advice about hiking the Cinque Terre

I can't help with specifics because I haven't seen any of those trails for 20+ years, but I have a few general comments:

• I'm a rather fast walker and if in a hurry can do a mile in 17-18 minutes without panting. Twenty minutes per mile would be a pretty normal pace for me. So if I see a 9-mile hike with an estimated time of 3 hours, I figure it's relatively flat and I can handle it easily (though it might take me a bit longer than 3 hours, depending on the terrain). If a 9-mile hike is estimated at 4 hours, red flags go up, because there is definitely some challenging terrain involved.

• At least in the immediate area of the Cinque Terre, you often move between the towns and the trails by ascending stairs on the hillside. I do not know whether a treadmill at maximum incline is completely adequate preparation for climbing some hundreds of steps at a time. If you happen to live in a high-rise building, take advantage of the stairs for extra trip prep, or perhaps one of those stair-climbing machines would work.

You definitely work out more than I ever have, but that is a lot of hiking you're looking at, with no days off, and I think you're prudent to plan a discussion with the tour company. I often hit around 10 (pretty flat) miles a day while I'm in Europe, and I can do that very easily, even though at home I seldom have cause to walk more than 5 or 6 miles at a time. For me, the terrain would be the question. When I get tired, I get trippy, and I'm prone to sprained ankles--though I guess on a hiking trip like this over-the ankle boots are necessary

Hi Kristen, I am a 60's guy and my wife and I went to Cinque Terre for a week in October. Here is how we did it and few links that may be helpful. We basically were there to hike the trails, see the sights, eat, drink. We picked a B&B in Moneglia which is a click or two stops north of the Cinque Terre. We were only 15 minutes by train from the villages at CT. I used this blog to help with my planning as well as a few others. http://www.apathtolunch.com/ Because of the up and downs of the trails I would not have enjoyed a complete "walking tour" it would have been too much. It was very easy for us to pick and choose which hikes we wanted to tackle each day and then having previously decided which of the hikes I wanted to do we hopped the train or ferry and went to where our planned hike for that day started and off we went. If we felt good we would add another hike that day or hang around one of the villages for dinner etc. We rode the ferry down to Portovenere one day and it was an awesome boat ride and stroll. One day we went north to Santa Margherita and hiked up the Punta Manara, fun hike, not busy. I am just saying it would be very easy if you enjoy planning at all to choose 6 or 7 hikes along the CT coast and north and then plug them in each day as you see fit or as weather permits. Wet trails would limit a complete walking tour in my opinion. The trains worked great for us and our B&B folks were a great help, send me a PM if you want their contact info, they are hikers and great people, she is originally from the US. One thing, in 2014 we went to Scotland, a few of the mountain hikes we did, including out on Skye were pretty intimidating height wise. You mentioned Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh. Some of the trails we walked in CT pushed my limits but we fought on and were not turned back, on Skye I balked a time or two. So, along that line, be prepared to have to push through your fear of heights cause I dont think you can avoid some steep trails in the CT. My hiking poles gave me some confidence but there are some pretty narrow high spots to say the least. I envy your trip, we loved the CT, Moneglia, and Santa Margherita/Portofino! http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.VR1X5st0wfg this site is helpful too. I wnt to add that we did some stair climbing at a local golf course for a few months before we left, our area of Indiana is very hilly, no mountains. I climbed up and down every day. There are a ton of steps/stairs on the trails so be prepared for that. For me it was hamstrings, for my wife it ws her wind. Great boots with ankle support and thick soles for protection from rocky trails are a must.

First of all, sorry about the GIANT FONT that was in a portion my original post. I edited it to take that out.

Thank you for your feedback!

Acraven: That is exactly my conundrum. I can make sure I can walk 10 miles a day for a several days in a row here to prepare but that is so different from the actual hike. So do I work up to 15 miles on flat surface or less miles but spend a certain percentage on a stairstepper? I wish there was a formula! You make a great point about fatigue leading to injury.

Jarrardd: Sounds like you hit the jackpot with that B&B! I will private message you too- perhaps I shouldn't rule out planning this on my own. I definitely love to plan trips. It is my lack of knowledge about hiking that is discouraging me.