Good day everyone ! I'm here to share our experience on a Viator Tour we took while travelling in Italy last year (MAY 2016) .
<Warning : Picture heavy!!>
We took a tour named:
"Pisa and Cinque Terre Day Trip from Florence" , this is our first time taking any
Viator tours .. when researching for our Free & Easy holiday, we saw that Viator offers the flexible day tours of specific activities we were looking for , so we decided to give it a try , and it had good reviews too..
Description of the tour is found in the Viator website below!
Tour code: 6821PISACINQUETERRE
Location: Florence, Italy Duration: 13
hours (approx.)
Tour Description: from the above link:
"Your trip will begin at the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, where you’ll meet your guide.
Then hop aboard and enjoy the 1-hour train ride from Florence to Pisa.
Once there, head to Piazza dei Miracoli with your guide, where you’ll find the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Enjoy 1.5 hours to explore these top attractions independently.
Afterward, return to the train station to head toward La Spezia, switching trains toward Riomaggiore just over an hour later. Here you’ll enter the beloved Cinque Terre, comprising five villages along the Italian Riviera. Hop off to stroll the charming streets with your guide.
The buildings along each fishing village are brilliantly colored in pinks, yellows and blues and make a stunning backdrop for your photos. Continue by train to the village of Manarola, which is rumored to have more grapevines than any other Cinque Terre town.
Check out the harbor before heading to your final stop, the village of Vernazza. Here you can enjoy time to explore on your own, jumping into the waters of the Riviera or taking in some rays at the beach. After a full day of exploration, travel back to Florence by train, where your tour concludes.
Read more about Pisa and Cinque Terre Day Trip from Florence 2017 at: https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Pisa-and-Cinque-Terre-Day-Trip-from-Florence-by-Train/d519-6821PISACINQUETERRE?pub=vcps"
So what actually happened on our tour ??:
Part 1 : From Florence to Pisa
We got instructions to meet our tour guide and tour group at 7AM at Santa Maria Novella Station in Florence . We were there about 10min earlier and already most peope have gathered ! The tour is operated by local tour guide : "Italy on a Budget" and there is one guy as tour guide. He passed us Group wristbands to wear. The group is about 10-12 pax all in all, from all over the world haha.. Pics as below !
at the crowded Florence Station
Boarding the train towards Pisa station !
The group wristbands they gave us..
Pisa Centrale Station !
Stazione Pisa Centrale ! After 1 hour train journey from Florence
We then walked towards the tourist attraction area of Pisa, where the Leaning Tower was.. It was about 10-15 mins walk from the Pisa Station. When reached the entrance, the guide gave us a briefing then we were allowed to spend about 1 hour here..
It was quite nice to reach early as the main crowds haven't really arrived !
There was 3 sights to see here: the Leaning Tower, the Duomo and Bapistry.
Some of them needed entrance tickets , and also to climb the tower you'll need to pay a fee too.. so we decided not to enter cos the tower look small and so just enjoy the grounds.. and buy some souvenirs haha..
Quite a lot of souvenirs shops around the area..
Walking back to Pisa Centrale Station to begin Part 2 of our journey !
Part 2: From Pisa to Cinque Terre
Afterward, return to the train station to head toward La Spezia, switching trains toward Riomaggiore just over an hour later. Here you’ll enter the beloved Cinque Terre, comprising five villages along the Italian Riviera. Hop off to stroll the charming streets with your guide.
The buildings along each fishing village are brilliantly colored in pinks, yellows and blues and make a stunning backdrop for your photos. Continue by train to the village of Manarola, which is rumored to have more grapevines than any other Cinque Terre town.
Really Thank God for the beautiful weather that day ! We could even see some of the Alps on our train ride.. :)
Taking trains and changing trains
First stop at Cinque Terre ! Riomaggiore Village! The entry was quite epic as the train passes through a dark tunnel and then suddenly poof ! this view with the sparkling waters ! Pretty amazing :)
Riomaggiore Village!
As we only had 20-30mins , we decided to sit down at a cafe with great views on the cliff, be prepared for stairs and more stairs ! haha...
Absolutely beautiful :D
MY FAVOURITE FRITTO MISTO SHOP :') Miss it so much, cos is just too good.
< MAMMA MIA ! TAKE AWAY @ RIOMAGGIORE >
So we hopped back on the train with our guide and travel to our next Cinque Terre Village, Vernazza !
Vernazza views ! we had to climb up to this "castle"
Grabbed gelato in Vernazza town, we also had about 30mins here..
Back to the stazione to head to our last stop, Manarola village ! the most iconic Cinque Terre views..
Finally at Manarola !
The classic Cinque Terre postcard view ! taken with my iphone haha.. beautiful !
There's so much to explore but we only have about an hour here before heading back to Florence..
Sad to leave this beautiful place, as beautiful as pictures !
We reached back Florence about 9pm , it was a long day but super fulfilling !! It is a very worth it tour if you're tight on time like us but want to see the whole Cinque Terre and Pisa, because Cinque Terre is made up of 5 villages, and we went to the 3 major iconic ones, which was more than sufficient :) and Pisa too !!! Really enjoyed ourselves here , the guide was good and friendly, it would be difficult and confusing to get here ourselves and definitely couldnt have done it in a day, as the train transfers were pretty messy and confusing in Italian ! we'll be back to stay at the Amalfi Coast next time !!!
