Being only around 90 km from the Cinque Terre, Pisa is one of the most common starting points for a trip to this beautiful coastline. Whether you are driving, taking the train, catching a bus, or are just visiting on a tour or day trip, you will find all the information you need in this post!
Having visited the Cinque Terre twice – once from Pisa on a short spring break, and once from Pisa and leaving from Milan as a part of a three-week trip around Italy – I can say Pisa is one of the easiest routes to take. It makes sense for those travelling from East and South of the country – whether you have been visiting the Amalfi Coast or taking a road trip around Tuscany – Pisa is a great starting point!
Alternatively – if you don’t have the time to spend a few days on the Cinque Terre – there’s always the option of a day trip! Whether you choose self-guided by train, a guided tour or a boat tour, you will still get a glimpse of the magic of this region!
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Driving From Pisa to The Cinque Terre
If you have just arrived in Italy and are travelling from Pisa or Pisa Airport by car you will likely need to start by hiring a car. There are multiple car hire stations at the airport and in the town centre.
Explore all your options on this page.
If you are contemplating whether to get a car or not, I would say that for this trip it is not necessary! The charm of the Cinque Terre is that it is both so easy to access, and so easy to explore, using public transport. With so many hikes, direct trains, and boats, you will likely find that when you are in the area you won’t get much use out of your car. If you already have a car as part of a bigger road trip around Italy, then I would suggest either staying in one of the towns slightly outside of the Cinque Terre (La Spezia or Sestri Levante) or leaving your car in a long-stay car park here and collecting it after your trip to the Cinque Terre.
See more: How to get between villages on the Cinque Terre
Overview:
- Pisa Airport to Riomaggiore: 1h 25m
- Pisa to Riomaggiore: 1h 30m
- Cost: €50 – €100 per day
The Route
From both Pisa Central and Pisa Airport to Riomaggiore, the first village along the Cinque Terre, takes around 1.5 hours. From both destinations you will need to first navigate on to the A12/E30 towards Genova, and then to the A15 Autostrada della Cisa/Via Giosuè Carducci/Viadotto Carducci, and finally the Via delle Cinque Terre/SP370. This road runs around the coastline and is your access point to all the villages. It is worth noting that the road includes tolls.
Pisa to Cinque Terre by Train
One of the easiest ways to get from Pisa to the Cinque Terre is by taking the train. The route is relatively quick and simple and doesn’t require too much organisation to do it! It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to travel between the two destinations depending on what connections you take.
Overview
- Cost: €21 – €25
- Time: 1h 30m to 2h
- Tickets: Buy in advance or using a ticket machine in person
- Journey: Pisa Airport – Pisa Centrale – La Spezia – Cinque Terre Villages
Pisa Airport to Pisa
Arriving in Pisa, you will likely start at Pisa Airport, just outside of the city centre. From here, you will want to catch the Pisamover train shuttle from the airport to the main station. The train leaves around every 6-minutes and the journey takes 5 minutes in total. The cost for a one-way ticket is €6.50, whereas a return costs €13. The train stops at San Giusto/ Aurelia before reaching Pisa Centrale so for travelling to the cinque Terre make sure to stay on the train to the final stop.
Tip: If you are travelling directly from Pisa Airport to the Cinque Terre you can buy one ticket that covers the entire journey. Alternatively, you may want to buy a ticket from Pisa Airport to La Spezia and then purchase the Cinque Terre Train card if you are staying in the area for a few days and plan to use the trains a lot.
Pisa to La Spezia
There are no direct trains to the villages of the Cinque Terre so from Pisa Centrale you will need to first catch a train to La Spezia. You can either buy a ticket in advance or purchase one at the station using one of the TrenItalia ticket machines. These machines can be quite slow so bear in mind that you will need a few minutes to purchase the ticket. The price of the ticket varies depending when and on what day you are travelling but cost ranges from €8 to €10.
These trains run around every 15 to 30 minutes, but to make the journey a little easier it can be good to find a train with a shorter transfer time. To do this, you can use Google Maps, Trainline or TrenItalia to search the journey. Alternatively, when you purchase a ticket in person using the ticket machine you can choose the journey based on different times.
Some tickets for this route require seat reservation so the machine will ask for your name and phone number when booking, while some are just regular commuter trains. No matter what, the machine will ask you to pick a specific train to travel on. If you are buying tickets for the entire route in one go, make sure there will be enough time to
Important to note: Always validate your ticket before travelling no matter whether it is for a specific time or not. You do this by inserting your ticket into one of validation machines in the station house or on the platforms. Make sure to insert the right side of the ticket – you will see “CONVALIDA” written on the back side with arrows in the direction you should insert. After validation, tickets are valid for 75 minutes for one trip.
How To Get from La Spezia to Cinque Terre
From La Spezia you will want to take the 5 Terre Express regional train which runs from La Spezia to Levanto. This train stops at all the villages on the Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore (8 mins), Manarola (+4 mins), Corniglia (+4 mins), Vernazza (+5 mins), Monterosso (+5 mins), and Levanto (+5 mins). The cost of this train changes depending on the time of year you are travelling, with three different price categories. You can find more specific information on the prices for different times of the year on this page.
In peak periods (summer and weekends during spring and autumn) a ticket costs €10, while in medium periods they cost €8, and in low season €5. When visiting in off-season you should expect to not always be paying the same price. For example, we visited the Cinque Terre in the middle of April and paid off-peak prices on the Friday and Monday but high-season prices on the weekend.
Continue Reading: Travelling between villages on the Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre Card
The Cinque Terre Card is available for one, two, three etc. days. You can either purchase the hiking card or the hiking and train card. While these can be good if you are planning to take several journeys in a day, it can be worth calculating your itinerary and days plan before purchasing. We found that over 3 days in the Cinque Terre, we never used the train more than twice. The price, even when we did one of the hiking trails on the same day, never covered the cost of the Cinque Terre Card.
Cinque Terre By Bus
While it will not take you all the way to the Cinque Terre, there is a bus line which runs once a day from Pisa to La Spezia. From here you can then take the 5 Terre Express to the villages. The bus from Pisa to La Spezia takes around 1 h 15 minutes and costs around €7.
Compared to the train, this route is a little more complicated and therefore I wouldn’t recommend it unless to find buses to be a much more comfortable way to travel.
By Tour or Day Trip
If you are staying in Pisa, then the Cinque Terre makes for a perfect day trip – whether you choose to take the train yourself or go on a tour! A day trip by train is great as you can leave early and spend the whole day exploring, however, you might find it hard to see everything you want in that time. That’s why a tour can sometimes be the better option.
Most tours leave from La Spezia so you will likely still need to get the train to here before beginning your tour (see information above).
There are two tours that come highly recommended.
- Cinque Terre Guided Tour: This day trip takes you to all 5 villages in one day. From La Spezia you will take the bus to Riomaggiore and Manarola, then hop of a ferry to Vernazza and a train to Monterosso. The best part about this tour is that you travel with a local guide who is ready to tell you everything there is about the region – something you don’t get when you go by yourself! Find out more here.
- Cinque Terre Boat Tour – Starting in La Spezia, take a 10-meter-long vintage wooden boat on a trip along the coastline. This is a unique trip filled with swimming spots, good locally inspired food and drink, and a visit to the beautiful town of Vernazza. This trip lasts a total of 8 hours with 11 stops in total. Find out more here.
Explore all your options for Cinque Terre Day Trips here!
Overview: How to Get from Pisa to The Cinque Terre
There are many ways to get between Pisa and the Cinque Terre but overall, I would recommend taking the train. The route is quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive.
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