Cinque Terre

sammie, It will probably be "quiet" at that time of year, and the weather may be a bit chilly. Staying in Monterosso might be the best idea, as it's the largest of the five villages and has the greatest selection of Hotels and Restaurants. Cheers!

At this time of year the weather might not be great. That means, hiking trails will most likely be closed for some of the time and/or boats aren't running. If you're in the area anyway go check it out. But I wouldn't get out of my way to make this stop at that time of the year.

I was just there 1 1/2 weeks ago. We only walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. I have previously stayed in Manarola (at a B&B with a wonderful view). I will let you know that the streets roll up very early as it is not season, we went to get wine in Manarola at 8:00 at night and the bar was closing. I did go by the Cinque Terre on the train over the weekend and saw the boats still running even though I thought they were done for the season. Whatever the weather is it is not places that you want to miss. Make sure you order pasta with pesto!!! Ciao

We will be in Italy Dec 16-22. We arrive on the 16 at 4:25 pm in Milan - we have until the evening of the 19th to "free" travel - then on the 19th in the evening we meet up with some people in Padua where my husband is a speaker at a conference. We have been to Italy before but did not go to the Cinque Terre.... I VERY much want to see it - my idea is to rent a car in Milan on the 17th and spend two nights in the Cinque Terre area and then head back to Milan and catch the train towards Venice. THOUGHTS PLEASE!!! When we were in Italy before we used Rick's book and visited Lake Como (Varenna) and were awestruck - but I would like to see something different this time - but with us flying into Milan and having only a few days am trying to figure out what is best. (on trip before we hit: Florence, Pisa, Venice, Varenna, Rome, and Capri area)
thanks for any input!!!

While Cinque Terre is undoubtedly beautiful and the area is so crowded in the summer, the warmer weather is the time to go. Some of the smaller towns were quiet even then. I agree, if you go in November, stay in the largest town. The outdoor cafes, swimming from the rocks, the beach life, the boats, all make this area so wonderful in the summer. You might feel like you are in the right place but at the wrong time.

Brandy, as I responded in an earlier post, Cinque Terre in winter is being in the right place at the wrong time. Have you considered Lucca? It is a half hour by train from Pisa. It is a beautiful walled, medieval city. It is a very different feel than Pisa. While it is quieter, there is a lot to do in Lucca, climb old bell towers, visit churches, wander the winding streets. The old city wall has a bike path on the top, unique and fun! It is a lively city but not hectic. The food is great! Of course, there is Florence. The thought that no trip to Italy is complete without a trip to Florence is in SO many ways true. It is busy, touristy, but the art!!! It is about an hour train trip from Pisa. I have traveled to Italy many times and have been to Pisa, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Florence, as well as many other areas. Feel free to email me with any questions or need suggestions about this area of Italy.
You will love Italy!

We booked our tickets with Ryanair to Pisa this week and I had planned to take my husband to Cinqu Terre for a long weekend. Should I make plans to take him somewhere else? I know the ferry has finished for the season, but not sure about the walking trails. It is a surprise trip as he has never been to Italy as long as we have been stationed overseas. Help please.

Thanks people. Cinque Terre is definitely a must for a visit then. I'll be off to Italy in two weeks.

I appreciated opinions on November trip, as I am headed to Florence in March. We are not able to do a lot of walking, and wanted suggestions on how to see this area. Train? Boat? Are there local tours to connect with? Or, as one responder said, is it the wrong time to even make the effort? Glenn

Glenn: Answering your question (post immediately above), unfortunately you can't "see" anything much of the CT villages from the windows of the trains that connect the 5 villages. So you'll want to get off the trains, but once you do, then in I think in 4 of the 5 villages you quickly encounter lots of stairs and steep hills. Re the boats, you should check the schedules to see if the boats are running frequently enough in March. To know the typical weather for your dates, use the following site, http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp, input your dates and for location input La Spezia, Italy,it will summarize the actual weather during your dates in the last 15 yrs.