Cinque Terre: a 'Record' Crowd w/o a Cruise Ship

Poor Vernazza

Sigh - I'm so glad we first went in 2008. I can't imagine even enjoying that - we returned in 2012 and it was way more crowded, but it still wasn't close to that.

We first traveled to le Cinque Terre in September 2006, arriving in Riomaggiore without reservations! We visited again in 2009 and 2014. In 2014 we noticed a significant increase in the tourist population. However we had a wonderful secluded apartment with a large terrace on the sea front, so the crowds could pass us by and we didn't feel quite as affected. We will be returning in July this year to the same apartment. I know, July isn't ideal but it was then or nothing. We are really trying to strategically plan our time in order to avoid crowds as much as we can. Not sure that is even possible but we have been 3 previous times and will be looking to explore some of the small villages inland and to the south. Wish us luck! (Any good suggestions are appreciated)

And it's only APRIL! Yikes!

Cinque Terre was probably a fantastic place before RS began publicizing it. My family visited several years ago, and I just thought why? Why do people come here? There are so many beautiful places in Italy why do the masses come here? I’m a lover of train travel but never in my life had I experienced so many people cramming into a train. Pedestrian ways were clogged, RS recommended restaurants were totally UNinterested in having us...it was just not an enticing place even 10+ years ago.

I love Cinque Terre and I have visited it at least four times over the years. I love the fact that each village can be reach by a short hike, that you can swim along the coast, that no cars are permitted. So if there is another location like that in Italy or even in Europe please let me know (the Amalfi coast with Capri comes close).

That said, it is important to have a plan with dealing with the crowds when visiting a popular place. No one is on the trail at 6am.

I also hope that the 5 villages will self impose a quota of the number of visitors, like the Machu Picchu trail.

Mike,

The photo may have been real. Cruise ships also disgorge Cinque Terre-bound passengers from Livorno, so there could have been a ship in port that day. The schedules show the Marella Explorer 2 (1814 passengers) and the Norwegian Spirit (1996 passengers) were in port in Livorno on April 27.

I can very much relate to that photo as I've experienced it first-hand. On at trip to the Cinque Terre a few years ago and while staying in Monterosso, I decided one afternoon to head down to Vernazza for a short visit. As I waited on the platform in Monterosso, a sense of what was about to happen began to materialize. First one group of about 50 with their umbrella-toting guide ascended the stairs to the platform. They were followed by two more groups, all from the same ship, I believe. At that point I should have postponed the trip to Vernazza, but I thought, "oh well, it probably won't be too bad".

The short trip by train was "standing-room-only" in hot, sardine-like conditions. Vernazza appeared to also be the destination of the cruise ship hordes and upon arrival at the station, the train had to remain at the station a lot longer than normal to allow everyone to disembark. I ended up getting off in the tunnel, as that's where the coach stopped. It took me at least 15 minutes (and perhaps a bit longer) to get down that single stairway to the main street. I'm not exaggerating.

Despite this experience and the crowding from cruise ships and other tour groups, I'm looking forward to my next stay in Monterosso (whenever that might be). The towns are wonderful when they're not overcrowded, and I feel quite at home there.

Well, let's not rule out Italian visitors. April 25th is Liberation Day and a national holiday. So, opportunity for a 3 day weekend, or a (not uncommon) use of late Easter + Liberation Day week

I was just in the Cinque Terre on 4/14 - 4/16 staying in Monterosso. We set out hiking to Vernazza around 9:00 and the trail was perfect. A few people here or there, but most of the time we had it to ourselves. When we arrived to Vernazza it was filling up with tour groups. We took the train to Riomaggiore and then onto Manarolla and both places were packed. We did not stay long and quickly headed back to Monterosso.

The saving grace is that as dinner approaches, the crowds disappear and and Monterosso was beautiful and quiet. We loved the Cinque Terre and cannot wait to go back. You just have to expect that it is going to be crowded and have a plan to deal with it.

We stayed in Corniglia on both our visits, so very few tourists there - at least our mornings and evenings were quiet.

Mostly the reason we returned in 2012 was because of the horrid floods the year before, and we felt like we should drop some of our tourist dollars there - the village centers themselves weren't as bad as in that photo - it was the train platforms that were the worst. Hundreds of people waiting for the trains.

I still remember sleeping under my Vespa in Riomaggiore in a hot weekday in July 1980.
Just me, my friends, and a couple of drunk Dutch hippies. Later on, a handful of Germans and Italian tourists surfaced but that was pretty much the extent of the crowd.

But, shortly after came “Europe Through The Back Door” and other European guidebooks that “discovered” the place and gradually increased the arrivals. But, worst of all, in 2015, the new huge cruise terminal in La Spezia greatly increased the number of cruiseiders invading the place.

But I have worse news for you.

Earlier this month, they unveiled the new mega project for the future 2021 cruise terminal, a 40+ million euro investment entirely designed and paid for by a consortium formed by Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, and Costa Crociere. The new project will allow cruise visitors to greatly exceed one million arrivals a year. And all will be headed to Vernazza!

I wish I knew how to link to pictures to post as I have some friends in CT and they have posted pictures of the crowds on facebook. The crowds span across the entire street from the train station, past the Blue Marlin, past the restaurant on the other side with the white umbrellas, past several shops, and the picture ends. But the line does not!

But I have worse news for you.

Earlier this month, they unveiled the new mega project for the future
2021 cruise terminal, a 40+ million euro investment entirely designed
and paid for by a consortium formed by Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises,
and Costa Crociere. The new project will allow cruise visitors to
greatly exceed one million arrivals a year. And all will be headed to
Vernazza!

Apparently other ares of Italy are not averse to selling out their neighbors to line their own pockets - ain't capitalism great?

Earlier this month, they unveiled the new mega project for the future
2021 cruise terminal, a 40+ million euro investment entirely designed
and paid for by a consortium formed by Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises,
and Costa Crociere.

I also understand there's a silent partner sponsoring the effort - Norovirus.

" And all will be headed to Vernazza!"

I suspect you're right about that. Vernazza seems to be the most popular town with many visitors, probably because that iconic photo of the town taken from the trails is the view often shown in tourist brochures - https://images.app.goo.gl/cZ5A4pTBp31oMYe29 .

This view is also popular - https://images.app.goo.gl/JRNH2r8tQLsrTX596 . When Vernazza is bursting at the seams, the hordes will probably head towards Manarola.

We last visited the CT in June 2014. The service people that dealt with the crowds were maybe not rude, but certainly overwhelmed and impatient. I cant imagine how it would be now days. It's sad. They're going to need to charge an entrance fee similar to what Venice is considering.