We will be in northern Italy from around September 5 to the 10th and we would love to hike the charming towns along the coast but we don't want to be in the heat and crowds of Cinque Terre. our guidebooks advisethat hiking from Camogli to Portofino and/ or Porto Venere to Riomaggiore are less crowded? Is that really true in early september? Is it still pretty hot and crowded?
Any advice is appreciated. We will have a car
Thank you
Pamela
No personal experience, but everything I've read supports the statement that the other Ligurian walks are considerably less crowded than the coastal walks in the Cinque Terre. There are walks higher up in the C.T. that are supposedly not bad at all. Rick has a fair amount of information about a bunch of options in his Italy guidebook.
As for weather, what I always recommend is looking at several recent years' worth of actual, day-by-day, historical weather data on the website timeanddate.com. I like to look at the last five years since weather varies so much. Here's Santa Margherita Ligure for September 2021. I'm giving your S.M.L. because I found really spotty data for Porto Venere, Monterosso and La Spezia for 2021; a bit of exploring may turn up useful info for 2020, 2019, etc.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@11127504/historic?month=9&year=2021
Those trails are definitely less crowded. You would usually be alone on the trail from Porto Venere to Riomaggiore except near the villages. However, the trail is pretty long and fairly rigorous - stony with steep sections - and has considerable vertical displacement. Hikers in good shape would enjoy some of the most fantastic views Cinque Terre has to offer.
You would not be alone going from Camogli to Portofino, but neither would you feel like you're in a conga line. One difficulty with that route is completing the circle as Portofino doesn't have train service and it's on a different ferry line than Camogli. Consider hiking from Camogli to San Fruttuoso and taking the ferry back to Camogli. See portofinotrek.com and
https://www.apathtolunch.com/2011/05/portofino-hike-camogli-to-san-fruttuoso.html
I have hiked in CT (just one day) and spent four days in the Camogli-Portofino-Santa Margarita Ligure area. The former was conga line city, in the latter we often saw no other humans. With the ferry and bus in addition to hiking trails, you can really cover a lot of ground.
I typically travel in late May. I think early September will be quite warm, but at least the sea will not be so cold!
Weekends are reportedly more crowded because locals enjoy the parks then.
Since you will have a car, I strongly recommend the Lerici-Tellaro-Montemarcello area. It is just across from Portovenere, and you can go across by ferry.
Thank you! Those are great comments. Acraven, I love that weather site. I will use it very much going forward. Mike thank you for the great connection to the walking site, it had great information, and he really liked your comment about the conga line. We are pretty fit hikers (although not young), so I think we could handle a pretty vigorous hike. I do however have some fear of heights. Our book describes two paths from camogli to San Fruttoso, one along the cliff and another more inland one?
Thank you very much - you all seem to have pretty good experience hiking there. I have also read that if you hike up in the alternate trails above Cinque Terre it's not as crowded, but I don't know if that would be true in August.
The other thing to consider is the heat. Normally I would not choose to go at this time of year. It's just that we will have finished a major hiking trip in the Italian alps with a group and so we will be there on sept 4th and wanted to take a little time to stroll in charming villages and maybe be by the water.
The hike with chains is terrifying--I can't believe I did it in hindsight. But no worries, it is well marked with ample signage and there is an alternative path. I especially liked the path from San Fruttuoso to Portofino. The hikes in Portofino are fairly easy--CT is much more strenuous because of the ascent. But then I was starting from San Rocco, which is above Camogli (hundreds of steps, but there is a bus).
Hmmm, thanks for the warning about the chains, I'm not sure I would want to do it although I would probably be glad I did afterwards, like you!
Riomaggiore to Porto Venere.
Yes, it is beautiful and amazing but I will never do it again. I am a great hiker but I was really really scared at some points on the hike.
(the part between Campiglia Tramonte and Porte Venere) Steep cliff, narrow path, I don't like heights and even when not looking down, it was not fun. It's only about a mile or so of the hike but I was really worried I'd fall off the cliff.
But if you aren't scared of heights it would be a great trek.
The next time I did it I hiked from Riomaggiore to Campiglia and then tood the bus back to CT.
Camogli: great hike over the mountain to Portofino. Not crowded.
I did those trails a few years ago, very few people. I spent 2 nights in porto venere which I loved. Hiked from there.
But if one is able to hike the high trails in Cinque Terre( go straight up from any trail the ascends)
Very few people and very scenic to look down.
Didn't walk the lower trails at all..too many people for my preference.
Thank you cafetista. What time of year were you there when it was not crowded on the high trails?
