Cinque Terre Ferry

prb007

Anyone on here had experience of using the ferry from Manarola or Riomaggiore South to Lerici?
We are in this area mid-June, riding from Nice to Rome via the Cinque Terre coastline, and then on to Tuscany.
We are staying at Borghetto the night before .. http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=uwtffnpagraoesdm
and were thinking of riding down to Riomaggiore and getting the ferry south around the headland rather than slogging back up the steep climbs, thus avoiding the 30%ers and getting a nice view of the coastline from the ferry and reducing the mileage to our next stop at Lucca
Any experience or advice, appreciated...

andymiller

[url][/url]The 'ferry' is more of a boat than a ship. Mid-June isn't the peak season, but the boats are still likely to be crowded and I'd be doubtful about whether you could take your bikes. You could always try contacting the boat companies - if say you were travelling at a quieter time of day it *might* be possible to arrange something.

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/

If there's a group of you, you *might* be able to arrange a private transfer.

I really didn't like the Cinque Terre very much - the villages are very picturesque but they are overwhelmed by the daily tsunami of tourists. I'd only recommend dropping down to the villages if you are planning to stay the night otherwise I don't think they are worth the hassle and the climb. There are other villages that don't get so crowded.

I bypassed them:

http://italy-cycling-guide.info/liguria/liguria-coast/

but I was left wondering what I had missed as the coast road looks pretty scenic. You could follow the coast road but not drop down into any of the villages - enjoying the views without the hassle of having to climb back up.

Alternatively drop down and then take the train (although this will depend to an extent on how many there are of you as space may be an issue).

Portovenere is very picturesque and looking at the map, doesn't involve a monster climb back out - it also seems to be somewhere people visit, if at all, on their way to the other villages, so later in the day, when I was there, there weren't huge numbers of people around. It *might* also be easier to get your bikes on the boats from Portovenere to Lerici.