Cinque Terror

The photos didn't seem to work in the link, but I was able to view them on my phone. I try to minimize the crowd problems by travelllng in shoulder seasons, and that seems to help.

I am still so so glad we saw CT back in 2008. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now unless they can go during shoulder season - and by that I mean April/early May or late Oct. But I guess it depends on your tolerance for crowds.

Our first visit to Cinque Terre was in 1994 and it was a sleepy, backwater area with more locals than tourists. The shops sold local products and you could stand on the train platform without fear of being pushed onto the tracks by the surging crowds.

We returned in 2013 and the area was JAMMED with tourists. We had reserved seats on the connecting train at La Spezia but were unable to even enter the train due to overcrowding. Every car was packed full, so we waited for another train. When the conductor came by we explained we had seats on the earlier train but were unable to board. He just nodded his head and walked on. Our first stop was Vernazza and it was wall to wall people. The local shops now sold tourist schlock and the peacefulness and quaintness were gone.

These towns remind me of the overcrowding experienced by Venice. Venice after 5 or 6 p.m. was a different place once the tour groups departed. Now the cruise lines have built docking facilities and the crowds are 24-7.

Alas...sigh...

Buon viaggio,

Venice is definitely not 24/7 crowds. It too becomes much better beginning around 5:00pm

The best way to deal with this if you chose to go is to stay there. In the morning and evening the crowds are gone and it is very pleasant. During the day hit the trails and enjoy the hills, ocean etc. It is indeed crowded, but there is a way to make it work if you want to. It is still a beautiful area.
Has anyone ever been to Yellowstone in July or the Forbidden City during Golden Week? If you want to travel and enjoy the "highlight" sites part of your planning must include dealing with the crowds.

Marrone! What's the point of this? What part of the brain didn't fire when flip-flops and rock climbing were put in the same thought?

You have a tiny, quasi-waterlocked geographic area with cruise ships offloading hordes every day. What do people expect? That it's going to be a Disney-esque experience, with people-movers and refreshment stands? Gimme a break.

Even though some lament, 'well, it's the only time I can travel', meaning high season, June through September, they expect the path to their extreme enjoyment is up to the venue to provide it for them.

Uh uh. Whether it's the Cinque Terre, or the Amalfi Coast, or the central districts of Venice, Florence or Rome, too many tourists in too small spot will cause this, resulting in pedestrian gridlock and a good chance of getting a selfie stick up your nose, not too mention all this 'enjoyment' with the added fun of a summer heatwave, the likes of which people in France, Germany & Spain experienced over the last month. I guess Italy was just normally hot, 90's. Had a friend in Munich where the temp reached 110! My gosh, beer can only do so much...

My siren song for a successful Italian trip has always been off-season travel to not-sought-out areas. So many benefits, and it's better for the locals as well.

What part of the brain didn't fire when flip-flops and rock climbing
were put in the same thought?

I would wonder the same, Friend Jay, if I hadn't see with my own beady little eyes what some tourists tramp around our National Parks in. No kidding. I took a snap one day of some lady at Arches on a sand trail in a fragile lil' frock and dainty sandals. In 100 degrees. No shade. No water. And she was just one of way too many we've seen in attire not meant for the Great Outdoors.

I can just shake my head in disbelief when it's an adult but when I see young children being put into potentially very dangerous situations, it scares me to death.

And a fair amount of our parks are dealing with serious over-visitation issues as well.

You would be amazed at what some people do in flip-flops. I have seen teen girls hiking up to the summit of 11,000 foot Hidden Peak at Snowbird Utah in rubber flips, when there was still snow covering the last part of the trail ( the last two switchbacks in the photo).

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7bYytMeMjTc/V8JMKFHnPnI/AAAAAAAAI5s/MndVZDSPGVUedb-m7hSZjGYCY29svYd6QCLcB/s1600/hiddenpeak.jpg

As for Cinque Terre, we went in 2011, and will not return.

My siren song for a successful Italian trip has always been off-season travel to not-sought-out areas. So many benefits, and it's better for the locals as well.

We are blessed with the ability to travel off season. We have also been blessed by having "been there, done that" in many of the hot travel destinations both in Italy and other European countries.

We haven't been to CT. I'm not completely ruling out going in the future, but we've got so many other places to explore "away from the madding crowd" that it is way down on the list.

Sad story but I will say we were in 5T for 3 nights in the last week of September 2017 and, except for mid-day in Vernazza, the crowds were really not bad. We were able to get on and off the ferry without any trouble. No crowds at all in Corniglia. We hiked up into the hills above Manarola and, while there was a handful of other people, we were mostly alone. We swam at the beach in Monterosso and it was not crowded at all.

While I would certainly not do a day trip to 5T, I wouldn't hesitate to go back and stay for a few nights again.

Flip flops and shorts are a very common outfit choice even in the deepest Detroit winter weather. It's typically young people but many older folks brave frostbitten toes and chapped knees. I've never understood year-round shorts and sandals.

So sad. Thank heaven we got to stay there in 2003.

People love to post these misleading photos that make you think everywhere in the Cinque Terre is mobbed with tourists all the time, all year. I was just there (again) in May, and my experience was nothing like these hyperbolic stories. True, I wouldn't go IN THE SUMMER (wouldn't go to Italy in the summer, either!!!), and I would expect the villages to be busy with tourists during the day, the lower hiking trails between Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso to be pretty crowded. Those are the only hiking trails. It is possible to enjoy the Cinque Terre without so many crowds, with a little extra planning, if you don't visit in the summer.