CT "must do" activities?

My favorite thing was sitting with my husband on our little terrazza in Riomaggiore. We enjoyed watching the locals during passagiatta in the piazza below while eating pesto and drinking melone. Ahhh....

Take the ferry from Monterosso all the way to Portovenere, which was a very pleaseant surprise. Hang out there for awhile and take the ferry back to Manarola. Great day!

There's not really a whole lot to do in CT other than wander around and come across a few things here and there (which the RS book covers pretty well). Myself, I enjoyed just wandering around Riomaggiore and Vernazza the most, taking the narrow lanes and seeing where they came out (but be ready for alot of stairs). Monterosso has some decent trails above town with fairly nice views, the beach is the best there out of the five towns and the old section also made for some good wandering.
We actually enjoyed 2 places in Monorola. Can't remember the names but one sat to the side of Piazza Capellini (great pesto) and the other sat below the piazza on the main drag to the dock area and to the right. Try the basil liquer from Burasco's which is in the opposite direction going up into town and also on the right.

We took the boat from Monterosso to Riomaggiori and it was wonderful to see the towns from the water.

Yake the high trail through the vineyards and gardens. It starts on the left as you head up the main street, before you get to the square and church at the top of town. It meets up with the coastalmpath. There are some good swimming spots there, much better than the harbor area. Maybe it will be warm enough to swim?

Angelo's Boat Tour our of Montorossa was the best decision we made while in the CT last summer. http://youtu.be/GFHDYxSntxo This summer we will be trying out his new boat.

Funny you mention Angelo's. I just heard back from them. They are not doing the lunch tour in May, but they are doing the Sunset tour. Which one did you do? Is it any problem getting back to Manarola in the evening?

Is it worth getting the CT pass for the trails, train plus ferry? I will be there in a little less than a month for 3 nights. I heard many trails are still closed. How often does the ferry run?

I may be wrong but don't remember the CT passes including the ferry boats.

According to the website it is one of the options: CINQUE TERRE CARD FERRY Included services: (1 day validity only) All the above services included in the cinque terre card train
Usage of the ferries for an unlimited number of transportation inside Marine Reserve (The ferry run on a schedule and connect 4 of the 5 towns, not Corniglia)

The wine tour Rick suggests was great (already mentioned); for once Rick's map actually helped us ;) If I were to go back, there are two things I would be sure to do again - visit the Buranco agriturismo just outside of old Monterosso for another sample/bottle of their wine and hospitality (and the aforementioned view of town from above) and Ristorante Via Venti also in Monterosso. We also had dinner in the Al Castello place in Vernazza. The view was amazing, the food was just good. Get reservations for a good seat.

From all of the Cinque Terra posts and inquiries posted here and on Frommer's concering travel to CT, the area may qualify as one of the 25 largest USA cities this summer. Buon viaggio,

RS updates now state the walking trails are closed?? Anyone have a real, current update on this?

Read on TA that they were opening all but the trek from Manarola to Corniglia.