Photgraphers in Cinque Terre

In order to suggest good places to stay, it would help to have some idea on which of the five towns you want to stay in, and your budget level. You might want to have a look at the current Rick Steves Italy guidebook, as that has good, reliable lodging suggestions at different price ranges in all of the towns.

In terms of photography suggestions, the usual basic photographic principles are always a good starting point. A few thoughts.....

• A good time for photos is usually dawn or dusk, when the lighting is more subdued with more shadows.
• Try to looks for unusual subject material, such as a nice display in a shop window or whatever.
• If you plan on hiking, there are often some good photo ops on the hiking trails
• You might consider taking the Ferry between the five towns (weather permitting) or even down to Porto Venere for a few hours.
• You didn't say what type of camera gear you're using but if that includes interchangeable lenses, I find that a medium zoom and a good wide angle cover the majority of my shots.

As always, be sure to have adequate memory cards, spare batteries, lens hoods etc.

Of all the hikes I've done in the Cinque Terre, the best views have been from Manarola to Corniglia via Volastra, a steep hike up, up, up many steps. If you take your time, it's not that hard of a hike. Plan on plenty of stops for pictures looking down and to the sides.

If you hike north of Monterosso up the hill on the way to Levanto, the view back above Monterosso gives you a view of all five towns at once.

But there are amazing views all over the region. Just plan on lots of hikes to get the best views.

There are nice views of the towns from the passenger boat that goes between towns.

I've always stayed in Levanto, which is just one town north of the Cinque Terre towns. It's easy to get town to town by train, and the train pass that covers the five villages covers Levanto too. Levanto itself is a nice town, just not a picturesque postcard town like the other five are. On the upside, it's easier to find affordable lodgings there that don't require a zillion steps up and down.

The villages are on the west side and below the coastline landmass, and there are mountains further east. Thus there is no direct morning sun, so expect lower contrast for morning scenes and more opportunity for moody shots. There is only sea to the west, so the sweet light lasts for a long time - a late-in-the-day ferry ride would thus be preferable, for example. There is a link to a Flickr photo gallery for each village in the upper part of this web page: https://www.apathtolunch.com/p/area-infolinks.html