Cinque Terre, enough time?

Brian, The best argument would probably be the fact that you only have a limited time frame, so what you've allotted for the C.T. on this trip will have to suffice. You'll have time to hike the trails on the Monday (if that's something you want to do) and have a brief look at each of the five villages. It will give you a good idea on whether you'd like to return and spend longer in the area. Good luck and Happy travels!

Plenty of time is relative...there is never enough time for Italy :) An extra day in the CT would be nice, but............. Since you probably have tight time frames on most of your other stops, in addition to Rome, if you'd like to take a more relaxing approach to the Cinque Terre, consider just taking the boat from village to village (views from the boat are lovely) and that will allow you more time to enjoy and chill out in the villages (which are very small). When we visited CT on a Rick Steves' Tour, we only had one full day and a partial day (two nights overnight), and we were able to enjoy two ice dinners, hike all but one section of the trail, ride boat from one end to the other and enjoy a fabulous lunch. We had time to wander around two of the villages. It was a fast-forward visit. Retrospectively, if I were doing it over with the same time, I would hike only two sections and relax a bit more in the smaller villages. I was determined to be able to say I had completed the entire hike (sun set made us decide to boat the final tough segment). We pushed forward hiking with such gusto, we had to remind ourselves to pause every so often to take in the lovely views If you are on a sight-seeing marathon (which it sounds like you might be), a day and a half of chilling and enjoying might be just what you and your wife would welcome in the Cinque Terre.....it's a lovely place to do just that. It appears the revised version of the Rick Steves' tour we took a few years ago has added a few more hours in the Cinque Terre, arriving earlier the first of two days.

It doesn't sound like you have any flexibility in your schedule to stay longer so the time you've allotted will have to do. But, if there is some flexibility without taking time away from Rome, then I would add at least another half day. I personally would want to stay longer but that's just me & not everyone really likes the CT. So, go & decide for yourself and if it's somewhere you or your wife would like to see more of then plan to return as I'm doing. We were there for 2.5 days and I couldn't get enough but for my husband it was long enough. I'm planning to return next year and my husband can't understand why. I agree with maybe hiking only one or two sections of the trail (if that's something you're wanting to do) & then taking the boat between the remaining towns (if weather permits). The views of the towns from the sea are beautiful. We really loved walking through each village and taking pictures of the quaint little allies, brightly colored buildings, etc.

Its enough time - depending on what you and your wife like to do. Your full day will allow you to hike the trails between the villages (the upper trails have great views) and eat in one of the villages for lunch and one for dinner. Your half day will allow you to have a relaxing breakfast and maybe take the train to visit the village you liked best on your hike. Whatever you decide to do, don't stress it. There is always too much to see and not enought time to see it. Good luck.

Hi Brian, my wife and also stayed at Giuliano's place in Vernazza. We did stay a day longer than you will and would go back for a week if there is a next time and do day trips from there. With that said, you have to make do with your time constraints. These decisions have to be made because of time and money. There are obviously some other areas of Italy that you want to see, such as Rome. You will still see and experience the CT in that amount of time. Hike to only one or two towns and take the ferry to another or all. It doesn't matter if you can't get to all 5. Don't let having to get to all 5 towns define your trip to the CT. There just happened to be 5, what if there were 10 ? How's this for comparison, there are alot of people that get off the bus for the day and walk down to one of the villages in a big group, then have to get back on that bus and move on. We saw plenty of them. Let me know if you need any other advice.

We stayed in Vernazza for two nights in early September, and it was just the right amount of time for us.