Cinque Terre Sea Park Day Trip with Limoncino Tasting

I knew going into this tour that it would be a long day, and I was prepared for that. What I truly dislike, however, is when things like traffic eat into the limited time you have at your destination to the point where the experience is no longer worth it. We started out knowing that it would take almost three hours to get there. Unfortunately, as we got closer to our first stop, where we were supposed to take the train, we hit significant traffic. We arrived just a few minutes too late and missed the train, which meant waiting almost an hour for the next one. During that time, we were simply standing around in the heat with nowhere to sit and no opportunity to get food. Because we lost that time, our visits to the first two villages were shortened by about 30 minutes each in order to get back on schedule. Realistically, what can you do in 30 minutes? Not much. And unfortunately, these were probably two of the villages where I would have most liked to spend additional time. At the final village, we also lost about an hour, leaving us with less than two hours there. In that case, two hours was actually plenty. The villages themselves were beautiful and absolutely worth seeing. However, they were extremely hot and crowded, and most of the shops seemed to carry the same things. There wasn't really anything of interest to purchase. Would I go back? Absolutely — but I would do it on my own. I would take the train from Milan (or Florence, which is closer) and then walk between the villages. That is really the experience: exploring the villages at your own pace, walking around, stopping when you want, and enjoying the scenery. I would not recommend taking this tour. Even if you only want to spend one day there, it would be much more relaxing, enjoyable, and flexible to take the train yourself and explore at your own pace. The Tour Operator - I had no problems with the tour operator leading up to the trip. However, I was very disappointed to discover that this was a Spanish- and English-speaking tour. I do not recall seeing anywhere in the tour description that it would be bilingual. I really dislike having to listen to everything a guide says twice, as it takes up a significant amount of the limited time available. Unfortunately, both the driver and the guide made the experience worse. The driver was extremely aggressive. When we encountered traffic, he would speed up and then slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the cars in front of us. This caused many of us to lurch forward in our seats. He also clearly did not get along with the guide. I don't speak Italian, but their gestures and body language made the tension between them very obvious. The guide was also very rude. Her English was extremely difficult to understand because of her strong accent. At one point, I actually had to ask my daughter whether she was speaking English or Spanish because I couldn't understand her. The speakers on the coach were also excessively loud when she spoke. I asked her to turn the volume down, but she did not. At one rest stop, she specifically told everyone to get coffee and use the restroom. The stop was only about 10 minutes. Those of us who followed her advice and purchased coffee were then told, before boarding the coach, that we could not bring the coffee with us. If we aren't allowed to take coffee onto the bus, why tell us to get coffee in the first place — especially when we only have 10 minutes? When we arrived at the first village to catch the train, I asked whether we could leave some items on the coach. She snapped at me, saying, "I said..." If I was asking the question, clearly I had not heard or understood what she had said the first time. There was no reason to respond so rudely. When she was handing out the headsets, I put my hand out to receive one, and she simply threw it onto the seat rather than handing it to me. Unfortunately, this type of attitude continued throughout the entire day. By the end of the tour, several of us were so frustrated that, if we could have figured out how to get back on our own — and hadn't already paid so much for the tour — we probably would have left the group. Overall - The destination itself was absolutely worth seeing, but the tour was not. The long travel time, traffic, missed train, reduced time in the villages, bilingual commentary, and poor experience with both the driver and guide made the day much more frustrating than enjoyable. For such a long journey — approximately three hours each way — I also think the coach should have Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi isn't available, there should at least be charging ports so passengers can charge their phones during the long ride. My recommendation is simple: visit the villages, but skip the tour. Take the train from Milan or Florence, explore the villages on your own, and enjoy them at your own pace. You'll have a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience.

Train toilets dont have water for flushing or washing. 35 people was max but 44 booked. Rushed. Did not go to National Park Rio Maggiore that was on list. Guide hard to see and understand. Beautiful area but very crowded.

“Today is a day to forget,” said Alessandra at 1.31pm, as we sat in sweltering heat on gridlocked roads. We had left at 7am and, more than six hours later, still had not even reached Cinque Terre. Those words turned out to be the most accurate part of the entire tour. The day began with our coach arriving with a damaged tyre and having to be replaced. Quite how a company operating full day excursions allows a vehicle to arrive in that condition is beyond me, but it immediately put us behind schedule. We booked this tour because it promised visits to Riomaggiore, Manarola and Monterosso, together with a limoncello tasting and ample time to enjoy one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. That is not what we received. Instead, after spending almost the entire day travelling, we eventually reached La Spezia, only to discover there was still another 45 minute train journey before we even reached Cinque Terre. We then had approximately 45 minutes in Monterosso and around 20 minutes in Vernazza before being hurried back to catch another train and return to the coach by 5pm. Riomaggiore was not visited. Manarola was not visited. The advertised limoncello tasting never took place. There was no opportunity to enjoy lunch properly, wander the villages or experience Cinque Terre in any meaningful way. We spent the little time we had rushing between trains, constantly checking the time and trying not to miss the coach. The most extraordinary part is that this was entirely foreseeable. The tour operator chose to run this excursion on the weekend before Italy’s Republic Day on 2 June, creating a long holiday weekend when vast numbers of people travel out of Milan. They knew, or certainly ought to have known, that traffic would be exceptionally heavy. Yet they continued to market the tour as though customers would receive the full advertised experience. Had we been warned that there was a realistic possibility of spending the overwhelming majority of the day in traffic and receiving only a fraction of the advertised itinerary, we would never have booked. I do not blame Alessandra for the traffic. I do, however, question the complete lack of empathy shown. When passengers expressed understandable frustration, she responded by asking, “Why did you book when there was a bank holiday coming?” Because we are tourists. Because we are not Italian. Because we had absolutely no way of knowing that an approaching national holiday would bring the roads to a standstill. That is precisely the sort of information a responsible tour operator should provide before taking people’s money. To add insult to injury, we were told we would receive a 50% refund in recognition of the fact that the tour had not been delivered as advertised. In the end, only around 30% was refunded. Cinque Terre itself is magnificent. Sadly, we barely had the opportunity to experience it. This was not the full day excursion that was advertised. It was an exhausting exercise in sitting on a coach, running between train platforms and watching the clock. Avoid this company. Cinque Terre deserves far better than this, and so do their customers.

Comfortable ride to the coast. Fast paced day; Sandra, our guide, was great - knowledgeable and organized. A lot for one day, but if you only have one day - worth it to see Cinque Terre!

I did this trip to experience Cinque TERRE without having to drive. I wish the other reviews were wrong. But from the start, I arrived at the time stated 6:45 am and there were 7 tour buses in the location. The tour organizer was 20 minutes late and the bus driver was an hour plus late. This means less time at the attraction. We made 3 stops in Cinque TERRE. The first we had an hour. The second town 40 minutes ( much of the time was walking down and back up to the train.) The third we had 2 hours, but the lemoncello tasting was a 20 minute walk from the train and after that only 1.5 hours remained to go to the beach and take in the town. Again- factor in 20 minutes to walk back up to the train station. The tour guide was nice but not informative. He basically said when we had to be back to the train stations. Ultimately, I got to see Cinque Terre, just in haste. Definitely go see it. But either do another tour or go on your own to actually explore the area and learn about it. One last thing- it gets VERY crowded on weekends and during the summer. You should plan on going during the week to be able to walk around and not feel like you're in Times Square.