6 days in Cinque Terra?

There is no beach in Corniglia, the town in the middle of the Cinque Terre towns. Monterosso al Mare has nice beaches, but also a lot of tourists. There are plenty of rental loungers, and food is always nearby. (We enjoyed a bottle of wine, and fresh veggies & fruit and a loaf of bread from the nearby market.} The beach at Vernazza is tiny, no chairs or umbrellas for rent. Three or four days is plenty even if you are looking for R&R without a lot of excitement. There is lots of hiking to do, walk between all the towns, especially the Via del Amore. Since you will have to fly in and fly out of somewhere else, you might want to consider flying into Florence for a couple of days, then taking the train to the Cinque Terre, staying only 4 days.

Congratulations and best wishes!
Jan B

Tammy, honeymoon or not, I would suggest that 6 days in the CT is way too much especially if you spending all the time and money to see some areas of Italy. Also, Monterosso is really the only town with a decent beach. Corniglia is up on a cliff. The other 3 towns have very small beach areas to haul their boats in and out. Not sure where you are flying in and out from but you do have the opportunity to be in one other nice location. If you want beaches, check out Viareggio which is about 2hrs south of the CT.

I think 6 days is lovely, but it depends on what you like to do and the time of year. We have made several trips and found lots to do outside of the 5 little towns. You can read about some of our adventures here. We love the food, the hiking, the nature, but we go in October, not at the height of tourist season, so that may make a difference.

When Trip Advisor -- or any source -- says something like "3 days is enough" you have to put it in context. Is the advice for someone trying to "do" Italy in 3 weeks? One time when we were on a 5 night stay in Manarola (we like to put down temporary roots) I heard a woman who had just gotten off the train in Riomaggiore say to her husband "We have 37 minutes in this town before the next train. That should be enough." That is a different approach to travel than I have.

Maybe you'd be happier in Sorrento or Amalfi Coast? Just a thought. The scenery is beautiful, sea views, food. If you get bored mid-week, you can take a day trip to Pompeii or take a foil boat to Capri.

tammy,

First of all, congratulations! A few thoughts about your travel plans.....

Six days in the Cinque Terre is not necessarily too long. How much time to spend will depend to some extent on what you plan to do there and the time of year (ie: weather). If you use one of the towns as a "home base", you won't have to "hop from place to place" and that will be a convenient way to both spend some leisure time there as well as explore the local area.

I'd suggest staying in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns and has the best beaches, as well as the greatest number of restaurants, shops and other facilities. While there you could.....

• Spend time lounging on the beach.
• Hike the famous Sentiero Azzurro (No. 2 trails) which travel between the five towns (depending on whether they're open at the time).
• Explore each of the towns using the local trains or boats (weather permitting).
• Take day trips to nearby towns such as Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, Porto Venere or others.

You could also consider staying in Sorrento and spending time in that area, depending on what type of location you want. The A.C. tends to be a bit more on the "posh" side, while the C.T. tends be more "informal and rustic". Both areas will have lots of tourists. Positano has better beaches than Sorrento, but is a bit harder to get to as it doesn't have a rail line.

The C.T. will probably be the best overall choice, as it has good transportation and you do as much or as little as you feel like. Where to stay may depend to some extent on where you'll be heading after that.

What Ken said is very good! I think spending time in one place is more relaxing. There is a lot to see in the CT area. You can explore all the little towns, taking the boat ride or the train, or hiking the hills. We stayed in Vernazza at Maria Capellini's room: http://www.mariacapellini.com/charming%20room.htm It is right on the water and Vernazza was a great town.

Enjoy Italy!

Nancy

I also agree with Ken. We stayed in Monterosso for 5 days this past August/September and we had stayed in Monterosso 4 years ago for 3 days and felt it was not enough. But, I really like to stay and soak up a town rather than breeze right through. I loved staying in Monterosso and we took day trips to the other CT towns as well as to Portofino, Camogli and Portovenere. Monterosso has the best beach as others have said and it's the largest of the CT towns with more dining options. As others have commented, you might also consider the Amalfi Coast area; you could easily spend 5-6 days along the coast but to me, the CT is more relaxing and more desirable (just personal preference). I feel "at home" in the CT and would not hesitate to return again, whereas the Amalfi Coast area would be much lower on my list of places to return to. Have a wonderful honeymoon.

Here's a person who enjoyed his 3 nights in CT and was DEFINITELY glad to move on to another destination. It's a nice area for a little while but can get boring fairly quickly. Head south to the Amalfi coast for more to see and do. No where will the beaches be like the powdery sand of Florida or the Mayan Riviera, you'll have pebbles in Italy. I would also go farther south in hopes of find warmer water. When we visited Sorrento in June the water was like an ice cold mountain stream.

Tammy, we love the CT, but 6 days seems too much, imo. In Vernazza, try:

http://www.elisabettacarro.it/ great view, but a lot of steps.

Happy life to you & your young man.

I agree with the others.... CT for 6 days is too much. There's so many other amazing and relaxing places in Italy. Have you considered the Amalfi coast.... more specifically the island of Capri? In my opinion Capri would be a great honeymoon location... and if you felt up for it you could explore the surrounding areas like Positano and/or Ravello.

I haven't stayed here, but heard many great things. Check out Hotel La Tosca www.latoscahotel.com.

Congrats on your wedding!
Danielle