My family of 4 (children age 22, 21) will be spending 2 full days in Cinque Terra based in Vernazza in late May 2026. We consider ourselves very fit and have done several backpacking trips as a family, so we are not concerned about our ability to navigate any of the trails in the area. From my research, a couple things I am understanding 1) Trails (blue sea trail) gets very crowded during the late morning through early afternoon) and I can appreciate the desire to start early or later) 2) It appears that at times they enforce a 1 way direction on the trail to help manage the crowds.
As I continue to research and try to patch together an itinerary with travel between the towns, how late to boats run (if the weather is good)? Similarly, how late do the trains run? Trying to determine if it is realistic to have dinner in a neighboring town and be able to get back to Vernazza afterwards.
I would love for us to be able to hike: Vernazza to Monterosso in the late afternoon one day and possibly have dinner in Monterosso before returning to Vernazza. We would also like to connect Vernazza to Corniglia on to Manarola via Volastra (Isnt the sea trail closed between Corniglia to Manarola, hence the higher path through Volastra?) I noticed the RS guide highlights to Corniglia from Manarola trail via Volastra starting from Manarola. Is there a reason for that? If we get an early start, maybe jump to Riomaggiore via train/boat and try and reserve a time on the Via dell'Amore later in the day as it appears it is limited 1 way from Riomaggiore.
Is it reasonable to do this in 2 days with some time to stroll the towns as well. I just can't quite get my head wrapped around when connections between towns stops (trains/boats) during that time of year.
Thanks for your advice!