Cinque Terre- 5-7 nights in September 2025

There is no need to (or any great advantage in doing so) -- the villages are minutes apart by train, so if you want to dine in a different one from where you are staying, it is simple. I would focus on finding a wonderful accommodation you will enjoy being for the week, perhaps then move out of the CT for a couple days if you want something different.

Thank you for your response. Follow up question to the community: we will be coming from the lower part of the Piemonte region for 5 nights. We COULD go north to Lago Maggiore or Lago d'Orta for two nights then head down to Cinque Terre for 5 nights. I'm concerned about splitting our time into too many segments, possibly not having enough time in Cinque Terre which is more important to me. Will it be enough? Is it too much running around? Which of the two lakes would you recommend and any places you would recommend staying there and in Cinque Terre?

Could you post the entire itinerary (with airport info)?
For an avid hiker, a week in/near CT would not be too long, especially considering the day trip opportunities. I don't think I would go out of my way for the lakes.
Also, where in Piemonte specifically? We might be able to crowdsource a perfect place to stop in between the two current destinations.

We’ve only been there twice so I’m sure there’s many on here with more experience but I would just stay in the older section of Monterosso because it was lovely and not as crowded as the other villages. It only takes minutes to get from one village to the next by train. As far as adding Lake Orta in, you might look at how much time it takes to get there from the Cinque Terra area. It took us 5 hours by tour bus because of traffic accidents and reroutes in Genoa. I might also add that please be aware that this area has become very crowded. Frankly, I was shocked from what we experienced in 2018 to what it was in October of this year, absolutely crazy crowded.

We are arriving Milan Aug 30 in the early evening, going directly to Canelli and our last night planned in Piemonte is on Sept 3 is in Castagnole Lanze, leaving September 4th. Our return flight is on Sept 13 out of Milan at 11:20 AM. We likely will want to stay near the airport the prior evening. So any suggestions in that regard are also appreciated.

Okay, so I assume you will have a car then?
Last night: Have you been to Milan? If not, a day or two. If not interested, then some here have suggested airport hotels.
Are you set on including at least five days at CT?

Which Milan airport? If Malpensa, I can give this hotel a high recommendation.

https://osteriadellapista.com/?lang=en

They have a shuttle to take you to either T1 or T2 in 10 minutes. They will also pick you up there if coming by train from Milan. We spent a night there in September. Our dinner in their attractive in-house restaurant was excellent.

I just booked the Osteria della Pista the last night. Looks wonderful! Nice they offer transportation from the train and shuttle to the airport. We will not have a car. Currently we have 8 nights (essentially 6 full days) that we would be spending in CT. Do you think we should add a night to also see a bit of Milan? We kind of wanted to keep things low key...not sure we wanted the big city experience this vacation.

I thought you were staying in Canelli in southern Piemonte before heading to CT? Why would you go all the way north and then back south--am I missing something? I am tapping out, but maybe someone else can help. It would be a huge help if you write it all out day by day--I am sure others are going to be stymied by the zigging and zagging of this question. (Offered in the spirit of helpfulness).

We have an ebike tour where we are starting in Canelli and ending there 4 days later. Then there is a specific winery where my husband has contacts that he really wants to visit that is near Castangole Lanze. If you can describe the machinations that we will have to go through to accommodate this extra step, he may be convinced that it won't be worth it. We will not have a car.

It only looks to be around 16 km from Canelli to Castagnole delle Lanze and similar time taking train to CT. Were you thinking of Castagnole north of Venice?