Cinque de Terre - 24 Hours

Personally, CT was fine to see for about a day. After that I was bored and really hating that I had wasted 3 of my precious vacation days on this HIGHLY touristy area. I also stayed in Monterosso and did the hikes and saw the sights and 24 hours would have been just dandy for me.

sarah,

Ferries are not a good option, especially from La Spezia as the schedules are not that frequent. You'd also require extra time to get from La Spezia Centrale to the docks.

Travelling from Florence, the easiest travel method to the Cinque Terre is by train. One of the quickest will be a departure from Firenze SMN at 09:53, arriving Monterosso at 12:41 (time 2H:48M, 1 change at La Spezia, current fare €14.30 PP). If you want to visit Vernazza, that's certainly possible. You can get there either by a 10 minute train ride or take the Ferry from Monterosso (weather permitting).

Whether you'll be able to do any hikes will depend on which of the trails are open at the time of your visit. At the present time, only the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza is listed as "open". That's the most challenging of the four sections (but not difficult) as there's quite a climb at the Monterosso end, so it will not be a "shorter hike".

When is this trip taking place? For staying in Monterosso, it would be prudent to get a hotel booking soon!

Definitely take the train. It is much faster and runs frequently. The ferry only runs "weather permitting" and if the seas are rough, it will not run at all. Since you have such little time there, it is a shame to spend it all on travel.

It's Cinque Terre....not Cinque de Terre. Don't want you going there and sounding like a complete rookie! ;)

Depending on timing, I would take the train directly to Monterosso, drop your bags at the hotel, take the local train back to Riomaggiore, check out the town, take the trail to Manarola, then to Corniglia, if tired, take the train to Vernazza, or if you are up for it, the train. Get Lunch somewhere along the way, maybe a bottle of wine in Vernazza, then train to Monterosso and spend your evening there. A full day but you will hit most everything.

Ditto to the above; the trains will be much faster if you only have the one day.

Paul, it's my understanding that the trails between riomaggiore and manarola, and manarola to corniglia are closed'and will not be opened for a number of months. Last I checked corniglia to Vernazza and vernazza to monterosso are open. So the shorter hikes will be unavailable for her.

One point to clarify......

"I would take the train directly to Monterosso, drop your bags at the hotel, take the local train back to Riomaggiore, check out the town, take the trail to Manarola, then to Corniglia"

As I mentioned earlier, most of the popular Sentiero Azzurro trails are currently closed so it won't be possible to follow the plan listed above. This could change at any time, but I haven't seen any indication yet on when that will be. As mentioned, the Monterosso - Vernazza segment is open and a short section of the Via dell' Amore from the Manarola end only.

The ferry gives you a nice view and can be a practical option between 4 of the 5 towns (not Corniglia), but the rest of the boat ride to/from La Spezia is the very long part.

The Italian press reports that Trenitalia set a record this weekend (Liberation Day), transporting more than 40,000 people to Cinque Terre. The May 1 and June 2 holiday weekends are expected to be even bigger. Could Marshall Mcluhan explain this?

"transporting more than 40,000 people to Cinque Terre."

A portion of those will be day trippers, but this is one reason why I always like to have my hotel there pre-booked WELL in advance!

Is there a website where I can see what trails are open and what trails are closed? I am planning to visit in June and want to make sure I am prepared!

Thanks for helpful replies. Good thing my hotel is set!

It is a great place to hang out and relax and just enjoy nature.... however, there are always so many other things to do that on 5 or 6 separate occasions I have been happy with 24 hours or less... I think you will get to see everything you want. The train between the villages runs all the time and will quickly take you from one to the next. You should easily be able to see them all. It is really a very compact place with lots of shops and restaurants and the sea.

jenna,

Here are some websites you can check.....

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=1

https://cinqueterre.a-turist.com/the_blue_path

As you'll see from the first website, there are many trails other than the popular Sentiero Azzurro trails that most tourists want to hike. Note that you'll need to buy a Park Pass to hike the S.A. trails (it's only a few Euro, not too expensive).

Where do you buy the trail passes? And are they good for just the day, or can you buy them for multiple days?

Thanks!

Theresa,

You can buy the Park Pass at local stations or even at the small wooden booths at the start of each trail segment. Here's some information....

http://www.villasteno.com/en/cinque-terre-card.php