Cinque Terre on same trip as Amalfi Coast?

Hi Steve. We love Venice and encourage you to go there every time. :-) We also love the CT... more than the AC, I think. We love the food, the people, and we ARE avid hikers. The AC is bigger, harder to navigate on public transportation, IMHO. The trains of the CT, plus boats and buses make it easy to get not only between the 5 villages but also to other Ligurian locations. It is also a long way from the CT to the AC. Why not stay in Northern Italy for your 10 days? Actually, is it 10 nights? I think counting nights is easier and more accurate as it helps illustrate how many full days you have in a place. Add another night to Venice and see the outer islands, or daytrip to Padova. Maybe a couple of nights at Lake Garda or in Verona, and by all means a minimum of 3 nights in the CT so you have two full days. (We've spent up to 5 nights at a time there, 3 total trips, and never been bored.

On the other hand, if you want to go south (I can make a case!) go to Umbria for 3 nights then to Sorrento for 4 nights, from which you can see Pompeii, Naples (day trip), Capri if you like, Amalfi town, etc. Less than 4 nights there is a waste, IMHO, as it is a long way to go south of Rome for less time.

Happy planning!

I can't compare the CT to the AC, but we really enjoyed our time in CT last year (we had to make the choice between the two and everyone I knew that had visited suggested the CT). They're quaint beach/coastal towns with little shops, restaurants and bars and some spectacular views. And couldn't agree more that the trains make it so easy to see the five cities (we aren't hikers but two of the trails were closed while we were there). We also liked the pesto and seafood cuisine in the region. We visited Venice, CT, Florence, Tuscany and Rome -- and Tuscany and CT were our favorite two places (followed by Venice).

Hi Steve,
I have only been to the Cinque Terre and not the Amalfi Coast, but I don't think the CT is overrated at all. The five towns are just beautiful and each one has its own personality. It's very convenient to use the trains to explore the five towns....each train ride is less than a couple of minutes long. Or you can hike, like you mentioned. The CT was one of my favorite parts of Italy...not overrated in the least, at least in my opinion.

Steve,
For some ideas and insights on the CT, including hikes that are not on the usual coastal trail, I have written some trip reports you might like. Cinque Terre trip reports.

Steve,

I don't believe that the Cinque Terre is "overrated" at all. It's different than the Amalfi coast, so not easy to compare on an apples-to-apples basis.

Given the fact that you'll only have a very short seven days after Venice and that you'll be spending most of your time in the north, going to the C.T. is a more logical and a better use of your time than going to the Amalfi Coast, due to the travel times involved. If you want to do some hiking while there, you'll have a wide variety of trails to choose from, including of course the most popular Sentiero Azzurro trails (I'm assuming that most of them will be open by the end of June).

One important point to mention is that for travel at the end of June, you'll need to get cracking and book rooms in the Cinque Terre SOON! I usually start booking in February for travel in September, and sometimes have trouble finding a vacancy in the hotel that I prefer to use. Which of the five towns would you prefer to stay in?

Happy travels!

Having visited both the CT & the Amalfi Coast, I prefer the CT. The areas are very different & I personally don't think the CT is overrated (been there twice & would definitely visit the CT again). The CT towns are much smaller & more compact than the Amalfi Coast towns and they are more quaint and easier to navigate between. I agree with Laurel in that you should stay in the North for the remainder of your trip and combine the Amalfi Coast area with other places in the south on a future trip. It will take the good part of a day to get from the CT to the Amalfi Coast so you will actually only have 3 days on the Amalfi Coast and presumably if you are leaving out of Rome, you'll need to spend the night before you leave in Rome thereby reducing your time to 2-2.5 days which is not enough time for the Amalfi Coast. We left the CT on a 5am train & didn't get to Sorrento until 3pm or so.

You might consider spending a few days in Lake Como and then flying out of Milan. Lake Como is beautiful and very relaxing.

I've been to CT several times and will be going again for the purpose of poking around several of the towns just to the north of the CT. There is Levante, Siestre Levante , Santa Margherita Levante and Positano to name a few. They are all a very short train ride from Monterossa, example Levante is a couple of minutes on the train. Rick describes them all in his Italy book. You could add these to your itinerary and just stay the rest of your time in CT. The Amalfi coast would take more time than you would have there, to see all the sights.

@Barb,

Positano is a long way from the Cinque Terre. Are you referring to Portofino???

CT is beautiful and crowded. I would go to Amalfi, stay in Positano, small and easy to get around. Food is great and people are nice. You could never leave Positano and be very happy.

CT is nice but three days is alot of time there unless you are doing alot of hiking. It is very beautiful. It is very easy to travel from town to town on the train. We did all 5 towns in a day and a half easy. Amalfi coast takes more time. Towns are further apart and you have to rely on buses unless you drive. If narrow roads aren't 'your thing' don't drive. Keep an entire day available for Capri which is a must visit.