Hiking Cinque Terre

Monterosso to Corniglia is about as far as I'd go. You could train into Vernazza and hike either way (to Monterosso or to Corniglia). I would definitely avoid the trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola. The easy, seaside trail is rarely open (in my experience) and Trail 531 over the hill is no joke. You're going to have hills and climbing wherever you go but the northern most three towns are probably your best bet. and FYI, if you think you're going to train into Corniglia please keep in mind that the train station is several hundred stesp below the town. Good luck!

I think you might find Monterosso to Vernazza and/ or on to Corniglia a challenge. There is a lot of elevation gain. Particularly coming out of Monterosso. We did this years ago with my MIL who was in great shape walking, but not a hiker and while she could do it, she found it hard.

Where are you staying? There is a nice walk around Manarola for instance. Another option is to take a bus up to Volastra and just hike the rest of the trail down to Corniglia. This is beautiful, but you are hiking on terraced hills and the path can be narrow. This also has the advantage of not being very busy.

We ate staying in Monterosso

We stayed in Vernazza, took the boat to Riomaggiore and walked through Manarola and Corniglia, where we had lunch, and then we continued on to Vernazza. My best guess is that we spent about 3 hours on the trail. Back then, we could walk very near (though up above) the shoreline between Manarola and Corniglia, but Google Maps seems to now show the trial going up through Voastra on the way to Corniglia. Still, the total from Riomaggiorre to Vernazza is under 12 km (less than 8 miles) with that slightly longer route, whidch Google Maps says can be walked in about 3-1/2 hours.

The walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola on the Via Dell'Amorre was pretty short and easy. The walk from Corniglia to Vernazza was very pleasant, easy walking even if a little hilly. I just don't now about that different route from Manarola to Corniglia

I described that day as the day I died and went to heaven.

Hello - first time posting, so hope I do it right! I am also traveling with friend in April and want to hike between villages - there are several posts on this thread that indicate it is not recommended to do the alternative routes - due to the level of exertion - We routinely hike in a forest terrain for 6 miles with hills... I am trying to discern what "difficult" means. Regarding "difficulty " again - does this refer to exertion levels of ascending/descending hills and steps, or is it also unstable /rocky/muddy/poor terrain/footing. I frequently hike on trails with roots, rocks, etc. so not sure what "difficult" means for this discussion

Does anyone have recommendations about 1) having your luggage transported from one town to another while you hike on foot from one place to another? or 2) leaving your luggage in one spot and then hiking lightly with a daypack to one town for an overnight, then another town for the next day, then boat or train ride back? 3) Leaving luggage in one spot, and then how many trails/towns could be done in two days, based on fitness levels?
Please forgive me if I was not supposed to post on Randy's post, even though similar topic!

Thanks for your imput. Regardless it will be a memorable time. Good luck
Randy

ergoanya
Even if similar, it's best to start your own post because people often read/answer only the original post. Also, the original poster is notified when there is a post on their thread.

We only did the [Monteroso-Vernazza][1] section, and it took us longer than the 1.5 hours in the description. We were both in our early 60s when we did the hike, and although I didn't think it was difficult, the stairs at the beginning had me questioning what we were getting into. The trail was narrow in spots and not very relaxing as it got quite crowded. At one point, a younger woman coming towards us slipped on a trail rock and appeared to break her ankle. Along the way there was a local man selling fresh orange juice. The view as we arrived at Vernazza made it all worth it.

When we were researching the trails before our trip, many of them were closed because of landslides, so our options were limited.

Ergoanya, I think your best option would be to find one lodging base and then use the train to get to where you want to hike. We were on a Rick Steves tour and stayed in Levanto which has a beautiful, easily accessible beach.

There are not really “easy” hiking trails there as there is always a ton of elevation between villages. There is a paved path from Riomaggiore to Manarola that is an easy stroll. Other than this, the best option would be Manarola up to Corniglia but I would hesitate to do it with a 1.5 year old in a backpack. The crowds have become a problem with long cues in the technical sections as inexperienced hikers freak out. I too saw many people falling and injuring themselves and others as they tumbled down into other people. Sadly, I think tour companies (especially from cruises) tend to underestimate the difficulty as many people that were attempting the hike should never have been on the trail.

Hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza is listed on Komoot as 2.32 miles with 650/ feet up and 650 feet down. 1 hour 27 minutes. "Intermediate," with "way types" of
Mountain Hiking Path: 1.32 mi
Hiking Path: 0.81 mi
Path: < 109 yd
Footpath: < 109 yd
Street: 182 yd

https://www.komoot.com/plan/tour/d01AqGffwCTVLg=FweABLVX0m4A/@44.1344873,9.6885465,13.213z

Corgnilia to Vernazza is 2.22 miles, with 450 feet up and 600 feet down, also "Intermediate," with "way types:

Mountain Hiking Path: 1.79 mi
Hiking Path: < 109 yd
Path: 253 yd
Footpath: 333 yd
Street: < 109 yd

https://www.komoot.com/plan/tour/d01AqE2uwCUIbI=FweABM7auzIA/@44.1347148,9.6909994,13.151z

"Intermediate," per Komoot, means: "Great for any fitness level. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required."

My husband and just spent several days in Cinque Terre last October and we hiked for four of the days. We are both 71 and do a lot of hiking in our home state of Arizona. This was our third visit to Cinque Terre and this time we stayed in Monterosso, which we loved. We think the prettiest and easiest of the village-to-village hikes is Vernazza to Corniglia. This hike is only two miles, but it is very rocky. We really enjoyed walking around the cute village of Corniglia. We then took the train back to Monterosso. There are a lot of steps down to the train, but they are nice even steps not rock steps like on some of the hikes. You could make the hike longer by hiking from Monterosso, but as someone said the steps out of Monterosso are steep. The easiest hike is the flat paved path from Riomaggiore to Manarola. However, it just recently reopened, and I am not sure if is open all the way to Manarola. There are also sanctuary hikes from each village. They are uphill but less rocky and crowded than the village-to-village hikes. There are other hikes that you can check out on the Cinque Terre Park website. There are probably videos online of people doing the hikes so that you can see the trail terrain. Try and take at least one boat/ferry ride so that you can see the villages from the sea. No matter what you decide you will have a wonderful time. Enjoy.

I really don’t think this is a hike for you or your family.It is challenging. When we did it there no children nor elderly hiking.

Suki
Agreed, Mostly our adult children will take these hikes. We just wanted one of the easiest hikes to experience Cinque Terre
Thanks
Randy

Randy, this would be the very shortest, easiest 'hike' in the park. It had been closed for many years due to rockfall, and opened for part of this past year on a pilot escorted program. While currently closed again for winter maintenance (as are all sections of the very popular SVA2 Sentiero Azzurro route) it is reported to open again sometime this year:

https://www.apathtolunch.com/2019/10/the-via-dellamore-is-reopening.html

https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eiti_dettaglio.php?id_iti=3575

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/italy-hikes-cinque-terre-path-of-love

As with all sections of the SVA2, there will be a fee either in the form of the Cinque Terre Trekking or Treno Card, or via a reservation. As it is not clear yet how that pilot program went this past season, I would keep an eye on the Parco's site if interested in this one, and if it's accessible during your stay. This section of the Sentiero Azzurro /Blue Trail was particularly overused due to the ease of the walk.

This is a pretty good blog page from someone who did both usually open sections of the "Blue" from both directions so give it look to see if you think your group can handle any of it? The climb from out of Monterosso en route to Vernazza involves a LOT of steps and is easier going the opposite direction. Either way, I don't think I'd pack your infant along.
https://www.alongdustyroads.com/posts/hiking-cinque-terre

This is the page of the park's website with map, ratings, current open/closed status and descriptions of all trails in the park, Click on any section for more complete descriptions; click on "View the Itinerary" in the boxes that pop up.

https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php

Hi! We had friends visiting the Cinque Terre a few months before us last year (2023). They hiked in June, as 23 year olds and 55 year olds. They stayed in Vernazza, and took a hike from there to Corniglia. They reported the trail was not well maintained, rocky, and scary for them at parts. It was enough to steer us away from hiking when we arrived in early October.

Instead, we chose a sunset aperitivo cruise with Marco, through his company : https://rosadeiventiboattours.com/en/

I thought I’d recommend this since your group is multigenerational. It was a four hour event, leaving Levanto at 3:00, and returning after sunset. We stayed in Monterosso, so it was a short train ride to Levanto, then a 20 minute walk to the pier. Marco grew up there, and shared a lot of great info and history. We had two stops to swim, off Monterosso and off Riomaggiore. Marco provided pool noodles and snorkel gear. Partway through the tour he set out delicious cheese, sausage, focaccia, and a spinach pie type traditional treat, and beverages were provided, too. It was a really lovely way to see all five towns from the water. We appreciated this because we were overwhelmed with the crowds in Vernazza and Manarola, and did not continue on south to the others with our train day pass as planned.

I am sure there are other cruises to choose from, but we really enjoyed talking with Marco on our tour. Our other guests just talked amongst themselves, but we found Marco to be really interesting. He had photos to share to illustrate the bits of history about each CT town, and he clearly loved his job, his boat, and being on the water.

Have a great trip! Also, if you like pesto, try Il Massimo della Focaccia just outside the train station on the waterfront in Monterosso. Fantastico!!!

Laurie😊

Just thought I would add my experience to the "stream". I did the hike in the 1990's but my friends did it a few years ago. I know that after a big hurricane it was closed to four or more years. Much of it was very damaged. When I did it I kept notes.... the toughest part was between Monterosso and Vernazza. the easiest was between Vernazza and corniglia. I was young so it was not hard for me (I hike a lot). What was orverwhelming was the number of tourists in Vernazza (where we stayed for 3 nights). THE LOCALS do not live there... no culture--- just tourists and restaurants in Vernazza. We did the whole hike in two days. You don't need to have your bags delivered anywhere. Get to your town by the local train (milk train) means. Then take the milk rain to where you plan to start your hike. When you finish your hike you stop and enjoy a meal... then take the milk train to your town. Very easy. The train is like taking a bus. Short and easy.

I also don't recommend taking all the family to Cinque Terre. There are many more charming towns to visit with your group. Sienna is excellent choice (small, charming, walkable, very interesting)... good food. Pick somewhere close to where you already plan to visit. Sienna and Cremona are near Florence...?? I loved Cremona (the Violin Museum) and Sienna (so charming and ate with the locals at a Pizzeria (walkable town--- parked our car and didn't return to parking lot til 2 days later).

Thanks for the great information
Randy

I know that after a big hurricane it was closed to four or more years.

It would help to know what the "it" is that's being referenced? The stretch of the SVA2 between Corniglia and Manarola was closed due to landslides in 2010 and is expected to re-open in 2025. The stretch of it between Manarola and Riomaggiore - the Via dell'Amore - was also closed because of a landslide in 2012 that badly injured some hikers. That is supposed to fully re-open in July of 2024. Neither of the other two segments of SVA2 have been closed for a considerable length of time although ANY trail can temporarily close at any time for weather, especially rain, damage or maintenance. There are MANY trails within the park system so reference the website.

The distance between the northernmost village (Monterosso) and southernmost (Riomaggiore) is only about 7 miles by train. There's no need to have luggage portered from one village to another, even if there's a service that would do that. Hike from point A to B and take a train back or train/bus to a starting point and hike back.

Regarding "difficulty " again - does this refer to exertion levels of
ascending/descending hills and steps, or is it also unstable
/rocky/muddy/poor terrain/footing

It means all of the above. The park's individual trail descriptions and difficulty ratings will be helpful! :O)

I found this helpful, and the national park website.
https://www.cinqueterrehike.com/en/