How long in Cinque Terre

Hi Linda from USA. :O)
I don't know as anyone can give you a decisive answer as it can depend on personal preferences: some travelers prefer Tuscan villages/landscapes - especially quieter locations - and others are fans of the sea, are earnest hikers, and/or don't mind putting up with the hordes of day-tripping visitors.

I'm picking this up from a previous thread:

We are going April 2020. Midrange around $200 per nite and need 7-8
rooms for my group

Your "group", mentioned in yet another thread, is 14 people. Ages and mobilities are going to have an effect on what you can do and how efficiently you can move...which is only as fast as your slowest member. Some of the villages, or parts of them, would be a challenge for bad knees and other mobility limitations. If you are intending on doing all of your sightseeing together, getting all of you on and off packed trains or ferries (assuming they're running when you go) would be a challenge as well.

If you keep it to 2 nights, you can see some of the village (you mentioned Monterosso?) you've chosen for your stay on the late afternoon of arrival, I don't know if it's necessary to do all 4 others. Corniglia, which I personally like very much, is tiny and involves either a ride up on a small bus or climbing a loooong switchback stairway to reach from the train station. It also doesn't have ferry service so just based on logistics, you might give it a skip. Vernazza is a fave with tourists so tends to be the most crowded, and Manarola is probably a bit more favored than than Riomaggiore. Horse apiece there, maybe, but it seems to get more mentions on the forum here.

I guess you have to weigh if what the CT has to offer is or is not a better fit than Tuscany for all involved? I'm also a bit curious how you're planning to explore Tuscany from San. G with a large group?

Hi thanks so much for the info. One thing I should mention is our group is flexible. We dont have to do everything together. In Tuscany we will rent 3 cars and they can go wherever they want and maybe meet for lunch. Your right a large group is hard to navigate. So we have travelers ages 3 to 68. We want to take our time an explore. I have read though a full day is enough in CT . We’re just not sure. Really appreciate your imput
LINDA

I added a bit more to my original post, Linda. Don't know if it'll be helpful or not. We are hikers so we booked 3 nights to do some trails + scope out the villages. There are also loftier parts of some of them that most day trippers don't get to, like the cemeteries, that we climbed up to explore.

Can the CT be done in a day? Again, it depends on what you want to do. It would not have been enough for us but for just a walkabout of some the (VERY small) villages, then 1 day + 2 nights is probably enough. Minus the trails, there isn't a great deal to do there.

Hi Linda,

As an add-on to some of Kathy's feedback. Thank you Kathy for bringing all the threads together as it helps my response.

Last year, my friends and family had the same decision. We were 6 adults (mid-50s-mid-60s and two college-aged girls), two of the adults had mobility issues. We opted to stay the 2 nights in Monterroso due to its relatively flat terrain and the ability of a taxi to take you into the old town (which we didn't need after all it was a manageable walk). We then spent 7 nights total in Tuscany, 3 in Florence and 4 in a B&B 20 km outside Siena. We had a car for Tuscany, did not need one in Cinque Terre or Florence.

If we had to do it again, we would have spent another day in Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is best experienced in the early morning and late evening when the day trippers have gone home.

I agree that with the size of your group, different ages, and fitness levels that the Cinque Terre splitting up may be a good way to navigate during your stay. If you decide to only go for the 2 nights with one full day, I will share some insights from our trip that may help you.

• Get up and go early. The day trippers start coming around 9:30-10:00 and almost all take the train to go from town-to-town (given that is not realistic to drive). The train stations get crowded and some of the most popular towns (e.g. Vernazza) are inundated by 10:30.
• If you want to hike, go early. We opted to stay together as a group and arranged to do some of our hiking mid-way through the trip in Manarola (where we could park our none walkers at a wine bar for an hour as the rest of us hiked through the vineyards). Make sure you find out what trails are best for your group and your hotel can help you there.
• Don't try to visit all the towns in one day. We tried and failed. We hit four of the 5. And frankly some of our group was exhausted. Our favorite town was Corniglia. Kathy is correct, this is not something you want to walk to the town, but the shuttle bus is convenient and timely. If you hit it around 11:00 to 11:30, you can find a great place for lunch before the crowds hit the town.
• If you can arrange it, try to go on the water. We opted to take a Sunset cruise with Fish & Chill. The boat can hold about 6-8 people, so it may not work for your entire group, but those that want to be on the water will get a great experience of the Cinque Terre.
• The girls went swimming and they were fine (because they swim in Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz/Carmel where the water is cold), but for the rest of us, the water was chilly and it is a bit rocky (so bring appropriate shoes).

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time.

Sandy

The first time I heard it used in Wisconsin I thought they were
saying, “a horse of peace.”

LOL, Tom_MN! I'm guessing from the "MN" that we live in the same state, although I was born and raised in the one directly below it. :O).

Hi Sandy 0
Thanks for your time and all the great tips on the Cinque Terre. This helped tremendously.
I think because of you we will stay an extra day. We are all so excited for this trip
Thanks so much
Linda

Hi Linda,

Happy to help.

Sandy

I could spend a month in Cinque Terra--but that's me. They are quiet like Venice, especially when the tourists leave at the end of the day so definitely stay overnight. I liked Vernazza best, but there's a restaurant in Manorolo--Aristide--that makes my mouth water. Definitely do some walking between the little towns along the road. My preference would be a 3rd day in CT and 1 day less in San G.

When all the hiking trails were open, we spent two days hiking them, so were there three nights which was more than enough time.