Cinque Terre-hike in one day??

Jim,

If you leave fairly early from Pisa, there's no reason you couldn't hike all of the trails in one day (subject to your hiking abilities, of course). Given your circumstances, my suggestion would be to drive from Pisa to La Spezia and park the car there. Parking options and costs are listed in Rick's book.

My preference would be to take the train from La Spezia to Monterosso al Mare and begin the hike there. That will get the most challenging parts over with at the beginning, when you still have lots of energy. Spend a few minutes having a look around Monterosso before the hike. You'll need to go through the tunnel to the "old town" to find the start of the trail.

The next town on the route is Vernazza. You'll have to go downhill somewhat to get to the town. There's a "classic" RS view from the trail above Vernazza. The section to Corniglia is still a bit of work, but not as bad as the first leg. At Corniglia you'll need to go down the LONG brick stairway to the station area to find the next section of trail. From there the hike to Manarola is quite easy, and the hike to Riomaggiore along the famed via del'Amore is very easy. If the small Bar along the path is open, you'll be ready for a beverage by then! When you arrive in Riomaggiore, you'll need to go through the tunnel by the rail station (parallels the tracks) to reach the "main" part of the village.

Depending on your ability, you should be able to hike all the trails in about 4-6 hours. Note that you'll need to have a CT Park Pass to hike the trails. You can obtain these at the train stations (be sure to validate!). There are people in small wooden booths checking to make sure that Hikers have a Pass!

From Riomaggiore, the rail trip back to La Spezia is only about 8-10 minutes, so you'll be back at your car very quickly. Check Rick's Italy book for the departure times of the local trains.

Happy travels!

Hi Jim
Ken's right, the hike is do-able in anywhere from 4-6 hours. My husband and I did it this summer. We started in Monterosso, to get the hard part of the hike over with first. Make sure you have given yourself lots of time because depending on your fitness level you'll want time to take breaks and lot of pictures!

Some of the portions of the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza were uneven and very narrow but if you're watching where you're going you'll be fine. I would recommend doing that part of the hike for sure, there were some amazing views! Enjoy!

Jim,
We have been to CT 3 times and our idea of a perfect visit is to begin at Riomaggiore and explore the town, walk the trail to Manarola (an easy stroll), explore Manarola (have a snack at one of the great bakeries) and continue the trail to Corniglia (still fairly easy), walk up the stairs and explore the town, walk back down the stairs and catch the train to Vernazza, explore Vernazza and find the trail towards Monterosso, but only go up as far as you need/want to see the "classic" view of the town. Walk back down to Vernazza and catch the train to Monterosso, explore the town and catch the boat back to Riomaggiori (be sure and check the boat schedule). The views of the towns from the water are incredible! You should be able to do this in your time frame and have a wonderful "taste" of CT.

I haven't hiked the Monterosso to Vernazza part of the hike, but have heard that many find that section very difficult and even dangerous. If you don't do a lot of hiking, you might consider doing the train between these 2 towns and hiking the rest. We hiked from Vernazza to Riomaggiore in October. The trail was great, but slippery in places. One member of our party did not have hiking boots, so we chose not to do the Monterosso part for safety reasons. (We hike all the time at home and are used to steep trails. However, slippery trails where a mis-step could lead to a steep fall into the water require good foot wear) I can't give first hand knowledge since we passed on that section, but we passed after talking to many knowledgable people in the area who cautioned us about that section. It had also rained that morning, making all the trails slippery in places.

It is very " doable ". Leave the car in Pisa and take the train for both sections of the trip. Have a great time!

If I only had one day in the CT, I wouldn't spend it hiking all 5 towns. I'd go from Monterosso to Vernazza and take the train to the rest. Don't get me wrong, the hike is nice, but the towns themselves are the true attraction (for me)

I agree that the Monterosso to Vernazza leg is not dangerous. It is a bit narrow at a few points, but you just lean into the hillside, and you're fine. It was a spectacular hike. I agree that, with just one day, it might not be worth devoting that much time to the trails.

We were there in July, and we had so much fun enjoying Vernazza, swimming, eating, fishing (my son ran to a store and bought himself a small rod and caught himself an anchovy!), etc., that we ended up catching the last boat to Monterosso, exploring a bit, hiking and ending up back in Vernazza in time for more swimming and dinner.

Would we have liked to have seen the other 3 towns? Absolutely! But, we had such a glorious day that we decided to save the other "terre" for another visit. It's good to know that we have a reason that we have to return!

i took a train from florence to manarola (where i stayed. got there between 10 and 11. i hiked back to rio maggiore and then hiked all the way to vernazza. Its very doable in one day, though the leg between corniglia and vernazza is a bit more challenging, though not dangerous by any means. i was able to arrive in vernazza by mid afternoon and enjoy the town, and then catch a train back to manarola no problem. Go for it! you'll have a blast!

The most spectacular hike is from Monterossa to Vernazza. I would take the train from La Spezia to Monterossa as suggested previously. Then hike to Vernazza and explore the town. Depending on how much time you have left you can hike to the remaining towns or take the train or boat to them.

I agree with Terri - and when you walk back from Vernazza to experience that gorgeous part of the walk, there's a great little cafe where you can sit and look right down over Vernazza while sipping that good local wine. Don't know if it's open in April - it was in early May - just be careful not to drink too much, it's a steep path back down to Vernazza!

We stayed in vernazza this past October.I don't know your age but we are reasonably fit late 50's and we did Riomaggiore to Vernazza, where we wre staying easily in one day. The next day we did the last leg from Vernazza to Monterosso easily, although it could be different in slippery conditions. it seemed that hiking the other war from Monterosso to Vernazza was much harder because of the very steep climb out of Monterosso. We loved Cinque TERRA and are pleased that we stayed in vernazza.

I would just have one comment. If you do the hikes you better be in shape and have some good shoes. We were OK, but saw a lot of people that were having a hard time.

Jim,
I agree with a lot of the earlier posts - start your day in Monterosso and hike to Vernazza - it's spectacular. My husband and I stayed in Vernazza in late August and hiked to and from Monterosso in the heat of summer. We're both in great shape and after having the best pesto lasagna at La Cantina (our best meal in all of Italy - enjoyed with a cold beer - HEAVEN)in Monterrosso we made the trip back to Vernazza. If you work out on a stair master you will love this! The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia is also seemingly all uphill but the view is well worth it. The rest of the trail from Corniglia to Manarola and then to Riomaggiore is a breeze. Check out the vineyard trail near Manarola and don't be afraid to walk through some of the cemetaries along the way. I'm afraid that with only 6-7 hours you'll have no time to enjoy this wonderful area. Part of its charm is that it is void of the hustle and bustle of the larger cities in Europe. If I only had that amount of time I would only hike from Monterroso to Corniglia (that will take you at least 3 hours, if you're fast) - and spend some time in each town. Vernazza was my favorite but each town had it's great points. Maybe you could stay 1 night. It's easy to find rooms, no reservations needed if you can knock on a few doors or ask at a local restaurant/bar. Good luck - hope you enjoy this wonderful area as much as we did!

I agree with Terri and Otter. I would slow it down and not try to hike between all the villages. Just spend some time soaking up the ambiance of the villages.

Our family has been to the Cinque Terre 2x--in June of 2002 and July 2006. The first time was a daytrip (parked our car in LaSpezia at the train station). We realized that 1 day is not enough time and knew we had to return.

The 2nd time we spent 3 nights in Vernazza and it was heavenly--esp. after the daytrippers have gone for the night. We did a little hiking both times but love the villages. I wouldn't want to spend all my time on the trails. We were there in the summer and did as the locals in Vernazza do--put our towels out on a rock and went swimming. And did that ever feel good! One day we took the train to Monterosso and then the boat back to Vernazza. The view is spectacular! Have a great trip!