I have heard that there is now a policy limiting the number visitors to Cinque Terre each year. I've done some Googling but haven't been able to nail down a definitive rule and way to proceed to ensure access for our trip in June. Anyone experience this yet? We have not been there since 2009 and the policy was not in place then.
Posted by
Boston
1710 posts
There are no visitor limits. Stories last year were press overreactions to one comment by one administrator and were quickly refuted. Naturally there were few correcting follow-up stories.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Awesome, thanks. That was fairly close to what I was expecting the answer to be since I couldn't find any information whatsoever.
Posted by
Boston, MA
1829 posts
Yup, nothing to worry about.
One government official mentioned something but was more him speaking out of turn about an idea that is being thrown around in private meetings and the press ran with it like it was happening overnight.
Maybe it will happen down the road but likely would take years to implement it and you will hear plenty of stories about it beforehand.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Sweet, thanks
Posted by
Chicago
8098 posts
I walked the Cinque Terre trail for the first time about 35 years ago. I found it from researching a picture on a calendar. There were literally no others on the trail that day except for one class of local 14 year olds on a field trip and for part of the walk we were with an elderly academic couple from the US. When we arrived at the end of the trail there was a group of a dozen Germans complete with feather hats and lederhosen embarking from the train for a few days of hiking in the area. There was not a single tourist souvenir shop. It was entirely enchanting.
Now it is like Disneyland with tacky souvenir shops and crowds of aimless tourist wandering about. The area is naturally beautiful but it is no longer the charming backwater it was before it was publicized by Rick Steves. He has great taste but fragile places like this don't handle crowds well. It would not be a bad idea for the government there to have a system to limit entry if they want to preserve what is left.
Posted by
Boston, MA
1829 posts
I agree with Jane a system to limit crowds would be a very welcome sign and hopefully some day can be implemented correctly.
At peak levels the area cannot withstand it's growing popularity.
Doing so is not easy and would take quite some time to put into place. Hopefully anything in place will be targeted toward day trippers only and in no way affect those willing to spend a night or multiple nights in on of the 5 towns.
Not sure Rick Steve's is really to blame, combo of the cruise industry and general worldwide interest in finding such spots and getting outdoors more I think has much more to do with it.
Digital photography has more to do with it than Rick Steve's in my opinion as well.
To tourists planning a trip in 2017 it should be completely outside of their fears though.
I cannot imagine how beautiful it was back so many years ago when Jane was fortunate enough to visit but as a first time visitor in 2016 I still felt it was beautiful and though crowded and filled with tourist shops I am not sure in that regard it is different than any other popular area in Italy. For the most part these big groups of tourists are aimlessly walking just the one road through each town and at most times the trails and side streets/alleys are relatively un-crowded.
If you really want to escape the crowds it is no longer a good choice for that but if you want an seaside escape from Italy's cities it still works well for that and feels more laid back and less touristy in many ways than Venice and many popular cities/towns in nearby Tuscany. Few places in the world are as picturesque and the mere fact there are 5 different towns easy to access each with a little different vibe and look make it truly unique and don't think that will ever change.