Cinque Terre Tickets: The Card, the Train and the Trail Fees Compared

Both cards share the same base coverage: paid trails, the Via dell'Amore slot at no extra cost, village buses and park services. The Treno MS Card adds unlimited 2nd-class trains on the Levanto to La Spezia line. The adult price gap is US$13.64 (€12) per day (US$25.00 (€22) against US$11.37 (€10)).

That is the whole decision. A single train ride on the priciest date band already costs US$11.37 (€10), so two train hops in one day come to US$22.70 (€20) in singles. Buying the trekking card plus two singles would cost more than just taking the Treno MS Card.

If you plan to walk between villages and only ride the train once, the trekking card wins. For a deeper breakdown, see is the Cinque Terre card worth it.

Every card, both the Trekking Card and the Treno MS Card, includes the Via dell'Amore at no extra cost. Included does not mean walk-up access. Each individual visitor still books a timed slot in advance and enters only within that band.

The walk runs one way only, from Riomaggiore to Manarola, and takes about 30 minutes. Groups of up to 30 need advance booking and advance payment. The exceptions are residents of Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, who walk free in both directions with no booking at all.

Without any card the supplement is US$11.37 (€10), or US$9.09 (€8) for residents of La Spezia province. The three opening windows are laid out below.

Book through the park's own card shop, at viadellamore.info, or in person at an Info Point in a station. You can also buy a voucher now and redeem it for a slot later. More detail on the path itself lives on the Via dell'Amore page.

If you skip the trails entirely, you need no card at all. A rider who only hops between villages by train just buys Trenitalia singles on the Levanto to La Spezia line. The fare is flat for any distance on the line and depends only on the date: Fascia A costs US$5.68 (€5), Fascia B US$9.09 (€8) and Fascia C US$11.37 (€10).

Children aged 4 to 11 pay half. Which band applies to which day is set by a calendar that Trenitalia publishes on its own page, so check there before you travel rather than here. For timetables, stations and practical rail advice, see Cinque Terre train.

The ferry is run by the Consorzio Marittimo Turistico Cinque Terre Golfo dei Poeti, a separate operator with its own fares. No price has been published for the current season. Neither the Trekking Card nor the Treno MS Card covers the boats, so budget the fare on top of any card you buy.

Note that Corniglia has no pier. The village sits about 105 m up its cliff, so boats skip it. Routes, stops and tips are on the Cinque Terre ferry page.

The wider trip is covered on the Cinque Terre guide.

Both cards come with junior, senior and family rates, and the table below lines them up side by side so you can see which card suits your group.

The junior age floor is 4 on both cards, and it matches Trenitalia's own child fare, which also applies from age 4 to 11 at half price. That makes one age rule to remember across the whole trip. Families are defined as 2 adults plus children aged 4 to 11, on both cards.

There is no published toddler tier, so under-4s are not stated in any price list. The group rate, US$144.90 (€127.50) for one day, is charged per group, not per person, and exists only on the trekking card.