Cirque Terra

I don't know where in the Chianti you will be, but from my house in Florence to Riomaggiore (first of the 5 terre) for me it was over 1 and 1/2 hours driving like a maniac (130km/h or 80 mph when slowing down). Never got a ticket, but I don't know nowadays with all those speed cameras. So if you start from the Chianti (maybe in a boondocks agriturismo) plan on 2.5 hours at least, therefore you should start your day as early as possible, not 10am. The fastest way is to drive to Riomaggiore and park there at the parking structure. Alternatively you could park at the La Spezia train station (they have a huge parking structure there too), and proceed by train to Riomaggiore or any of the other towns. From Riomaggiore you could walk to Manarola (the next town) on the Via dell'Amore, which is an easy hike. The town you see on the back ground of the Rick Steves' Helpline photo is Vernazza. I think it was shot from the path between Vernazza and Monterosso (the last two towns). From Riomaggiore (or also from La Spezia) to Vernazza is just a few minutes by train. There are trains running back and forth between the towns all the time on the La Spezia-Genoa rail line.

Tulan, As Roberto mentioned, it would be a good idea to get an early start on the drive from Chianti, as it's better to have a full day to tour the Cinque Terre. When is this trip taking place? Just to reiterate my previous comments, the No. 2 (Sentiero Azzurro) trails are all currently closed and there's been no definite word on when any/all of them will be re-opening (although I expect there will be some news on that any day now). You may be limited to exploring the five towns via the local trains (tickets are cheap - DON'T forget to validate!). "i would lik to get that infamous view of the town that usually shows up on the pics and stuff." WHICH of the five towns are you referring to? I'm assuming that it's the shot of Vernazza taken from the trail to Monterosso. IS THIS the view that you had in mind? There's a small viewpoint near the start of the Vernazza end of the trail, which you MAY be able to get to even if the trail is closed. That's always a popular spot for people to take photos and I've had to provide a few "tutorials" there on occasion. Cheers!

I am sorry but when i meant 10 i meant 10 at reaching cirque terre. So we would leave around 7 from where we are and start day at cirque terre at 10. That is the pic i believe with all the color houses . I love that view as well sea level view across from town. I love photo ops and would like to know whatare thr best rails for it Thanks

Tulan, ALL of the five towns in the Cinque Terre have multi-coloured houses (a "Minister of Good Taste" ensures that they don't deviate from the approved colour scheme). There are numerous photo op's throughout that area. These will depend to some extent on the weather and the lighting (time of day) at the time you're there. You may enjoy watching THIS short video which shows something of Vernazza and the Cinque Terre. This is a clip of a full-length special that will be aired on National Geographic perhaps as early as June or July. When you arrive in the Cinque Terre, you'll probably wish you had planned more time there. No matter how long I stay, I always wish I could stay longer. Cheers!

What is the weather like in June 2 nd week I hope it does not rain any day we are there. I pray to god. I dont want to ruin our vacation . lot of planning an money is going in to our first european trip

Tulan, it must be difficult to find information elsewhere as you are searching so hard so close to your departure. You will find it easier if you refer to the 5 villages by their names, and when searching you will need to spell the area correctly as Cinque Terre. It is called that because there are 5 villages, or 5 lands. Cinque means 5; terre means lands. When you spell it your way you are not saying anything in Italian, cirque is French for arena, terra is Earth - so it doesn't mean anything. When you are at the station buying train tickets you will need the names of the villages you want the train to go to. You can't ask for the cinque terre. That's like asking for a train to Cape Cod.

I totally understand what u are saying nigel. I will be writing down everything to the minute details when we go. this is just for discussion here that i am putting it very vague.

Unless you just have to drive I'd suggest you take the train from where you are to Monterosso, the largest and northermost town in the Cinque Terre. From there you cam hike to Vernazza or take the train to any of the other towns. With the limited amount of time you have there hiking will ne at a mimimum, but there are some great pictures that are available from the trails. To take the one that another writer mentioned that is in Rick's books and all of his DVDs it is nearly an hour climb north out of Vernazza. I took one like it and you don't have that much time in your trip unless you hike from Monterosso. In a full day you can see all of the towns by train and experience a little of each, but only if you take the train there and not drive. As Ken said, once you are there you'll regret not allowing a few days just to unwind. Good luck.