Cinque Terre by car? Honest review & where to park

When we were first planning our visit to Cinque Terre, we really didn’t want to visit by car since we knew that it would be a hassle. BUT, since our first visit turned out to be a part of a bigger Italy road trip (also visiting Tuscany and Umbria), we didn’t really have a choice.

Now we’re sharing everything we learned, researched, and experienced so you can have a better time in Cinque Terre (with or without a car).

P.S. Need a reliable and affordable car rental for your Italy trip? This is where we book our rental cars!

What you need to know if you visit by car

ZTL Zone (Zona a Traffico Limitato)

While you might think that Cinque Terre is car-free, that’s not entirely true. You can access all the towns by road.

However, in Italy, you can’t access the historic centers of towns with a ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone). Or, as we like to call them, a “DO NOT drive here or you’ll get a fine” zone. 😅 The fine will come by mail.

That’s why you will have to park further away from the town. There is usually some parking available, but it goes fast.

Winding roads for experienced drivers

You need to be a skilled driver, as the roads leading to the Cinque Terre towns (including Levanto) are winding and quite narrow in places. Usually there’s enough space for two cars, but in some parts there’s only space for one.

While the roads are in good condition, the biggest problem is traffic jams during high season, when many buses and other vehicles are also passing through.

When we were driving to Levanto at the end of May, we had to watch out for big campers, reckless bikers, local buses, and aggressively driving locals. Even though it was still not the busiest time.

It’s essentially all narrow roads with lots of turns, where locals know to cut corners. It sounds a bit dramatic, but you really need to have good reflexes and fast reactions. A local almost hit us when cutting a corner.

The views are beautiful, though!

Limited & expensive parking

Each town has a parking lot, although it’s not always that close to the town. Some of them do offer a shuttle service, though.

Depending on the season, it might be hard to find free space in the parking lots closer to town. It doesn’t help that many parking lots are also pretty small, as there’s really not much space in this hilly area.

And they are pretty pricey. For example, one-day parking is usually 20-35 EUR, and the hourly rate is usually 3 EUR.

Long drives between towns

Driving from Monterosso to Vernazza takes at least 40 minutes, from Vernazza to Corniglia 20 minutes, from Corniglia to Manarola 30 minutes, and from Manarola to Riomaggiore 15 minutes.

Plus, add the hassle of finding parking in each place, paying for it, and then still a long walk to the towns or waiting for a shuttle. It’s honestly just a waste of time.

So, while you can come to Cinque Terre by car, if you plan to visit more towns, it still makes more sense to park your car and use the train.

Cinque Terre villages are best explored by a 5 to 10-minute train ride between each village or by hiking between them. Trains run frequently and take you straight to the center of each town.

Levanto – multiple parking lots (the train station one is the most convenient)

Parcheggio | Stazione FS – map pin – paid

• Parking fee: 2 EUR per hour, 13 EUR for 8 hours and 24 EUR for 24 hours
• Parking near the train station

Free Parking Lot – map pin

• Free
• Doesn’t have many spaces
• About 10 minutes from train station

Monterosso al Mare – parking in the town center and near train station

Fegina parking – map pin – paid

• One day 30 EUR, 1 hour 3 EUR
• few minute walk from the train station

Parcheggio Loreto Terrazza – map pin – paid

• 12 EUR for a day, 3 EUR per hour
• 5-10 minutes walk to the Old Monterosso part, up to 15 to the train station
• According to the reviews, it’s a hard place to navigate.
• Beware if you’re staying more days, as someone stayed 4 days & 16 hours and got their last day charged per hour.

Monterosso parking – map pin – paid private parking with a gate

• 25 EUR for a day (expires the next morning at 10:30 AM)
• It’s better to reserve in advance
• You can arrive between 9 am and 5 pm

Vernazza – parking is a 20-minute walk to the town (or a shuttle)

Vernazza (Vernassoa) public parking – map pin – paid, guarded with gate and camera

• 2.5 EUR per hour, 20 EUR daily parking, 30 EUR overnight
• A bit over 1 km walk to the historic center, or you can take a shuttle bus
• The shuttle bus is only available with the daily parking rate (if you take it, you’re automatically paying a daily ticket of 20)
• Can stay until 8 pm when the night rate starts

Parking Vernassoa Vernazza (guarded) – map pin – paid

• 2.5 EUR per hour, 20 EUR daily parking (8 am to 8 pm), 25 EUR overnight
• Need to leave your car key
• A bit over 1 km walk to the historic center
• It’s advised to make a reservation in advance
• According to the reviews, parking is possible from 12 pm onwards, as they handle departures in the morning

Corniglia – public paid street parking (500m from the center)

The location of the parking in Corniglia is on the main road leading to the town – map pin.

• 2.50 EUR per hour or 20 EUR for 24 hours – paid at the parking machine
• Don’t park on yellow lines! (residents only)
• 500 meters from the center of Corniglia, depending on where you manage to find parking

There are some free parking spots in Corniglia, but they’re usually full – right before the paid parking starts.

Manarola

Park Manarola Loc. Posella – map pin – paid lot with cameras

• 3 EUR per hour, 20 EUR for a day
• The daily rate is cheaper for more days
• About a 10-minute walk to the town center

Alternatively, if there’s no space, there’s a smaller one a bit before the main parking lot (not on Google Maps yet). Or, you can park along the street leading to Manarola. But watch out for signs! Do it only where it’s allowed.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore Park (Rio Park) – map pin – paid parking garage

• 1 hour costs 4 EUR, and 24 hours is 35 EUR
• If you stay 3+ hours, the rate becomes a bit cheaper
• Can’t reserve a spot

Alternatively, if there’s no space, you can try parking along the main street leading to Riomaggiore. But, again, watch out for signs! Do it only where it’s allowed.

Zorza bus station – map pin – bus station which has a few free & paid parking spots

• 1 EUR per hour, 2.5 EUR for campers
• You can take a shuttle bus to Riomaggiore as it’s a bit too far to walk

La Spezia – the city before Cinque Terre

La Spezia is a big city, so it obviously has lots of parking options, mostly private and expensive (but potentially safer).

For exploring the Cinque Terre from La Spezia, your best option is the parking lot right next to the train station.

Park Centro Stazione – map pin – paid public garage

• First two hours are 1.5 EUR per hour, then 2 EUR per hour
• Right at the train station

Ideally, you can find a hotel that has its own private parking to avoid the hassle and extra cost – like this one close to the La Spezia train station.

Hotels with parking (our favorite choice)

If you’re already coming by car, your safest bet is to book a hotel with its own private parking. Monterosso al Mare is the best option for that, as well as Levanto.

Important: Apartments in Vernazza, Manarola, and Riomaggiore don’t have parking available most of the time, as it’s just not possible.

So, if a hotel lists parking, double-check where it is, because it’s almost certainly one of the paid parking lots we mentioned, not their private one.

Optional: stay in a campsite

Levanto has a few campsites and is a perfect option for campers in Cinque Terre. It’s perfectly located – just a few minutes by train away from Monterosso and then all the other towns as well.

We also stayed in a campsite with our car on our first visit to Cinque Terre.

Keep in mind: Like hotels, you also need to book campsites in advance, as they’re extremely popular but limited.

We stayed at Camping San Michele, which is quite a walk to the train station (steep on the way back). Minus the walk, it was perfect and in beautiful surroundings. Check recent reviews here.

They do have a shuttle, but since we’re early risers (we went around for sunrise), we couldn’t catch any. 😃

We planned to book another camping site closer to the train station, but it was completely full before our visit, and Camping San Michele was the only available.

The campsite closest to the train station in Levanto is Campeggio Albero D’Oro, but keep in mind that the pitches are small.

Practical tips for visiting the villages by car

Don’t leave valuables in your car! Especially not in a visible spot. Italy is known for car break-ins, and obviously it can happen even if you don’t have anything visible, but it does lower your chances. With that said, we never experienced a problem on our multiple Italy visits so far (*knocks on wood*), but we always try to be careful.

Have spare car keys! In some parking lots, you might need to leave your key (so they can move cars). So just in case, it’s better to have one extra with you. It probably won’t get lost, but better safe than sorry.

If you plan to arrive early or late, some parking lots aren’t open 24/7. If there’s a number on Google Maps (we linked all parking lots above), call them and check ahead of time. It will save you a headache. Need an eSIM with a good signal and fast speed? Our favorite Italy eSIM gives you all that.

If the parking lot has a camera, it doesn’t mean it will always work. Oops.

Final thoughts about our experience

If you’re visiting more places in Italy by car, definitely park in La Spezia or Levanto, and then just use the trains. Those are also the best two spots for finding hotels with parking – might be cheaper than the parking!

Since our first visit to Cinque Terre was part of a larger road trip across Italy, we had no choice but to come by car.

We did not like the parking options, so we decided to stay in Levanto, which fit our schedule nicely and turned out to be a great choice. We just walked to the train station and explored all the villages by train (and by hiking between them).

So, to be completely honest, if you’re thinking about renting a car to explore Cinque Terre, we don’t believe it makes sense.