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Cinque Terre questions

Posted by (Austin, TX, USA) on

My husband and I will be visiting the Cinque Terre Area for a few days as part of a longer Italy trip, arriving from Florence by train. We will be there in early October, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Comments/and opinions our plans below are appreciated!

Day 1 - Arrive by train in Monterosso at 1:00 in the afternoon. We have a reservation at Hotel Palme. Eat lunch, Explore Monterosso, get trail passes, have dinner and relax.

Day 2 - hike Monterosso to Vernazza in the morning, lunch in Vernazza, explore Vernazza in the afternoon. Take train back to Monterosso, clean up. Then find a nice place for dinner either in Monterosso or take the train to another town for dinner.

Day 3 - Weather permitting, take the ferry from Monterosso to Riomaggiore in the morning, explore, then train to Manarola, explore/lunch. Then take train to Corniglia, explore, then hike back to Vernazza. Take the train from Vernazza to Monterosso Hotel, clean up, and then take train back to whatever restaurant caught our eye in our travels today.
This day seems a little busy, don't know if we should try to visit one of these towns on our first day?

Day 4 - We have a 1:00 train to our next destination, Milan. We have to be out of the hotel by 10:30, so maybe a lesiurly stroll towards the train station, and a snack/drink along the way while we wait. Get some lunch to take on train.

So question - I plan on buying our trail passes once we get there, and assuming decent weather, we will be hiking on 2 days, so will buy a two day trail pass. At what point is it cheaper to buy the hike/train pass vs the trail pass only? If it is close, I think I would just buy the combo pass for the convenience factor, rather than having to hassle with buying a ticket every time.

Are there any recommendations for lunches/dinners among the five towns?
Doesn't have to be fancy; don't mind a nice place, but I am not taking fancy dress up clothes. Lunch time will be before or after hiking, so will be in hiking pants and a tech shirt. Dinners I will be in black pants and a regular blouse, so don't want a fancy place that I will feel underdressed in. BTW we are in our 50's

Posted by
16712 posts

A vote for Cantina di Mikey in Monterosso (same family as Ristotrante di Miky but different restaurant and more casual).

I'd probably buy 2-day MS Treno trail/train passes to cover days # 2 and #3. You'll have 4-5 train journeys @ about 4 euro apiece + the 1-day trail fee (€ 7,50) for day #2. € 7,50 + € 20,00 (if you take 5 train journeys) = €27,50 if purchased individually. The 2-day trail/treno pass is € 29.00 but you only have to validate that pass the first time you use it. It also covers the little bus from train station up/down the (very steep) hill to Corniglia ( a couple of euro fee if you don't have the pass) if you don't want to climb up/down the 382-step, 33-switchback "Lardarina" stairway. Down is no issue: we had fun doing that. :O)

Should you decide to do some more exploring by train or trail over the 2-day life of the pass - or the weather doesn't cooperate with the ferries - you're covered.

Posted by
5687 posts

The Cinque Terre towns are lovely (and probably crowded) but small; Monterosso is the biggest. Vernazza is not that big. You may not need to spend all afternoon there on the first day. Perhaps you could explore another town or two by train or boat that day, and on the second day, go elsewhere in the Riviera for a few hours by train or boat. One town to put on your list is Santa Margherita Ligure - lovely town maybe an hour north of the CT by train. Not saying you must go there - maybe you'll have a long leisurely lunch in Vernazza and just dwell there as planned, but I would have backup plans for other things to do just in case.

Posted by
16712 posts

I'll disagree a little with Andrew about Monterosso as I think a lot of tourists miss what's ABOVE that village and above some of the others as well. Chiesa di San Francesco is a lovely church with a long, interesting history and a 17th-century Van Dyke “Crucifixion.” The cemetery nearby - enclosed by the ruin of a Medieval fortress - is worth the climb as well.

Look into other cemeteries above the towns as they offer some great viewpoints: Vernazza's is especially nice.

Corniglia is the smallest of the 5 but one of my faves for two of the prettiest churches in the CT (interiors) and a lovely, postage-stamp sized piazzetta (Largo Taragio).

IMHO, you really don't need to leave the immediate region with the time that you have unless you get bored.

Posted by
24 posts

Thanks, everyone! Didn't expect so many replies so fast. Appreciate the information

Posted by
32398 posts

Your plan sounds well organized, so you should have a nice few days in the Cinque Terre. However one point to note is that operation of the boats is subject to weather. If the seas are too rough, you'll have to rely on the trains.

There are lots of restaurants in Monterosso and a fair number in the other towns. If you're interested, I can send you a list of some that I like in Monterosso.

Posted by
24 posts

Thanks, Ken

I would love to hear about your experiences in CT restaurants -

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