Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast?

Scott, the two areas have completely different "characters". The villages of the Cinque Terre are somewhat smaller and more informal, while the Amalfi Coast tend to be more upscale and expensive. What type of travel experience are you looking for? ¶ I like both areas, so can't recommend one over the other. Cheers!

I've been to the Amalfi area, but only for a couple of days. I'm planning on going there again next year and CT is in the plans too, but I'm trying to make certain that I'm not being redundant. If CT is more of the same, separated by geography, then I may want to skip it.

I couldn't decide either! So...I'm doing both the Amalfi Coast and CT! I've been to the Amalfi Coast twice already and it is so spectacularly beautiful, awe inspiring etc...that I can't bear to leave it out of my itinerary. With that said, I have been wanting to visit CT since first hearing about it 10 ten years ago. It also looks amazing. If I had to give one up, it would have been CT. As I said, I couldn't bear to not see the Amalfi Coast again.

If you just want to kick back & relax, go for a hike or two, and enjoy, CT is your choice. If you want a variety of things to see and do, Amalfi is your choice: Sorrento, Positano, Capri, Ravello, Pompeii/Herculaneum, etc, are all available. Amalfi also has a much greater selection of hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. Both are great destinations in their own way.

If walking is your thing, there are some wonderful walks from Sorrento and above the Amalfi Coast itself........... This is one of the best walking guides for the area......... http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/sorrento.htm ................... Edit - we have done what the book suggests for some of the walks ie take a bus to the highest point of the particular walk and then walk down, a bit easier on the legs!

The Amalfi Coast. We found CT to be over crowded and food over rated. CT is the only place we've been in Italy that we could not wait to leave and will not return. That said, we were there in the summer when the zillions of vacationers were there. Perhaps at another time of year we'd have a different opinion. We loved the Amalfi Coast. Yes - it was crowded but the towns and area seemed to absorb the people better.

Just returned this week from Garfagnana & the Ligurian coast. CT was so packed with English-speaking tourists, we left after 2 hours. Amalfi is my choice [INVALID] by far. Both are beautiful, but Amalfi feels like Italy and CT felt like a subway stop in Manhattan, but with a view.

Scott- We were in CT last month. First time there since 98. It has become very popular, much to our disappointment. Especially during the day with tourists filling the towns, trains, ferries. The walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola (easiest and shortest walk) was a crawl. Literally stopped at times due to the crush of people. We have been to Amalfi 4 times in last 10 years. Amalfi coast is prettier, but it has much larger towns and is also crowded and more expensive. We think the towns are more interesting with more to see and do. Lovers of CT would probably disagree. You will like either. We prefer Amalfi coast, especially Positano. If you don't have a car, easier to move between towns by train in CT than by bus in Amalfi. Final decision for me if first time for each would be which one is closer to the other places you are going to visit.

Have been to the CT 3x and Amalfi Coast only 1x but love them both! It would be hard for me to choose one over the other.

Just returned from a vacation in Italy. We went to the CT, stayed longer than originally planned, and still wanted more! It was fantastic, not crowded, but we were there first week of October, so I guess it would depend on your trip's timing. I cannot offer advice regarding your other choice for location, but I would go back to the CT in a heartbeat!