Hearing scary things about Cinque Terre - should I reconsider and to where?

If you're already going to the Amalfi Coast, then it's not a huge loss to skip Cinque Terre altogether.

Ships in port. La Spezia.

http://crew-center.com/la-spezia-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

Livorno.

http://crew-center.com/livorno-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

You almost have to print them out to see the impact they're having.

From Sorrento you can also visit:
Herculaneum -- smaller than Pompeii, more intimate.
Archaeological Museum in Naples, where many original Pompeii artifacts are housed. (We did this on the way north, Circumvesuviana to Naples and left bags at the train station before heading to Rome.)

Rather than the Cinque Terre, see if any of these Rivera towns tugs at your heart. All have good train connections to the CT, so if it becomes overwhelming you have a quoted place to return.

Bonassola, Rapallo, Santa Margherita, Porto Venere.

I've been to the Cinque Terre three times and love it. Yes, it has gotten very touristy, but these "scary pictures" of overcrowding can be deceiving. I was last there in May, and it was nothing like that in terms of crowds. September won't exactly be dead there, but it shouldn't be nearly as busy as peak summer tourist season - I WOULD NOT want to visit the CT in the summer!!! In May, Riomaggiore was not very busy at all (not dead). Vernazza was busier at lunch time but not shoulder-to-shoulder people as in the worst parts of touristy Venice. Maybe it was an off day for cruise ships? I didn't check. But the point is, it's certainly not like that picture you saw EVERY DAY of the year in the Cinque Terre.

That said - the Italian Riviera is a large area with other beautiful towns; the Cinque Terre is just a little part of it. Last May, I did only a brief day trip back to the Cinque Terre while spending three nights an hour north in the town of Camogli, an Italian tourist town with few Americans (and not may Italians in May either). There are other neat towns like Santa Margherita Ligure. You could have the vacation of your life in the Italian Riviera and never set foot in the Cinque Terre. But that's the only place most tourists seem to have heard of. I'd say the biggest reason to visit the CT is the hiking from town to town, something you don't mention. If you aren't planning to hike, you'd be missing much less staying somewhere else in the riviera. (And if you are a serious hiker, there are lots of other hiking trails in the riviera outside of the CT, some easy, some quite challenging.)

I haven't been down to Amalfi yet - sure looks beautiful. One thing I like about the riviera is that trains zip up and down it frequently, so it's easy to visit many towns and do day trips. I think Amalfi is best done with a car as I understand it.

It was terrible in September when I was there. There are so many places in Italy that you are likely to enjoy more. I recommend avoiding 5 Terre completely. Choose Lucca instead. Choose Gubbio.

I imagine first week of September is worse than last week of September.

The Napoli area has a lot to offer (Naples Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Capri, Ischia, Procida, etc.). Four nights is the minimum you should consider, especially given the fact that getting there is not a straight shot with a fast Frecciarossa train, there are a few modes of transportations to take into consideration.
Lake Como, can probably be done in 3 nights comfortably, and I recommend the mid lake area (Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio the main towns in the mid lake).
The Cinque Terre are also a bit out of the way, so a couple of nights would be good. Crowds depend a lot on cruises docking at La Spezia on the days considered, but it's never empty for sure.
However if this were my trip, since you are already going to a beautiful piece of coast (The Sorrento Peninsula, of which the Amalfi Coast occupies the southern shore), I'd probably spend those extra nights there and leave the Cinque Terre to another time.

I must also comment on the fact that you are covering a lot of real estate in this trip. From Sorrento to Lake Como is a long shot. I hope you considered the distances.

Discouraging? Yes. But Scary?? I don't know what's scary about lots of tourists. We visited several years ago, and I didn't care for it at all. There are lots of beautiful places in Europe and the CT is just not at the top of the list. Even with all of the tourists - there was never anything scary.

I find it interesting that people will always post these cruise ship arrival schedules trying to instill fear and dread but they never post the Airline Arrivals and nearly HOURLY Train arrivals to any given heavily touristed place.

If the only tourists in Florence which is served by Livorno were Cruise passengers it would seem empty.

Doing both Amalfi coast and Cinque Terre in the same trip would be quite redundant.
You can break the distance between Sorrento and the lake region by staying in a Tuscan or Umbrian town you haven't visited.
The Cinque Terre can get crowded during the day and the trains can get uncomfortable on some days but it's not something that I took back home from my visit there last May. I remember the great views and picturesque villages more than the crowds.
Have a great trip!

We’ve spent 4 nights in Cinque Terre (staying in Monterosso) during our last. 2 trips to Italy. The year before last, we arrived in mid-May. The trains & villages were crowded, but not horribly so. Despite beautiful weather, the beach in Monterosso was definitely not crowded, and the villages were only crowded during mid-day. Early mornings and evening were lovely.

Last year, we visited Cinque Terre in mid-Sept. The drizzly weather that we brought w/us, was actually a blessing in disguise. During our 4 night/5 day stay, we had only one sunny day.......That day was the image of overcrowding as described in most posts. The trains were packed like sardine cans, as were the villages. We kind of just shuffled along the streets of the villages w/the crowds. So we decided to escape the crowds, and hike in the Cinque Terre National Forest. Another blessing in disguise! So many beautiful, breathtaking hikes are available to those who don’t mind exploring beyond the typical tourist sites. These are not the more well-known trails that link the five villages. (Half are closed anyway.) The trails we hiked are well above the village trails, traversing through vineyards, olive groves and lemon orchards along the mountain ridge. (Go to the Cinque Terre National Park website for trail maps.) After a day of hiking, we were able to truly enjoy the beauty, quaint/peacefulness of the villages in the evenings, when the crowds had dispersed.

There are still ways to enjoy the Cinque Terre.......It just takes planning, timing, and a little luck. (ie; weather) I also agree w/others who have mentioned that there’s a lot of time/ground to travel if you’re going from the Amalfi Coast up to the Cinque Terre. Since you’re going to be at the ocean on the Amalfi Coast, I would consider exploring other areas of interest within closer proximity.

Wishing you many memorable experiences!!! :)

Don't believe all the hype on forums. Cinque Terre is a great place to see. Planning is the key. Go early in the morning and stroll through a couple of towns, then have a leisurely picnic lunch and some wine. Catch a couple towns in the late afternoon. There is plenty you can do to avoid the super crowds if they exist in September. The CT is a large area. Don't let these posts lately discourage you from seeing it. Keep in mind, to enjoy the CT, you are going to spend the entire day there anyway. If it is on your list...see it.

Hi Callen510,

I will be in the Amalfi coast ( Sorrento) in September and the Cinque terre in October. I am staying in Corniglia because those 385 steps up from the train station really weed out the cruiseship people. Wonderful little town and centrally located for some great hiking and the best views . Last time I was there there were a some tourists but nothing compared to the hords in Vernazza.

I feel the Amalfi coast and the Cinque terre are very different riveria experiences. Amalfi is very urban compared to the more rural Ciinque terre.
As others have commented schedule early or late hikes and avoid the lunch rush in Vernazza and you will be fine. Find a little picnic spot off the donkey path mid day to avoid the crowds hiking.

Happy travels,
Liam

We visited the Cinque Terre this past September with very minimal crowds. It was Sun. through Wed,, which might have had something to do with it. ;-) The morning's were empty, up until maybe 1:30pm. If it does get crowded all you have to do is hike up to avoid the crowds! LOL

Hi callen510
sent you a PM (private message).

May i jump on and ask if anyone has been there in August? Could you pm me if you have any insights? Thanks...sorry to piggyback on this post.