Hello! I am halfway through my two week trip and just finished the Ligurian coast part of the trip. This has already been the best vacation I have ever had. As an inexperienced hiker, I had a difficult time mentally preparing for the trip. Mileage and elevation gains, in the context of hiking, meant nothing to me to help me gauge difficulty. So I thought I could help other hiking rookies.
I went with a tour and we did 5 days of hiking. As a general rule, there was A LOT of uphill. My mileage and stair count at the end of the trip was 48 miles and 444 floors climbed.
1. Levanto to Monterosso
-beautiful views of all of the villages! I am glad we went this direction. We ended up walking down sort of stairs rather than rock formations.
2. Riomaggiore to Manorola to Volastra to Corniglia to Vernazza
-this was the toughest day by far. When I read all of the reviews about Riomaggiore to Manorola being 45 minutes straight of stairs, they were not lying. A few of my group, including me, took the train from Manorola to Corniglia to skip that second steep stretch. I think this was extremely ambitious for one day but as everyone said, the views are worth it!
3. Riomaggiore to Portovenere
- Again, several of my group, including me, took a bus to a higher starting point to start the trek. And we still ended up hiking ten miles.
-This was the scariest day for me. The trails were narrow but, unlike the previous days, some spots were pure rock or marble. There were two spots where we were scrambling very close to the cliff's edge. At the time, I just kept on going because it would have been harder to turn around. But I wouldn't do this hike again. I have heard there are other routes though.
4. Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino and back
- a steep start but a relatively short hike to Portofino compared to the other days. We made it longer by walking back. But we walked mostly on the coastal path on the way back starting from the Paraggi halfwayish point
5. Ruta to San Fruttuoso
- we took the bus to Ruta and then on the San Fruttuoso which is this magical town on the coast, only accessible on foot or by ferry. This was my favorite day. The hike was through forests which made for some different scenery. Absolutely amazing.
My general thoughts:
1. This was challenging for me but so worth it. I prepared as much as I could with strength training and stair climbing but I was still working very hard at times. But, assuming you have no physical limitations (knee problems, not allowed to exercise for whatever reason) I think most people can do these hikes. Just go at your own pace and bring water.
2. I chose to do a tour because I was worried about navigating the trails alone and being motivated to go on. These trails are well marked and absolutely you could do these even without being able to read trail maps. I am glad I was with a group. I needed the group dynamic to keep going when it got challenging. But I know that not everyone needs that.
3. I would not do any of these trails in the rain.
4. The temperatures were 75 but it felt like 90. There was very little sun protection. If I were traveling in warmer months, I would hike very very early and hang out at the beach later.
5. The Cinque Terre trails were by far the most crowded but not annoyingly crowded yet. If you travel during more crowded months, the Levanto to Monterosso trail was an excellent way to see all of the villages on a less crowded trail.
6. I brought/ wore my swimsuit every day and swam a lot. The water was chilly but not so different from Lake Michigan in the summer. A lot of people were swimming or at least wading.