Cinque terre always seems to be the first destination posters recommended to be dropped in favor of adding more days to other places or if the itinerary is a bit too packed. I have it on my itinerary (yes a very packed one) so I'm rethinking it now. Plans have us there for 2 nights in early May...I know it's a beautiful place but is it just not worth the effort and travel time?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15155 posts
Well, it depends on your personal interests too.
There are also people who couldn’t give a hoot about the Vatican or the Uffizi Gallery, and would rather visit a winery or a beach instead.
Posted by
Chicago
7827 posts
It is hard to say without knowing how far you are coming from to get there on one day.
Posted by
OP
Washington DC
83 posts
We will be traveling from Florence after a three night stay there
Posted by
Chicago
7827 posts
Go for it. At least you are not going in June, July (I went to Cinque Terre in July 2016) , or August.
Italy is great in May less tourists pleasant temperatures from my own experience.
Posted by
Cincinnati, Ohio
303 posts
We were there in early May of last year. It poured. We are not hikers, so the rain didn't dampen that activity for us; however, it did dampen our appreciation of the villages. Other than walking around and grabbing a meal, there was little to do! We eventually took a ferry down the coast to Porto Venere. I would suggest a back up plan should the weather turn nasty.
Posted by
1226 posts
We were there for two full days (3 nights; arrived at 10pm, departed at 8am) and hiked for the bulk of both days and loved it. It was very touristy, and very crowded, but not on the trails. That said, if it had been raining, as Barb describes, I agree there would not be much to do. Im glad to have done it (this was early July 2017 fwiw), its quite spectacular, but the hiking, for us, really made it (not that the trails were spectacular, although the views were awesome, but the experience of hiking from village to village - away from crowds - and then visiting villages for shorts stops of eating and swimming a long the way was special
Posted by
Chicago
7827 posts
no one can say what the weather may be anywhere at anytime so...
The best part from me was the evening hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza
Posted by
70 posts
I agree it depends on what interests you. I did a hiking tour of Cinque Terry after spending a weekend in Florence first. My favorite part was the ferry ride to see all the towns from the water viewpoint, some of the meals we had in the towns for lunch, and the hiking. I wouldn’t make the trip just to see the towns and eat lunch because buses filled with tourists flood the villages and rather ruin the atmosphere. We stayed in Portovenere as our base, and with the fortress there and small beach you might want to visit there instead if you are short of time. It doesn’t get the hordes of daily visitors and there is a small island across the small bay that has hiking and a wonderful seafood restaurant. It is a total different experience from Florence and actually was a nice mix of activities.
Posted by
7659 posts
I have been to Italy many times. There is so much to see in that country. What I see on these boards, especially for Italy is that people frequently plan to visit too many places. CT is definitely worth a visit, but geographically it is more inconvenient if someone plans to visit the big three of Rome, Florence and Venice.
Someone mentioned going to the beach. We never plan to go to the beach while in Europe, since we live on an island in South Georgia and the beach is right there. Also, after living in Germany for four years and visiting some beaches on the MED, they are no were near as nice as what you find in Florida or the Caribbean.
Posted by
26 posts
We love Cinque Terre. If you have time, go....it is a relaxing place.