Cinque Terre in Early March

Charles, this is the official website for the Parco Cinque Terre, the trail system, and which trails are, or are not, open at any given time. It also provides descriptions of the length and difficulty levels of each route Spend some time with it but understand that what may be open or closed today may not be open or closed in early March. Much is dependent on weather and/or sudden erosion - such as rockfall - which can cause safety issues.

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

Sorry, no Idea about any private boat companies which operate during the winter season.

Also see Mike's (Thanks, Mike!) helpful response on this recent thread regarding hikes in the region:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/cinque-terre-c27299a5-a350-4700-aa2e-c9c30b0352f1

Have you considered a Plan B--going elsewhere?

Thank you Kathy! These are wonderful links, I’ll make sure to read them over to get a better sense of the trails in the Cinque Terre region.

And David, originally yes, but we have already booked a hotel and train tickets so we are just going to try and make it work. We understand it may be a little rainy/not as sunny and beautiful as it is in the summer and many things may be closed, but on the positive side it also shouldn’t be jam-packed with tourists. So any advice on how to still make it a great time would be greatly appreciated!

The whole point of going is the hikes--only some of the trails are closed at any point in time. Peruse the trail descriptions now to see what you are up for.

We were in La Spezia a fortnight ago, and walked from Manarola to Volastra to Corniglia one afternoon, quite steep but absolutely doable if you're not in a hurry. It took us a couple of hours but you could take longer. Everything was closed in Corniglia but a lot of restaurants were open in Manarola, I don't think you'll find everything closed in March....

charles,

The Cinque Terre will probably be a bit quiet at the beginning of March and the weather may not be the best, but at least you shouldn't have to contend with a lot of crowds. Which of the five towns are you planning to stay in?

There should be some restaurants and other facilities open then and you'll be able to travel between the towns on the local trains. The Ferries that travel between towns probably won't be operating then. While the "blue trail" (Sentiero Azzurro) may be "officially" listed as closed until 1 April, some parts of it may be accessible before then. Note that a Park Pass is required to hike those trails (the passes are easy to buy once you arrive there). Two segments of the blue trail (Corniglia to Manarola and Manarola to Riomaggiore) will remain closed this year, so won't be accessible at all. There's an extensive network of other trails in the area and those don't require a Pass. Some of those may be a bit treacherous if the weather is wet.

The trains in that area are mostly Regionale, so just buy the tickets when you arrive there. If using locally purchased tickets, be sure to validate them prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

If hiking is an important part of visiting that area, I'd suggest asking the staff at your hotel for suggestions when you arrive there.

Wonderful, thank you Tinac for the information! It is our goal to hike when we can, so it is good to know that that trail is an option (of course, weather permitting).

Ken, we were planning on staying in Manarola, for reasons of which would likely have made more sense in a busy tourist season (as well as the fact that we found a nice place at a decent price). I am aware that the ferries will not be operating when we are visiting, but thank you for the insight about the trains and trails! And yes, I'm planning on talking thoroughly with our hotel staff about advice/general suggestions once we arrive. Do you think it would be better to purchase a Cinque Terre Train Card or can you buy one-way tickets individually?

In reply to Brrrrrrrr, yes it could be cloudy, but the day we went in January it was sunny and I was just in a T-Shirt and leggings hiking up and was too hot.....the path went through (!) a lady's garden and she was lying basking in the sun, yes, dressed, but it was really very pleasant... Fingers crossed that charlesd gets good weather.....but that particular bit of Liguria is rarely brrr

Thanks Tinac! Will be hoping for the sun but also will prepare for the worst and bring my puffy coat. Definitely not expecting beach weather :)