Hi All,
We will be traveling in Italy in early to mid February and I'm thinking about staying two nights in a Cinque Terre town and then picking up a rental car in La Spezia so we can visit a series of hill towns from a home base near Siena (maybe stay at an Agritourismo). Is it worth visiting the Cinque Terre in February? I basically want to hike the trail that connects the five towns. Or should I skip it and save those days to visit other sites?
Thanks!
I went to the weather underground website (wunderground.com). The closest places to the Cinque Terre were Pisa and Genoa.
Weather history for the period from February 1-15 (240 days - i.e., the last 16 years):
Sunny - Pisa 26%; GEnoa 21%
Rain - Pisa 21%; Genoa 20%
Partly cloudy was the most frequent condition.
I'd guess that most of the shops and restaurants close up then, since my experience in looking for hotels in February in other parts of Italy in the last 4 years is that many of the smaller ones and B&B's close for February either for renovations or for the owners' vacations. Or maybe because it's low season, it just isn't economical to keep them open. If it's overcast the hiking won't be scenic (the main reason to visit) and if it's raining, parts may not even be hikable. If you can spontaneously spend a couple of days if the weather's good, go for it. If you aren't flexible enough, best to save it for a better time of year. (in my opinion)
Use your days elsewhere. Most of the place shuts down until late March, so even if the weather is nice, they are not set up for travelers. You'll use your time better in cities where there are options in bad weather.
Between the fact that most of the trails will be closed and the towns will all be on holiday and shut up, together with marginal weather I suggest that you either make your trip a different time of the year or visit somewhere other than the CT.
I think it likely that you would be disappointed. Sorry.
Alright - there's a consensus. We'll probably skip it.
Thanks!
hartlucasm,
As the others have pointed out, that's not the best time of year to visit the Cinque Terre. Many of the hotels and other tourist businesses will still be closed for the season as the "official" opening isn't until 1 April. Hiking the Sentiero Azzurro (No. 2) trails likely won't be possible as they don't usually open that early. At the moment, only the Corniglia-Vernazza segment is open. You could get sunny weather, but overcast is more likely at that time of year.
Happy travels!
You mentioned a home base in Tuscany, we stayed at an agriturismo outside Pienza from the RS book and enjoyed it and the location. It's somewhat central between Florence and Rome and we got to most of the hill towns with an hour.
