Cinque terre, favorite towns to hike between

Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. The hike between these three towns is more demanding but also more scenic than between Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia. Corniglia has secluded clothing optional Guvano beach. You get there through the tunnel. Vernazza is most picturesque. Monterosso has several beaches and is the largest.

Definately start in the most northern town and hike south. Monterrosso al Mare to Vernazza to Corniglia. We found the most difficult and beautiful part of the trail in the northern sections and were glad we tackled them first. These sections of the trail are by far the most scenic! The trail between the southern villages (Manarola and Riomaggiore) is flat and sorta non-descript. We hiked the entire length between all 5 villages in one day. oh, but try to see all the villages, if you can! Even if for a few hours in each. (We spent two nights in Riomaggiore and found it lovely!)

Great advice about starting in the north and hiking south, because if you are not an avid, physically fit hiker, the trail between Monterosso and Vernazza is quite challenging. Absolutely stunning scenery though. Lazy as I am, we stayed in Vernazza, and took boats and trains (only a few minutes between each town). The boat trips were wonderfully scenic as well. I actually enjoyed the "flat" walk called Via del'Amore between Manarola and Riomaggiore, since the ocean is so close and heavenly that we paused many times. We have visited all five towns, stayed in Monterosso also, and dined in Riomaggiore. Vernazza is by far my favorite for many reasons: the harbor, the restaurants, the piazza, the people, the ideal setting, the sunsets, the castle tower, the fresh wine, and all that great food! Have a wonderful time.

Thanks for all of your input. Maybe I should have given a little more infomation. We are staying south of Cinque Terre in Lerici. Planned on taking the ferry to CT for the day. The most logical planned to me was to depart the ferry at Monterosso and head south getting as far as we could in one day. I thought we could make it to at least Vernazza before we catch the second to last ferry of the day to return to Lerici. Or should we try to see all 5 cities in one day? Thanks Cheri

A lot depends on how fit you are for the more challenging trails. Our first hike was from Vernazza to Corniglia. Being seniors, it took us 3hrs instead of the 90 minutes described in the RS book. The next day, we began in Riomaggiore and hiiked the first two trails which were quite easy. One note. Coming from the north to the south, we noticed a lot more people hiking north. We were constantly making way for 2-6 hikers hiking from south to north. Watch out for the really fit Germans with their hiking boots and hikng poles. They'll shoosh right by you.

It is better to hike the trail between Venazza and Monterosso from Vernazza and go north to Monterosso instead of the opposite direction. The trail climbs gradually from Vernazza but from Monterosso is very steep up and about million stairs. Well, maybe not that many but it seems like it.

cheri, The answer to your question will depend on two factors: > How much time do you have available for the hike? > How physically fit are you? I would highly recommend starting in Monterosso and working south, as the trail from there to Vernazza is the most challenging. While there is a bit of a climb at the beginning, it's better to do that when you're "fresh". The next trail from Vernazza to Corniglia is almost as difficult and from there it gets easier. There's a LONG stairway from Corniglia down to the station and the trail, but it's not difficult. The last trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore is paved and VERY easy. There's a Bar part way along if you want to stop for a "cool one". Depending on time of the year and the weather, some of the trails may be closed. Also, the boats sometimes don't operate during bad weather. One last important point to mention is that you must have a Permit to hike the trails. There will be people checking! You should be able to obtain the Permit at the train station in Monterosso when you arrive (however I didn't check - the information will be listed in the Guidebook). Happy travels!

Thanks again, to everyone. A little more info on my part, We are going in late June so trails and ferries should be open and running. We are all "fit enough" for a hike.

Cheri, here is what we did. We did the hikes 2 separate days, we stayed in Cinque Terre, 3 nights. We are in good shape. First day we hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza, that was quite challenging, in retrospect i wish we did it the other way. Second day we hiked from Manarola to Vernazza. Manarola to Corniglia is fairly easy, Corniglia to Vernazza is challenging i am glad we did that way. The stroll from Riomagiorre to Manarola is not really a hike, we did a few times since we stayed in Manarola and went out to dinner in Riomagiorre, takes max 15 min. If i had to choose 3, i would do Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza. Have a great trip!