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C.T., Rome, and Amalfi coast

Posted by on

My husband and I are planning a 2 week trip in mid-October to Italy, mainly to visit Rome, Sorrento and Positano. I would like to add Cinque Terre realizing its in the opposite direction. Questions I have:
1. If we did C.T. first, fly into Pisa possibly,train to La Spezia and then hike C.T. over 2 nights.
- what is a good plan for start, finish and middle of hike and which town(s) would we stay in (2 nights in one town or 1 night in each of 2 towns?)
-direction of hike?

  1. Then train to Rome and possibly see part of Rome staying 2 nights and coming back to Rome for 2 more nights before flying home to Canada?

  2. Rome to Sorrento via train

  3. day trips via train or boat if running from Sorrento to Pompeii, Capri, Naples?
    -3 nights?

  4. Bus or boat to Positano and stay in VRBO for 3-4 nights just hiking the hills and putting our feet up
    -ultimately back to Rome via bus then train

  5. Rome for those last 2 nights mentioned in #2

Really appreciate your input on any or all sections of this trip.
We have been to Italy once before, cycling Pisa- Lucca- Montecatini- Florence then car trip to Sienna, hill towns plus a train trip to Venice. Do not need to go back to these areas although loved all!

Posted by
12036 posts

If you do choose to do CT, it really does not matter which town you stay in. They are all close and easily reached by train. Not all trails are open so check that out.

If you do start at CT, I would then go to Sorrento/Positano and save all your Rome days at the end. This makes one less in/out move at a hotel

Posted by
15 posts

Good thought on do Rome at end, all at once and stay in one place. Had thought train trip from CT all the way to Sorrento might to big a haul.

Posted by
16698 posts

what is a good plan for start, finish and middle of hike and which
town(s) would we stay in (2 nights in one town or 1 night in each of 2
towns?

This is the deal with the CT.....
Most folks who ask about hiking the CT have only heard about the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) route between the 5 villages. It is the shortest and closest to the coastline BUT two of the 4 segments - Corniglia and Manarola and Manarola to Riomaggiore - have been closed for some time and will remain so this season. There are other trails between them but they are longer and more strenuous: not an issue if you are a solid hiker but it will cut into the time you have to explore the villages themselves. If you've not found the park website yet, here it is:

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

And here is the map and info on each trail in the park:

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php

You will need to buy a park pass to the hike the other two open segments of the "Blue": Corniglia > Vernazza and Vernazza> Monterosso or vice versa. While normally open, they can close due to heavy rain or damage. From the northernmost village (Monterosso) to the southernmost (Riomaggiore) is only a distance of 7 miles - mere minutes between villages by train - so it doesn't make a lot of sense to waste time packing up and moving hotels for one night, and especially not if your first night is a jet-lagged arrival day and you only have one FULL day left to try and pack it all in. Pick a village and stay there. Corniglia, much as I like it, is the most challenging as the train station sits far below the village so you have to take a bus or a very long. switchback stairway to reach the very tiny town itself.

If you decide to go with this plan, I'd get all over reservations soon 'cause the CT is very popular and very busy. We all have our fave locations for different reasons (Monterosso is ours) so there's no right or wrong choice. Personally? I'd cut a night in Positano and add it to Rome as that one deserves at least three FULL days and you've only planned for two + two partials.

With 3 nights (2 full + one partial day) in Sorrento I'd do Pompeii and a full day on Capri. There's some nice hiking on the island.

Posted by
5253 posts

I would instead do some hiking on the Amalfi coast. Tons of trails on the peninsula and on the islands (see the Sunflower and Cicerone guides). With two weeks you could also spend some time in Cilento park to the south of Salerno, much much less crowded than either CT or the AC.

Posted by
57 posts

In the AC, make sure you get to Ravello for a good day: it's idyllic.

If you enjoy hiking:
--Path of the Gods from Bomerano to Nocelle
--Trails above Amalfi have beautiful views of Amalfi. They connect up to Minuta, where you have a breathtaking view of Ravello.

Enjoy!

Posted by
19 posts

we stayed in monterosso and hiked to vernazza and back on day one (easily doable) - toughest part of hike is to vernazza. you can train back to monterosso if tired. not all the trails are open between the 5 villages. next day we trained to riomaggiore and hiked to to top of the chapel (forgot the name). Just beautiful. Lunch in Manorola then hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza. That was the easiest of the three hikes. So much to see and even 'drink' along the way!! Enjoy!! Yeah, I'd fly in closer to CT (we travelled from Florence and it took half the day).. Cinque Terre is well worth the visit...

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