Cinque Terre crowding due to cruise passengers???

Laura,

While the five towns can sometimes become crowded with cruise trippers during the day, that's usually only a concern between about 10K-16K. If you're out touring other parts of the area during the daytime, laying on the beach or sitting in your hotel reading a book with a glass of Prosecco, you likely won't have a problem with the crowds. The evenings are usually much nicer.

I find that staying off the trains or boats from about noon to 16K is also a good practice as the cruisers will either be travelling from one town to another or returning to their cruise line bus. Buses seem to park either in Levanto or La Spezia as those are the most convenient for large vehicles. The winding roads leading to the five towns are not ideal for large vehicles and parking is not possible in some towns.

We were there in October and had no issues with crowds, always had a seat on the train that runs between the cities, able to move around freely, get something to eat etc.

Thank you... sounds reasonable since I want to spend 3 nights to be able to relax & "experience" life there. I was also considering October to avoid hot weather & summer crowds... your input on that would be appreciated! Which village did you stay in & hotel recommendations (reasonably priced) is appreciated too!

There is a site called cruisemapper that has schedules of which ships are in a particular port. I am not sure now complete it is, but it could provide a data point. I think the Cinque Terre stop is typically La Spezia, is that right? Another variable is the size of the ships in port. All ships are not created equal. A mid-sized ship like much off Holland America's fleet might hold 1200 passengers, but a quick check on Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, which will visit La Spezia later this year, shows that it has 3X that much capacity. Costa Diadema has a capacity of nearly 5,000 (!). Silver Seas Silver Cloud only has a few hundred. Bear in mind not everyone on a cruise ship gets off the ship, or spends the whole day in port. Often the population on a cruise skews less active/less mobile and/or older as well, so you are less likely to encounter them hiking up to Corniglia. Please let us know what you find out from all sources though, I would like to return to CT myself one of these days and I am also concerned about this. I really wonder whether the "cruise ships have ruined things" is overstated or whether it's a story of sad but true.

We spent three nights in Vernazza in late September of 2016 and found it very crowded during the day but delightful prior to 10am and after 4pm. Not only are the cruise ships inserting huge numbers of day trippers but we have run into a number of day trippers complaining about the crowds which we found ironic to say the least! With that said my recommendation would be to get off the beaten path during the day and enjoy the individual towns early and late. It is a beautiful area, which is not to be missed, but may becoming a victim of its' own success....

I have no idea whether the Cinque Terre has been "ruined" specifically by cruise ship traffic, but I can tell you without a doubt that I've seen pictures (I assume taken in recent years) that are most disturbing and look nothing like what I saw on single-day trips to the CT in the 1970s and 1980s. My 2015 trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia showed a similar pattern: an utter mob scene on the walkways that were lightly used on my two previous visits.

Scheduling yourself to allow early-morning, late-afternoon and/or evening time at such destinations is obviously critical for full enjoyment.

I doubt that any of the popular tourist places in Europe look like they did in the '70's and '80's (crowd wise). With the increase in sheer numbers of tourists over the last 40 years or so, they are all going to be more crowded to some degree, some to an excruciating degree. It is what it is and we tourists have to deal with it if we want to go to those popular places.

Laura, the bottom line is that there are people whose trips will be "ruined" by crowds and others who find ways around them or simply don't let them bother us. After all, we're adding our own bulk to the masses?

The Cinque Terre is very busy but if you don't spend the middle of your days in the easiest parts of the villages to access then you'll be OK. Best times are early in the morning and in the evenings when the tour crowds aren't around. Midday and afternoons, climb to the upper reaches of the villages where most of them are unlikely to go.

Our hotel of choice: La Spiaggia in Monterosso. I've no idea what "reasonable" is for you but for the location (close to the train station and almost right on the beach), rates are good by C.T. standards. Spring for a sea-view room with small balcony. This is a very popular property and books up far in advance of the season.

Thank you, Kathy!

You're welcome, Laura. Enjoy your stay!

Laura,

Which town....

I prefer Monterosso as it's the largest of the five and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other amenities, as well as the best beaches. As it's larger, it also tends to "absorb" the crowds better.

Laura: If you have some flexibility with the dates of your visit to CT, check the proposed dates with the cruise schedules for the ports of La Spezia and Livorno. As mentioned by a previous poster, this website may be useful in ruling out some dates due to a possible influx of shore excursion passengers: http://www.cruisemapper.com/ports

I am one of the so called "hoards of day-trippers" who chose a guided tour to CT from the 600-passenger Pacific Princess in September 2016 (docked in Livorno from 7 am to 7 pm). Even though the majority of my fellow passengers from our rather small ship did not go to Cinque Terre (they might have visited Florence or Pisa or Lucca or stayed in Livorno), I sure hope that my one-day enjoyment of this delightful area didn't ruin anyone else's experience in CT (at least I didn't occupy a hotel room). However, I will admit that our excellent tour guide did warn us in Monterosso to have an early lunch on our own because many visitors from the world's largest cruise ship would be arriving soon and the restaurants would fill up - he was right! The 5,400-passenger Harmony of the Seas docked in La Spezia. Even so, we encountered no difficulties or delays in touring, strolling, shopping, boating, or taking the train between the towns on this busy day. My only suggestion would be "don't plan on using the toilet on one of the boat tours between the towns" - the line-up there was noticeable!

Thanks so much for the tips!

We chose Monterosso al Mare because it does not have the hills the others have. We stayed at Hotel Margherita and really loved it, our room price came with breakfast every morning that we really enjoyed. We walked, with our luggage from the train station to the hotel and what a gorgeous walk, right by the water and through a tunnel, all just so beautiful and an adventure in itself. It was also up the street from many great restaurants so it was a simple stroll from our Hotel to where we wanted to eat and there was a pharmacy right across the way which came in handy when I developed a slight cold. For our "Village' day we just walked to the train station, no need for any kind of taxi. We purchased the all day Park and train pass for 12€ I think? This allowed us to jump on and off the train between the villages. I had just gotten over a nasty case of Planters Factitious so we did not want to risk a flare up, so no hiking for us, but our plan is to go back someday and do the hikes. We still talk about the best Pesto gnocchi and the huge servings of clams in this butter garlic wine sauce that we had in Monterosso.

Laura, jusr one anecdotal experience about Cinque Terre in October: I was there in early October 2013. While the waters looked calm to me, I was told they were too rough for any of the boats to travel between the CT towns and beyond. Those boat trips are often mentioned as a most beautiful way to view the various towns, and a highlight of a visit. That may be a common experience in October, I'm not sure.

Looking up what cruise boats will be in port is great advice and try to pick your dates when there are not any in port or only 1 in port.
It is one of the few places in the world where weekends are not necessarily more crowded than a weekday because a random Tues or Wed cruise ship excursion can overrun the area.