Order to Hike Cinque Terre Villages with Fear of Heights/Exposure

We did Monterosso al Mare, where we stayed at the Hotel Porta Roca, down to Vernazza, as that is what I read someplace, which was not too bad. You will work up a sweat but it didn't seem terribly scary. It seemed, late this September, that most of the shorter trails to the south were not open to hike. We took a train that one day from Vernazza to Corniglia, which if I remember right had a ton of stairs to climb to get up to. The next day we took a train from Monterosso down to Riomaggiore and then a boat up to Manarola. It was so hot that day we high tailed it back up by train and spent 3-6pm on the beach and in the water! Good luck! Enjoy~

Volastra TO Corniglia was pretty good and easy when we went in 2014. We took the bus up from Manarola to start. Make sure you have sturdy shoes and think about buying a cheap hiking stick to give you some stability when you feel I'll at ease. I think you can buy one locally there for about €10 or 15.

Kapri,

Given your issue with heights, I'd suggest starting in Monterosso and hiking from there to Vernazza and Corniglia (assuming those two segments are open at the time of your visit, which they likely will be). There's a steep climb at the Monterosso end and steps with a fairly high rise. IMO you might be more apprehensive doing that in a downward direction. The walk down to Vernazza is reasonably gradual. In addition, I've found that it's better to get the most strenuous part over with when well rested.

Note that a Park Pass will be required to hike the Sentiero Azzurro. These are easily available for a small fee.

Kapri, here's a link to a previous "fear of heights" discussion that might be helpful?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/steep-cliffs-on-hikes-in-cinque-terre

Along with encouragement from other posters, I'd included links to a couple of youtube videos that will give you an idea of what the Monterosso>Vernazza and Vernazza> Corniglia sections of the Sentiero Azzurro look like.

I was one of the posters on the thread Kathy mentions. When I planned our trip, I worried about the potential strenuous aspect, and underestimated the heights. Had quite a bit of anxiety/panic at one point where there was a huge drop off, no railing (both common throughout the hike, and railings were often not very secure), and the path was very narrow with rocks on the side of the hill. As mentioned, there are people who've posted their hikes on Youtube, searching 'Monterosso to Vernazza hike', etc., you will find them. Not professional, but to see what the trails truly look like.

With that said, I am very glad I did it - the views are stunning - and would probably do it again, but everyone's fears are at different levels. Enjoy your trip!

I am afraid of heights and did the entire five town trail. There were only minor sections where I felt any kind of unease, and that was usually where people were passing one another on a narrow part of the trail. If I got uncomfortable, I focused on the trail below my feet and not the view. Just know if it is wet/rainy at all, some of the trail can be VERY slippery, so sturdy shoes are a must. I personally have hiked much scarier trails in the Pacific Northwest, so I'd put CT at the low end of the scary height scale.

And make note of the links in this post to help you with checking what routes are open closer to your trip date. Most trails closed now due to storm damage, but may be open by mid-May. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/cinque-terre-aa6895fb-9d29-4960-9101-a5dbdff777e9

Monterosso to Vernazza was much easier than Corneglia to Vetnazza with it’s sheer cliff drop offs.

Thank you all so very much for all of your tips and advice. It is much appreciated! I will plan to do the hike in order of Monterosso-Vernazza-Corniglia. I was also unaware of the recent terrible storms in October. So sad :( I googled, and cannot believe how terrible some of the damage is. A boulder is currently cutting off the two side of Monterosso! I am hoping that this part of the trail will be fixed by May.

kapri, the CT had just minimal damage. The worst of it was in other parts of Liguria, and I'm quite sure that troublesome boulder in Monterosso will be history by May. You would not have believed the progress they'd made by May after the devastating Oct 25th, 2011 storm/flood.

Thank you Kathy! We will also be basing in Camogli area (at Villa Rosmarino!) for 2 nights after the CT, with hopes to hike to San Frutosso and visit Portofino and SML and Rapallo. So hopefully it will be ok there too. I read that Portofino was hit pretty hard.

kapri, Rapallo’s port was wiped out. It was about a week after we visited.

In Camogli, be sure to have pizza at Bar al Teatro. Fabulous!

We did Volastra to Corniglia and it was a pretty steep decent as you near Corniglia, not rickety stairs but uneven rock steps that take a bit of concentration. We both are a bit stressed by heights and found that on that trail, and others in the CT, having trekking poles, or at least one trekking pole, really helped with steep drop off worries. The poles also were helpful on the decent down to Corniglia on the steps. I was also thankful that we took the courtesy shuttle van from Manarola up to Volastra to start our hike. The really cool of the hike for me started at Volastra and the additional up up hike from Manarola would not have added to my hike experience. Get some poles that break down and if you get on the trail and don't need them, take them apart and stick them in our back back.

Has anyone done the hike from Portovenere to Riomaggiore? I'm ok about the distance but am another one who gets anxious about heights. I did ok on the main CT trails in 2011 (prior to the flood) and was happy I did it.