Tulips

We're planning a week or two in Italy late June/early July.
I'm looking at a house in Portovenere for a week. We'll be driving to get there and take ferry's while we are there, with an occasional day trip by car. How slow is the road between Portovenere and La Spezia? Google maps says 27 minutes, but that seems optimistic.

I have not been to that part of Italy, so any insights would be helpful!

scrb11

How did you choose Portovenere?

It's very lovely but Cinque Terre is the bigger draw, though I've always enjoyed taking the ferry from Riomaggiore to PV.

I've not driven there so sorry can't help with that. But the trains all along the coast to Genoa are big and there are ferries which run from PV to CT and even I believe to Portofino or Santa Margherita Ligure in the summer.

You can't drive into CT at all. I believe the highways are way above the coast so it's possible to park above the CT villages and hike or take a bus down towards the coast. I don't know if that's true either south of CT or north of it.

What kind of day trips would you want to do from PV? Looks like you have to negotiate a winding slow road from PV to La Spezia and then reach the highway NE of La Spezia. So it's about 90 minutes each way to Rapallo, Pisa, Lucca or Livorno. Even farther to places like Genoa to the North or Florence to the East.

progol

It’s over 20 years since we were there, and we were there for only 3 nights, but we loved Portovenere. For visiting Cinque Terre, it was perfect - easy access by ferries and a lovely town, beautifully sited. We were there during the summer and were very happy to avoid the more crowded C.T.

I don’t remember how long it took to get to Portovenere from La Spezia, but it wasn’t bad, though driving in and out of Portovenere wouldn’t be easy, if you’re planning to use it as a way to explore the region.

Maribel

Ditto to progol,
It's been 20 years but I loved Portovenere (in June) and also found it easy to visit Cinque Terre from there.

HappyTrvlr

Another vote for Portovenere!

mjs

That drive is really awful. It’s not the time it’s the road and the large buses and Ferraris that make it difficult

cafegoddess

It was not bad at all. No heavy traffic. The town is very charming, but beware there are a lot of steps. We had a delicious lunch and the best Parmesan ice cream I ever had. We were there last October,

cafegoddess

So quaint!

Got to earn that seafood pasta.


😋

Tulips

Lovely photos Cafegoddess!
Thank you for your replies. We are looking at Portovenere because I saw a lovely house to rent there.
It's on the coast, lots of restaurants nearby and we can visit Cinque Terre from there.
We may want to visit Lucca and Pisa. And a good beach somewhere. We could maybe do a few days Portovenere and a few days closer to Pisa.

AboutAbruzzo

Excellent choice. This is the Bay of Poets. You will love it and June is a good time to go. The schools are on holiday but it's still not nearly as busy as late July/August. Be warned, though, Saturday afternoon and Sunday will get very busy with day trippers and the roads around Portovenere and the Cinque Terre will get clogged up so I wouldn't even attempt to take car trips then. Best to stay put or organize a boat trip. To answer your question, if you're not travelling at the weekend, the Portovenere/La Spezia road should not take you long at all.
May I also suggest boat trips to Portofino and the Bay of San Fruttuoso. Have a wonderful time.

Tulips

Thank you AboutAbruzzo, sounds like a great place to spend a week!

AboutAbruzzo

If I may, again, my choice would be Lucca. It is a lovely town and from there you can take trips into Garfagnana. However, for beaches Pisa is better. South of Pisa you'll find long, spacious beaches, less pretentious than the north, with more space and cheaper facilities. There are also beaches on the island of Palmaria, off Porto Venere,

mike1728

We were in Portovenere at the end of May 2018. Beautiful village, incredible sights. Make sure you take the short boat trip to Palmaria Island (about 5 minutes). Great area for hiking/beaches and some great views. We rented an apartment and were fortunate they offered us a parking space because if you are not a resident, parking is a HUGE problem. We drove from Forte dei Marmi thru La Spezia. From La Spezia to Portovenere is a challenging drive. But well worth it once you settle in-not a great area for day trips. Park the car and stay in Portovenere.

Tulips

We haven't decided yet. The place we are looking at in Portovenere has parking. Maybe we'll split our time between there and beach. I do want to visit Lucca and Pisa.
It's a 13 hour drive from Antwerp, so we'll stop somewhere along the way as well.

scrb11

How many days were you planning to spend in the area?

Maybe 3 or 4 days in PV to visit CT, maybe a day or two longer if visiting further up the coast.

Then move on to closer to Pisa if you want to visit Tuscany.

Tulips

We're flexible. We have 2 weeks or so in total. But I like renting a house for a week so the kids can fly in. For that, somewhere nearer to Pisa would be more convenient, with easier access to the airport. I've been to Florence a few times so no need to go there. I was also looking at Camogli and Santa Maria Ligure. Finding a 4-bedroom house in that area that is somewhat affordable and nice is a challenge though.. We may stop in Camogli on our way back north.

Adelaidean

We visited as a daytrip from Vernazza - it was also a busy town, but we were in peak (July) holiday season.
We loved it. Incredible coastal views, charming alleys, castle, …
I’d certainly be happy to stay there.















(Lucca was a fabulous daytrip, too. I visited from Florence by bus though).



But the coast, the bay, the little island, ..add my vote for Portovenere.