Cinque Terre hike

Trail no. 2 (Sentiero Azzurro) goes from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, passing through all other CT villages. Monterosso-Vernazza-Corniglia-Manarola-Riomaggiore.
The first segment (Monterosso-Vernazza) will take you at least 2 hours. If you go through the next segment, from Vernazza to Corniglia, it will take you another couple of hours. So Monterosso to Corniglia will take at least 5 hours once you include photo stops, rests and snacks. If you also decide to venture down to the sea and swim a little, you have enough for a full day. You can get a pass, or better yet, a Cinque Terre card (for 1, 2, 3 and 7 days), at any park info point located at the train stations. There is also a Cinque Terre Card + Train that will cover park and trains for the number of days you buy. People hike all kind of ways and directions, one way or both ways. I've done from Monterosso to Corniglia many years ago on a very hot day, it took me the best part of a day. At the end I was so exhausted that there was no way I was going to walk back in that heat, so I took the train back. Manarola to Corniglia is easier (maybe an hour). The last segment (the via dell'Amore) from Manarola to Riomaggiore, is the easiest. 30 min and not challenging at all.

I am not sure if you already have this but I got this info on trail closures from the Consorzio Turistico Cinque Terre. ------------------------------- Hello, for the updated situation of footpaths please check on:
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2 For the Cinque Terre cards: http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/cosa-sono-le-cinque-terre-cards_2.asp?id_lingue=2 Thank you and best regards Marina ------------------------------- I am staying in Monterosso in august and if nothing changes I will probably do path 2 (Monterosso to to Vernaza) round trip.

Each train station in the CT, including Monterosa, has a desk where you may purchase the hiking/ bus/ train combination ticket. A 5 hour hike would take you from one end to the other.

Please let us know what hikes you ended up doing, and your assessment of them... We will be arriving in the CT in a couple of weeks, and are looking forward to the Monterosso - Vernazza walk, as well as kayaking along the coast from town to town.

Erin, The first segment of the No. 2 (Sentiero Azzurro) trail starts in Monterosso, so you can start with that one. Go to the end of the "old town" and continue past Hotel Porta Roca. As you climb up past the hotel entrance, you'll see a small wooden hut and you should be able to buy your Park Pass there. I believe you can also buy them at the station in Monterosso. That trail is the most challenging, as there's quite a climb out of Monterosso (but incredible views). I'd allow at least 2-3 hours, and be sure to bring water (bring a bit extra for the stray Cats at the Vernazza end of the trail). Unfortunately, that's the only No. 2 trail that's currently open. Two other segments are supposed to open on 15 June, and AFAIK that's still the case. The famous Via dell'Amore won't re-open until 2014. There's an extensive network of other trails (ie: Monterosso to Levanto) and you should be able to obtain a Map of them when you arrive there. I can't speak for "most people", but I prefer to hike one way and then take the train or boat back. If you go all the way to Riomaggiore, taking the boat back to Monterosso is a really nice trip (the boats operate "weather permitting"). Happy travels!

The biggest thing is to make sure that the trails are even open that you want to hike. We bought our park pass, only to find out that the one we wanted to do was closed (though if you're flexible to do anything, that works too). The park pass office is usually inside or next to the train station and I believe they usually have green signs (and a bunch of tourists milling about).

Erin, I hope the hike works out for you. Really want to do trail #2 but hearing conflicting reports as to what is open and when some trails will reopen. Will be in Italy from June 8 to the 17th so if parts of trail 2 will open on the 15th will wait till then. Please let me know what you find out and how your hike went. Tom

@Tom, As I mentioned above, the best information currently available is that the Monterosso - Vernazza segment of the No. 2 trail is currently open to hikers (Park Pass required). The Vernazza - Corniglia and Corniglia - Manarola segments are scheduled to open on 15 June. Hopefully those openings will occur on time. The southern-most Manarola - Riomaggiore segment (Via dell'Amore) will reportedly NOT BE OPENING again until 2014. If you're interested in doing lots of hiking, there's an extensive network of other trails that are open. This is the most up-to-date information available at the present time. Cheers!

@Erin & Tom, You may be interested in having a look at THIS BLOG which provides a good description of the current status of the Sentiero Azzurro trails, and also the others in the area. Happy hiking!

Hi Erin. I would first confirm if the trails are open. If yes, I would recommend hiking the trails one way and taking the boat on the way back. While hiking, you get spectacular views of the ocean, mountains as well as the towns themselves. The hike from Vernazza to Riomaggiore, with stops in Corniglia and Manarola, at a relaxed pace, took me about 4.5 hours. It was tiring but well worth it! Since the I was tired after the hike, I took the boat coming back. It was relaxing and had great views from the ocean, of the towns that I had just visited. I did not get the opportunity to visit Monterosso, but I am sure that you can begin the hike from Monterosso, for the trails we immediately accessible from all the other towns.

We are in Monterosso now. Only Monterosso toVernazza is open. It took two hours. The hike up and out of Monterosso is steep. Although closed, we were able to doVernazza to Corniglia, which took 1.5 hours. Riamaggiore to Manarola was closed with a lock on the gate. We did not try Corniglia to Manarola on the 2 because we were told there were too many slides. You may buy the cinque terra card at the train stations and also at the hut at each end of the Vernazza/Monterosso trail.

Thank you all so much for the advice. We ended up staying in monterosso which was very nice. I recommend eating at a place called cossellos, it's on tripadvisor, it was delicious and not bad on price. We hiked from monterosso to vernazza which took about 2 hours then train hopped from town to town. We got our trail passes/train ticket rit at la spiezza station. Let me know if you have any questions!