Going to Italy in March, will be based in Florence, with day trips planned in that region. Considering Cinque Terre but that will be a 10-12 hour day. Is it worth it?
If you did go to CT, any recommendations for tour companies?

Appreciate your response. Are you saying to take the train from Florence to CT? We are very hesitant to take public transportation since we don't speak Italian. Concerned we may end up somewhere other than intended. Did you hike the trails or take the train to each individual village?

We're going in March, wanna come along?

Trains in Europe aren't bad even if you don't speak the local language. A lot of them make announcements in multiple languages including English. The Google Translate camera feature is extremely helpful in trying to decode signs.

Riding the train in Europe is incredibly simple. The ItaliaRail system is great. I don't speak a lick of Italian and didn't have a nanosecond worth of worry or concern riding.

We spent 3 weeks in Italy traveling by train including Florence & CT. We only speak Texan & we never got on the wrong train but yes it is possible.

It's been 10+ years since I was there, but Florence and Cinque Terre were my two favorite cities in Italy. I think it's well worth the trip for a day, we did it on our way from Pisa (side note: I recommend skipping Pisa) to Florence. We did the "easy" hike which was pretty much a paved sidewalk between the first two towns and a little bit more like a traditional hiking trail (but still easy) between the second and third towns. If you don't want to hike then just find a place to sit by the beach and enjoy the scenery, food, and drink.

I also don't see a reason to worry about taking public transit, the trains are super easy and convenient.

To back up what others have said, the trains are super easy. Signs are easy to follow. The kiosks for purchasing tickets have English language options. Also download the Trainline app (or a similar one) and it has all the train routes and you can see the time schedule, train #, platform, etc. You can do it, and you will have a lot more fun doing it yourself then having a guide. Pick a great restaurant to two in CT and enjoy an awesome day. And if you can manage it in your schedule, spending a night in CT is definitely worth it. Also agree to skip Pisa.

Be adventurous!!

Watch for pick pockets and scammers at the train station. They look for unsuspecting tourists. Other than that one warning, it's incredible easy.

When i was there, this was in 2014, the trails to all but one were closed...not sure if they are still closed...

My wife and I did a DIY day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence in 2019. It was a great day with plenty of good exercise to build a nice Italian appetite. We took a train to La Spezia. Then we had a Cinque Terre Rail ticket we purchased from Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre.

I believe we got off the train in Monterosso. We then hiked to Vernazza for a snack and a beer. We then hiked from Vernazza to Manarola for a meal at Nessun Dorma. I can't remember if we then hiked on to Riomaggiore or simply took the train back to La Spezia.

We ended up going back to Florence via Pisa and had some wine near the tower. It was a long day but enjoyable. We were in our early 30s and tend to be very active hikers on vacation. I didn't feel like I needed any more time there considering how great our other destinations were (Rome, Florence, Venice).