return to Cinque Terra

My son went to Cinque Terre in 1999 when he was a student in Florence. He returned with a girlfriend around 2010 and was appalled at the crowds. He devised us not to go when we took our daughters in 2011 but we went anyway. Manarola was nice but when we hiked over to Vernazza we found the trails and the town itself so overcrowded we couldn’t leave fast enough. But the train was so packed we had to let one go by and catch the next one. . .

Wewon’t be back.

Are there any suggestions for alternatives to the Cinique Terra along the Ligurian Coast that are not getting clobbered by mass tourism? We would love to stay in the area a week or so just to eat, hike, beach and chill out

Vernazza is the most famous and the most visited by the Cruiseders. Last time I went to Le Cinque Terre was in very early May 2009. Drove to Riomaggiore, then, by train, visited Corniglia and Manarola, from which I walked back to Riomaggiore (the Via dell’Amore was still open then). Although it was only May I I purposely avoided Vernazza, the crowds were heavy everywhere and trains full. I decided it wasn’t worth going anymore. Totally different from the late 70s early 80s when I spent my summers visiting there from Forte dei Marmi.

If you still decide to go, you can still stay in Vernazza. You should still be able to enjoy the place early morning and late evenings when the day trippers are gone. The important thing is to skip town during the peak hours and either walk the high trails or visit somewhere else or do some kayaking.

In terms of beaches the only beach is in Monterosso. You could also head there from Vernazza when the hordes of Cruiseders arrive to pillage the towns. The beach is busy in June but is not too bad.

Other things you could do while Vernazza is under siege, is take a train to Levanto and then a bike ride from Levanto to Framura along the bike trail (at sea level built on an old dismissed railway). Further west you could spend a day in Moneglia at the beach (Moneglia is part of the “Most Beautiful Villages List” like Vernazza) or also visit Santa Margherita and Portofino (and the Abbey of San Fruttuoso). Moneglia and Santa Margherita are along the rail line. Portofino is a short bus ride from S. Margherita.
Camogli, west of Santa Margherita, is also a nice destination.

If you want to visit the Cinque Terre, however, I suggest you stay there overnight, because at this point in history, the Cinque Terre are enjoyable only in the early morning or in the evening when the day trippers are gone.

Thanks Roberto for your input! I'm leaning towards skipping the Cinque Terra altogether. Moneglia sounds wonderful! Would you consider a 4 to 5 night stay there? Sounds like a mid size town and not a village. I assume there are a variety of accomodations available as well as plenty of great places to eat. Is beach easily accessible from town? Hiking and biking nearby? Any recommendations for places to stay there?

I visited the CT in 2002 and again in 2013 and noticed a huge increase in crowds. Probably even worse today.

I recommend Rapallo. It's right next to Santa Marguerita and Camogli (and Portofino), about an hour north of the CT. I spent 5 days there and loved it. Much less crowded than the CT villages (though certainly in season it is not un-crowded, but no where in Italy is).

Here's the trip report I wrote (I did a couple of day trips that included the CT). Scroll down to post #46 to start the section of the report you are interested in. https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/photo-safari-to-the-south-of-france-the-italian-rivera-and-the-swiss-alps-990300/page3/

I follow Adventures with Sarah. She is a guide for RS but she does tours etc., on her own as well. She is currently in Italy with her sons. She was just talking about and showed video of a city close to CT. I think it was Levanto. She was raving because she thought it was quite nice and less busy than CT. It sounds like there is a large beach and it looked pretty.

I've stayed in the Cinque Terre three times (2007, 2011, and just this May 2019), though I've always stayed in Levanto, one town north of Monterosso. In 2017 I spent three nights up north in Camogli and day tripped down to the Cinque Terre for a few hours.

Yes, it's surely much more crowded than 18 years ago. And yet I keep going back.

(Note to people who remember crowded trains from 2011 or earlier: they aren't so crowded anymore, because there are a lot more trains now. The "Cinque Terre Express" trains were added a few years back and has improved things a lot.)

But I don't spend a lot of time in the villages during the day, when they are the most crowded. And personally, I'd NEVER want to go in the summer. (ANYWHERE in Italy in the summer, actually!) This last time, I hiked two trails I hadn't hiked before: Levanto to Monterosso and Manarola to Corniglia via Volastra - a very steep climb up, up, up to Volastra instead of the easy lower trail most people used to hike, which has been closed for a few years now. The Volastra trail was not uncrowded but didn't have tour groups on it, so it wasn't unpleasant. (It's also a difficult hike with a zillion steps up, but the views are breathtaking, perhaps the best of any hike in the area I've done. There is a bus up to Volastra to make it easier half way.) The trail from Levanto to Monterosso was much less crowded and still offered some great views down on all five villages.

So...you can still visit the area and enjoy it selectively. I wouldn't have wanted to hike the lower trails between Corniglia and Vernazza and Vernazza to Monterosso now - I took a ferry one morning (to Porto Venere) and could see the tour groups clogging up those trails - no thanks! I didn't visit Vernazza on this last trip at all - it is Rick Steves's favorite village, so it tends to be a lot of other peoples' favorite village, too. I'll bet it was lovely and peaceful 20-30 years ago.

There is plenty more to the Italian Riviera than just the Cinque Terre. I mentioned visiting Camogli - LOVELY town, an Italian tourist town that is not busy outside of summer. You can also visit nearby Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, and Portofino. On this last trip, I spent two nights in Rapallo (harbor damage from a storm last fall is preventing ferry traffic this year, not sure when that will be fixed). If you want to go back, consider Camogli or one of the other towns. There are hiking opportunities up in this region (Portofino peninsula - look at a map) too. And the trains make it easy to day trip up and down the riviera.

Jeff,

You've received some great suggestions so far, and I have a few thoughts to add......

1. Summer is undoubtedly the worst time to travel in the Cinque Terre, as the entire area will likely be dreadfully crowded, not only with the cruise ship hordes but also bus tours which often disgorge their groups in Levanto for the short (~4 minute) ride to Monterosso. I've encountered groups from Germany and Austria, who all arrive in the C.T. with hiking poles in hand and they head straight for the trails. Is there any possibility you could travel in the shoulder seasons?

2. Which of the towns is least affected..... that would probably be Corniglia, as it's high on a rock bluff and that means either a hike up hundreds of stairs from the rail station or a trip in the shuttle van. Which of the towns is most affected..... IMO, that would be Vernazza. I doubt that it will be same experience as when you stayed there last time. I wouldn't even visit Vernazza in the day time as the last time I tried that (late afternoon) it was a brutal experience! I can describe the scenario if you're interested.

FWIW, I've always enjoyed staying in Monterosso as it's larger with an "old town" and a "new town" so it seems to absorb the crowds a bit better. It has the nicest beaches / swimming areas of the five towns and also a good choice of restaurants and other amenities. My favourite hotel there is up the hill from the town, and is a tranquil oasis even if the town is crowded, where I can sit on the patio with a glass of Prosecco and enjoy the ocean views in the afternoon sun.

If you want to be close enough to at least do a bit of exploring in the C.T., you could stay in Levanto which is just north of Monterosso. It also has a large beach and is close enough to the five towns that you can have dinner in the C.T. and easily get back to your hotel in Levanto.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Ken you mentioned you usually stay in Monterosso. I also thought about this for the same reason you mentioned...bigger town able to accommodate the crowds. Just wondering if Monterosso is getting slammed as well. I am leaning towards Rapallo or Levanto but do they have a relaxed small town vibe with accessible beach?

Stayed in Camogli,last October and it was a delight! Visited areas of Liguria we’d not seen, day tripped to Vernazza and Manarola as well as Rapallo and SML and walked the path on the old railroad line between Framura and Levanto. Great option, friendly people, more Italians than English speakers.

Thanks Laural!

I would also consider Camogli but do not want to become another day tripper into the crowded Cinque terra for the reasons outlined previously. Does Camogli have a small beach to chill out on? Is there enough to do in town for restaurants , etc?

Jeff,

Monterosso does get the cruise trippers and the town can be busy in mid-day but it's not "slammed" to the same extent as Vernazza or the other towns. The key to staying in the Cinque Terre these days is not to be in the towns during the peak part of the day. Either that or find a quiet spot in one of the towns, on the trails or on the beach so you can avoid the worst of the hordes. I often return to my hotel in the afternoon for a rest, to cool off in the A/C or to spend some time on E-mail or just enjoying the views.

One point to note is that a portion of the beaches in Monterosso are "pay-per-use" but I don't think the costs are exorbitant. Your hotel staff can fill you in on which areas are free. At least in the paid sections, you probably won't have to worry about day trippers.

The beach in Levanto is huge and I doubt there would be a crowd problem there. The beach in Bonassola is smaller so it can be a bit crowded at times.

Despite the crowds, I'll continue staying in Monterosso and don't expect any significant problems. If my usual favourite hotel is booked up (which it frequently is) I might try staying at Hotel Porto Roca, as it's somewhat removed from the town so no day trippers. However those hiking the Sentiero Azzurro trail have to pass right by the hotel. It also has a beautiful swimming pool so one can lounge there in the busy part of the day with a glass of Vino and never worry about the crowds at all. The hotel is a bit pricey but I'm sure I could manage a few nights.

Moneglia is a small town. Approximately the size of Monterosso.
It’s an excellent base as it is half way between the Cinque Terre and S. Margherita.
There are plenty of trails. I always found it very relaxing.

Ken,

What are your impressions and opinions of Moneglia for a 5 night stay?

Didn’t pay attention to the beach scene as we are hikers not beach goers. Lovely waterfront, though. Restaurant options were excellent and far less expensive than the Cinque Terre. We wanted to stay in Moneglia but I could not find the lodging we wanted. Got a great apartment, basic, Italian, non-luxury in Camogli.

Kaeleku,

We want to return here for a number of reasons but we are just trying to strategize minimizing crowds.... in no particular order

cuisine - weather- relax - and fits into our geographic itinerary .....

yes we are widely traveled and still enjoy returning to places we love

Jeff,

I've only been through Moneglia but have never stayed there. I tried a departure from my usual routine on my last trip by staying in Bonassola, but was somewhat "underwhelmed". When I can return, I'll be staying once again in Monterosso.

Really saddened to read about the over crowding because I am considering a stay in May 2020. I just started researching my trip to Italy, and loved the idea of hiking the coast for a couple of days. My sense is that summers are out of the question, but what about May? I am imaging a situation similar to Santorini in Greece where the days are difficult because of masses of day trippers, but the nights are magical. Any advice or additional information would be appreciated.

hellotawnya, I was back in the Cinque Terre this last May 2019, and I had a great time. It was my third stay there since 2007. The crowds did not bother me - I mostly avoided them.

I had already hiked all the "main coastal trails" between towns (when they were all still open) back in 2007. The ones that are still open between Corniglia and Vernazza and between Vernazza and Monterosso are the most popular and likely to be the most popular with tour groups, if you plan to hike again. On this trip, I hiked a steep alternative trail between Manarola and Corniglia, a steep climb up to the town of Volastra. This hike has a zillion steps up, up, up! but the views down are breathtaking - the best of any Cinque Hike I've done. Very rewarding. The trail was not empty - plenty of people know about this trail - but it wasn't mobbed like the other trails would be. I took my time and had no trouble going up or down the steep climb. (You can take a bus up to Volastra to avoid the climb up anyway.)

I also hiked this time from Levanto (where I stayed - again) back to Monterosso, and that was nice hike too - even less busy than the Volastra hike. You get some great views on all five villages from part of this hike, too.

As a bonus, neither of those hikes requires the park hiking pass - both are free.

There is much more to the beautiful Italian Riviera than just the Cinque Terre, by the way, and most of it is much less crowded. Two years ago, I spent three glorious days at the town of Camogli, a ways north of the Cinque Terre, near the peninsula with Portofino. In May, the town was empty; it's a busy summer Italian tourist town. There's also the larger Santa Margherita Ligure nearby and Rapallo (where I stayed this May for a few nights) also. It's easy to get around by train, and there's a ferry between Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, and Camogli. Much, much less crowded than the Cinque Terre, which is about an hour away by train, easy to take in as a day trip as well.

These are all great comments! I will also be visiting CT next summer. As mentioned, the villages are pleasant in the morning & evening, so I’ve chosen to stay in Manarola and then day trip to other villages outside the CT, hike within CT or have a beach day in Monterosso.

We stayed in Manarola a few years ago and really loved how the village mellows out at night and in the mornings.

Hi, read the comments here and have learned alot. I will say at the outset that I think that some of the comments and some of the suggestions that it's overcrowded might not be a general view. If you are looking for a place that is untouched, then you are thinking of the wrong country. Italy has been a tourist destination for at least 1000 years. There is not an inch of it that has not been intensely explored. Of course there are more & less popular spots (di giorno) but by and large where you want to be so do others, including Italians.

I don't have extensive experience in 5terre having been just 3-4 times, but I was there last summer 2018 & would highly recommend it. I was there Thursday end of May until the June 2 Natioanl Day, so not completely off-season and I did not find it crowded at all. I stayed in lovely airbnb in Riomaggiore and took the ferry over to Monterosso one morning and, at the advice of my landlady, I avoided the trails and used the train to visit Vernazza & Cornelia. Cheaper than the trails, easy, and quick. I did the entire trail in the 1980's and would do it again if it the more accessible trails were open, but I tried it 3 years ago and it was almost impossible. Believe me, there are magnificant views from the towns that are no less heart breaking

I'll just add my general experience: a beautiful ferry ride in a half empty boat, followed by an excellent (as always) coffee at a cafe with some local workers. A walk around the town where I felt all alone, train to Vernazza where I found a fabulous restaurant at the top of the cliff overlooking the Mediterranean to have pesto lasagna & a half liter of amazing Vernacia and Sciacchetrà followed by about six gratis pours of Italian liquor (great story about how you had to pay in cash to "la nona.")..all for about €12

of course there were other tourists there, but I never had to wait for a restaurant seat. I never waited for a ferry or train ticket. I never waited to pay at the local groceries or cafes. The streets were just pleasantly alive. Walk off the main streets or into a little known church and it was fairly desolate.

I tend to agree with the posters who keep going back & , really, I'm not trying to set myself up as an expert. I lived in Europe for five-years and think Italy is the most beautiful country in the world so I've been there maybe 50 times. Don't deny yourself some amazing views, great food, great wine....because it's not untouched. Let's face it boys and girls, this place is touristy because it IS amazing....

We are planning to go the beginning of October. Is it much less crowded at that time?

Some observations from our experience this year. My wife and I had never been to Cinque Terre. We stayed 3 nights in Manarola (Da Paulin - Conchiglia apt). Arrived Thu 5 Sep (train from Siena) and left Sun 8 Sep (train to Milan).

I'll preface by saying that I don't do well in crowds or long lines, becoming quite grouchy. Thus I strive to create itineraries that minimize encounters with crowded conditions.

We were very satisfied with this early Sep visit to Cinque Terre, despite some crowded moments.
Staying in Manarola, we visited all five of the towns, including going to Vernazza and Corniglia three times each. We would gladly stay in Manarola again.

The crowds were absolutely awful on only two occasions. The worst was a short visit to Riomaggiore on a Saturday. It was truly a mosh pit at the waterfront as both trains and ferries disgorged hordes of visitors. The other time was when we changed trains at La Spezia upon arrival on Thursday, boarding a very crowded milk run train with our luggage; however, it might have been especially crowded because a train (ours) had arrived at La Spezia 30 minutes late.
During the day (regardless of day of week) in both Manarola and Veranzza there were times when tour groups partially blocked the narrow waterfront pedestrian sidewalks/trails as the folks stopped to take photos, but it was not unbearable.
For two of our three visits to Corniglia it was easy to catch the shuttle from the train station right after disembarking from the train. Saturday early afternoon (NOT morning) was the exception: most people (including us) chose to walk up the steps to the town as the wait for the shuttle was quite long. (We had also arrived at Corniglia about 8:15am that same Saturday morning to hike; at that time there was no crowd disembarking and it was thus easy to catch the shuttle.)

We never stood in line for a train ticket. I used the Trentitalia mobile app (or accessed their web site via PC) to purchase tickets for our arrival and departure from the Cinque Terre. Also, for our two full days I purchased hiking / train Treno Cards. Though we only hiked one day, the cards saved us money and stress on both days as we rode the train multiple times.

One evening we attended the opera in Vernazza. Nice experience, and the room was only half-full.

We did one hike, from Corniglia to Vernazza. We started on Saturday morning about 8:30am, and encountered few people during the 90 minutes until the very end, when folks started departing Vernazza to hike the opposite direction to Cornigila.

The local folks' attitude in general seemed almost indifferent to us as tourists, being neither negative nor particularly positive. For example the two times we bought a few groceries at the small co-op in Manarola, the store folks didn't smile but were very helpful - which was how I noticed they were also treating most local customers. And a couple of elderly women we encountered outside our apartment didn't offer greetings until I did; one of them even smiled in return. It reminded me of the local service during a late summer trip we took to Dubrovnik two years earlier - perhaps this late in the season folks are just kind of tired due to the long hours of the tourist season.

This was our first trip, and was wonderful. We are definitely happy to have seen the Cinque Terre during the busy summer season. If I visit again, I would likely choose to arrive during a different season in order to see the region under different weather conditions. BTW, one night during our September stay there was an hours-long thunderstorm; this caused us to delay our hiking one day (from Friday to Saturday.)

Hi, just chiming in with a question as we too have CT on our potential list of stops- is April a busy time for the crowds?