Welcome to Part 3 of our digital journey through Italy! This post will focus on our one-night stay in Cinque Terre. If you’re planning your own trip, be sure to check out my family’s Venice itinerary, Duomo experience, and Florence tips. A guide for Tuscany and Rome will be published soon.
CINQUE TERRE
This picturesque portion of Italy is comprised of five villages on the Italian Riviera: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Paths connect these villages, and one of the prime attractions of this region is hiking between the quaint and colorful towns. While once an isolated area that was difficult to access via most forms of transportation, trains now connect the villages to each other and to more central locations. Cinque Terre, which literally means “Five Lands,” didn’t become a popular tourism spot until the 1970s and has since been dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage Site and national park.
The village of Vernazza.
WHERE TO STAY
My family opted to hop a train from Florence to the largest of these villages, Monterosso al Mare, where we spent one night at La Cabana Hotel before heading to Rome. The quaint, family-run inn has gorgeous views of the Mediterranean, and the room price includes a sizable breakfast. My husband and I splurged on one of the “Junior Suites,” which included a terrace and hot tub. We liked the idea of having a place where the family could relax together. Monterosso also doesn’t have the same night life scene as some of the larger cities we were visiting, so the hot tub provided us a fun evening activity.
The hotel is situated above the main town and is about a five-minute drive from the train station. Free shuttle service to and from La Cabana are available via the front desk. You should coordinate with the staff before arrival to ensure a smooth check-in process—we had no issues scheduling an early morning car through the hotel. You’re also able to walk down to Monterosso’s main street thanks to a paved path through olive trees, but I wouldn’t recommend it with luggage. The walk takes approximately 10 minutes.
We really enjoyed our stay in Cinque Terre—it was a relaxing portion of our journey placed strategically between the busy days spent in Florence and Rome. While we loved our large and affordable Airbnbs, it was also enjoyable to have a somewhat luxurious night in a proper hotel—we didn’t have to take the trash out or strip the sheets before leaving!
THINGS TO DO
BOAT TOUR
There are ferries and boats galore in Cinque Terre, and if the weather holds, I’d highly recommend seeing the five towns from the water. The Fitzgerald family hired Captain Stefano for a three-hour private boat tour—and it was such a success!
Just three sisters, exploring Cinque Terre by boat!
After checking into our hotel, we picked up (delicious) pasta to-go and a bottle of wine for our tour. Stefano met us at the main port—his boats always leave from Monterosso, which was the main reason we opted to stay in this village. He doesn’t mind if you bring snacks and beverages on his vessel, though we double-checked with him via email to be polite.
It was slightly too cold to swim in mid-May, but we managed to see all of Cinque Terre’s five towns, explore two of them by foot, and learn about the history of the area. (If you opt to walk around a few of the villages, just know Stefano stays with the boat while you’re out and about.)
The view from the village of Manarola.
The cost of our excursion was €100.00 x hour x boat and had to be paid in cash. This was very reasonable when divided between my party of seven (the max for one boat). We left a 20% tip, meaning each of us paid about $50 for a memorable afternoon with a hilarious, Italian captain.
Lastly, some of my best pictures from Italy were snapped on the boat! The pastel-painted villages change colors in the setting sun, and the Mediterranean makes for a beautiful backdrop. Stefano explained to us that he has taken thousands of photos of Cinque Terre, but it never feels like quite enough.
HIKING
As mentioned above, the main attraction of Cinque Terre are the hikes between villages. Four of us opted to hike from the neighboring town of Vernazza back to Monterosso. (The other three were dropped off by our boat captain directly to the port of Monterosso.) The Blue Trail hike took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes, and was a little over 2 miles long.
To enter the trail, look for signs to Monterosso and an ascending path along an alley above the church of Saint Margaret of Antioch. You’ll continue to climb up through olive trees and vineyards before the terrain levels out a third of the way through your journey. Be sure to turn around and snap a few shots of Vernazza before getting too deep into the forest!
The path can be somewhat uneven and a few spots are narrow. As your hike comes to an end and you begin to descend into town, you’ll see lemon trees and the roofs of Monterosso.
Tips: Landslides shuttered some of the trails several years ago, and current weather can close certain paths. Be sure to check the status of your hike before taking off. This website and this website helped keep us up to date. I would also not suggest wearing flip-flops on the trail; I was very comfortable in these lightweight tennis shoes.
LONGER HIKE
We didn’t have time to complete the longer hike between Vernazza and Monterosso before sunset (you do not want to be on these old paths at night). But there is another trail option that will take you past two sanctuaries toward the top of the park. This hike is supposed to be around 3 hours and 30 minutes.
CASTELLO DORIA
Looking for a historical spot to visit while in the town of Vernazza? Check out Castello Doria, the oldest surviving tower in Cinque Terre. It dates back to about the year 1000, and it offers up a beautiful 360-degree view of this Mediterranean village. The short but steep hike to Castello Doria will take you through winding paths of quaint, old houses. Once at the top, there is a 1.50 Euro entrance fee—be sure to have cash! Take the narrow staircase to the very top of the tower for one of the tallest views in town.
OTHER THINGS TO DO:
Go to the beach in Monterosso—it’s the “beachiest” of the villages
Visit one of the nearby vineyards
Take a pesto-making class—this region is known for this sauce!
Go cliff jumping in Riomaggiore
Pick up regional goodies at Cantina du Sciacchetra in Monterosso
Check out views of Manarola while sipping wine at Nessun Dorma
Walk around the village cemeteries
Where to Eat
GASTRONOMIA SAN MARTINO
Don’t let the buffet-style counter and plastic dishes fool you—this place whipped up some of the creamiest pesto pasta I’ve ever eaten! There was no need for more toppings or salt; the regional pesto was perfection and the trofie pasta (a Northern Italy style-pasta that is twisted and made with a little potato) melted in my hungry mouth. We took our lunch to-go, and devoured it on our boat tour of Cinque Terre.
DA ERALDO
After our hike back to Monterosso, we were famished and seeking another regional dish: seafood! So we went to Da Eraldo, and sat outside at a classic, Italian red and white checkered cloth table. We munched on cheese appetizers, sipped white wine, and ordered incredible seafood pasta dishes filled with prawns, squid, mussels, and salty garlic sauce. I also sampled Cinque Terre’s famous sardines, served with hunks of butter, slices of bread, prosciutto, pesto, and olive oil. This was one of our favorite meals of the trip.
TIPS:
The weather is always changing here. In May, we wore jeans, short sleeves, and rain jackets.
As mentioned above, be sure to check which trails are open before starting your hiking journey.
Sometimes, when the trails are “closed” it really means the checkpoint isn’t open. Tourist information centers in the towns will have more information.
If you plan on hiking multiple trails and using public transportation, look into purchasing the Cinque Terre Card. It was unnecessary for us because we took a boat tour, but it could be useful if that’s not in your budget.
I love all of Rick Steves’ guide books—this pocket-sized one is for all of Cinque Terre.
And here’s a few more photos from our trip!
“Who that has ever visited the borders of this classic sea, has not felt at the first sight of its waters a glow of reverent rapture akin to devotion, and an instinctive sensation of thanksgiving at being permitted to stand before these hallowed waves?”