Getting from Rome to the Cinque Terre (and Vice Versa)

Most international travelers land in Rome, and after a few days of traffic and crowds, the five cliffside villages of the Cinque Terre look like the perfect antidote. They're a lot busier than they were twenty years ago, but they're still a world away from Rome. Getting there takes most of a day, and there's really only one sensible way to do it: the train, with a change at La Spezia.

No bus or boat links Rome with the villages directly, and driving is a bad idea for reasons you'll see below. Coaches from FlixBus and Itabus reach La Spezia, but you'd still finish on the same local train, so the bus only makes sense if every train is sold out or wildly expensive on your day.

Taking the train from Rome to the Cinque Terre

All five villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, north to south) sit on the coastal railway between La Spezia and Levanto, and each has its own little station. La Spezia is the gateway city just south of them. The trip has two parts.

1. Rome to La Spezia. You have two ways to do it, and Trenitalia's journey planner will offer both when you search "Roma" to "Monterosso" or "Riomaggiore":

• Straight up the coast. Intercity trains and the remaining Frecciabianca services run from Rome along the Tyrrhenian coast through Civitavecchia, Livorno and Pisa to La Spezia and Genoa, with no change of train. They're slower than the high-speed line but you sit down once and watch the sea.
• High-speed to Florence, then west. A Frecciarossa or Italo train to Florence (about 1 hour 25 minutes), then a regional train to La Spezia, usually changing at Pisa. More changes, sometimes quicker overall, and often more departures to choose from.

Which is better depends on the hour, so look at both. The long-distance part is priced like airfare, so booking ahead saves real money, and it comes with a reserved seat on a specific train. Regional tickets have a fixed price and no reservation.

2. La Spezia to your village. Local trains shuttle up and down the line between La Spezia Centrale and Levanto, stopping at all five villages. They run often, especially in summer, so you rarely wait long. Some long-distance trains also stop at Monterosso, so if you're staying there you may be able to skip the change; if you're staying anywhere else, get off at La Spezia and switch to the local. If you overshoot, don't panic: hop on the next train back.

For the local line you can buy single tickets, or a Cinque Terre Treno Card, which covers unlimited trains between La Spezia and Levanto plus the paid hiking paths. In 2026 it cost roughly €17 a day in low season and up to about €35 on peak days, so it pays off only if you'll ride several times and hike. Paper regional tickets must be stamped in a platform validator before you board; tickets bought in the Trenitalia app don't.

Coming the other way, from the Cinque Terre to Rome, do the same in reverse: the local train to La Spezia, then either the coastal Intercity or a regional to Pisa or Florence and a fast train south. Leave a buffer if you have a flight out of Fiumicino the same day. With an Interrail or Trenitalia pass, the pass covers the trains, but you'll need a reservation on the Intercity or high-speed leg, and the pass isn't valid on Italo.

Driving from Rome to the Cinque Terre

If you can avoid driving to the Cinque Terre, do. The motorway part is easy: somewhere over 400 km depending on your route, four and a half to five hours without traffic, finishing on the A12 coastal motorway toward Genoa, with tolls most of the way. The trouble starts when you leave the motorway at the Carrodano-Levanto or La Spezia exit. The roads down to the villages are narrow, twisting and shared with buses coming the other way.

When I drove to the Cinque Terre, I looked at the distance on the map and thought it would be quick. It wasn't. Every vehicle on those roads has to crawl to stay on them, and the last stretch took almost three times as long as it looked like it should.

Then there's parking. The villages are closed to cars, and each one has a small car park at the edge of town that fills early in summer and isn't cheap. If you do arrive by car, the easy answer is to leave it in La Spezia or Levanto, both of which have far more parking, and take the train into the villages. Ask your host where to park before you arrive, and read up on the rules of driving in Italy, including the camera-enforced ZTL zones.

Now that you're in the Cinque Terre

Most people come for the coastal paths. The Via dell'Amore between Riomaggiore and Manarola reopened in 2024, one way only and with booked time slots, while the Manarola to Corniglia section of the coastal path is still closed in 2026. Check the national park site on the day you want to hike, because sections close often after rain.

• Start with the Cinque Terre travel guide.
• For the trails, read the hiking guide to the Cinque Terre.
• For the rest of your time, here's what to do with 2 days in the Cinque Terre and how to handle getting around the Cinque Terre.
• Most places to stay are rooms and apartments rather than hotels, and Monterosso has the most traditional hotels. Here's where to begin on where to stay in the Cinque Terre. When you search rental listings, use each village's name, not "Cinque Terre", which also pulls in towns miles away.
• Moving on? Here's how to get from the Cinque Terre to Florence and to Milan.

original photos, from top to bottom, by clkao, simaom, fortes, teldridge+keldridge