rental car location at or near the cruise port?

We are arriving on a cruise ship in November and need to get to Sestri airport.
I have made enquiries via the web for prices of taxis and they seem to be very expensive. Is there a shuttle or a bus from the Cruise port to the airport?

I saw this cemetery on TV and was incredibly impressed.

Has anyone been here who can give me their impression? How much time can you spend there? Is it worth going to Genoa with this as the major objective? (I realise there are other things to see in Genoa)

What is the best way to time manage a visit to Cinque Terre? Do you base yourself in one of the "five lands" or do you spend a night in Manarola and a night in Vernazza (as an example)?
Are the five within walking distance from each other? Thinking here of walking tracks shorter than the road connection...
Any personal experiences and ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

Can we purchase the Cinque Terre card at the railway station on Levanto, or is it only sold in the villages?

Thanks!