My husband and I will be in Cinque Terre this weekend, Saturday night through Tuesday morning (June 25 to 28), staying in Riomaggiore. Is it better to hike through the Cinque Terre on a Sunday or Monday, or does it not matter? We are planning on starting as early as we can (8am?) in the morning to beat the crowds. Also, we will be celebrating our anniversary on Monday (June 27), any suggested dinner restaurants with a great sunset view? Thank you in advance! :-) :-)
Posted by
195 posts
We heard great things about Belforte in Vernazza if you are looking to catch dinner in one of the other towns (not sure how much you are moving around in the region). We didn't end up going there (we were out of money by the end of our trip, haha), but from the research I had done for our trip, it sounds like it might fit the bill for what you are looking for.
Posted by
Fort Lauderdale, FL
1246 posts
It probably won't matter that much, it is still crowded, but I would try Monday. You may be able to avoid people who go just for the weekend.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
Steph,
One point to mention regarding hiking. Were you planning on hiking the popular Sentiero Azzurro trails, or venture onto some of the others that go higher in the hills? Only two segments of the S.A. trails are currently open (Monterosso - Vernazza & Vernazza - Corniglia), and that's not likely to change anytime soon. If you only want to hike the lower trails, you can easily bypass the closed sections using the frequent local trains.
Note that a Park Pass is required to hike the two open sections (easily available when you arrive there). Whether to hike on Sunday or Monday will likely depend on circumstances at the time. Sunday may be busy as it's a weekend, but if there are cruise ships in the area both days could be busy.
Happy hiking!
Posted by
Burlington, Vermont USA
114 posts
Somewhere I have a link for the cruise ship schedule in LaSpezia. I believe Sundays are the most crowded day in Cinque Terre.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
celfan,
La Spezia is only one of the ports in that area. There are also cruise ship docks in Livorno and as I recall they have been recently renovated to accommodate higher volumes, including the newest ships which can disgorge 6500 happy tourists into the C.T. and other nearby locations.
Posted by
Burlington, Vermont USA
114 posts
Oh maybe I was looking at the schedule Livorno. I seem to remember Sunday being a 6,500 day.