CinqueTerre

Read Rick Steves guide to the CT. He will tell you everything you need to know. We were there in October and went stricly by Rick's guide. He was spot on!

Food - Trofie and pesto. I had that 3 times out of the 6 days we were there. Alot of seafood but I'm not big on it. Try the basil liquore. We found a shop in Monarola that makes/sells it and it's great. Train connection between the 5 towns is easy and they pretty much run on time. You'll get it the first time you use it. Never used it to go out of CT but would imagine the same.
Trails will depend on the weather. We had alot of rain so most were closed. The Via Amore is a good walk and open all the time.

THANKS!!!

In Monterosso we found a gem in Ristorante Via Venti. The place was small, but we were lucky to find a table on the street. The food was amazing and the service, while being quite busy, was certainly still good and made for a great experience. Our first day we were exhausted and wanted to get away from the busy beachfront. We wandered up the hill out of the old Monterosso (the route to the cemetary on the hill) and found a wonderful Agriturismo. We ventured inside to see if we could sample some wines (there were picnic tables and a great view, etc) and in addition to pouring us 4 glasses (4!) for 5 euros (we did buy a bottle - which was excellent), he also provided us with a amazing appetizer of olive tapenade with olive oil to snack on. Sorry for the rambling, I had to recommend them both :/ As for tips, the paths between Monterosso > Vernazza and Vernazza > Corniglia are the hardest. 45 minutes apiece with lots of ups and downs and rocks, etc. The other paths are considerably easier. We started in Riomaggiore (we were staying in Monterosso) and worked our way back since we only had one day. We ended up not being able to travel the path back from Vernazza and took the train instead. We were able to see all of the cities this way and snoop around. RS has advice on how to find a meandering path through the vineyards above Manarola I would recommend finding. It's at the top of the town and takes your around the town from above and affords some amazing vistas. We found the swimming hole far below Corniglia, and it was peaceful compared to the beaches in Monterosso, but it was really just swimming off of a pier and laying in the sun (plus the ridiculous climb back up). Have fun

Hi Ken, That was great! Thanks.
Dave

Don't know what shape you're in, but the walk from Monterosso to points south is less strenuous than going in the other direction, because the climb is spread over a longer distance.

I have never forgotten a wonderful meal and the spectacular view at the Ristorante Cecio in Corniglia...

Just got back from the CT. Hiking hint is to start both of the strenuous hikes from Vernazza rather than to Vernazza. Slightly easier but enough to make a difference. Those two trails were doable but tougher than expected.

I want to thank all who have responded, more than I expected!! We won't be going 'til September this year, but never too early to plan.
Dave