Whether you’re after a hiking adventure, a mouth-watering foodie tour or a relaxed spend-all-day-by-the-sea break – Cinque Terre ticks all the boxes and has a little something for everyone. I feel so grateful (and lucky) that I was able to spend time here last summer in the few months when we were able to travel between the UK and Italy, something I won’t be taking for granted any time soon. Until we can travel again, I’ll just be over here day-dreaming about these five glorious towns on the coast of Italy…
Where to stay
To be honest, you could stay in any of the five picturesque towns that make up Cinque Terre and have an amazing time. I stayed in Riomaggiore and it was a great base for my stay. La Spezia would also be a great option as, although it isn’t technically part of Cinque Terre, it’s connected to all the towns via train and has more accomodation options.
Getting there
Getting to Cinque Terre is relatively easy – you can fly in to Pisa, then catch a train to La Spezia. From La Spezia, you can then get the train to any of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre.
A single train trip along the Cinque Terre line will set you back Є4, but if you’re planning to jump between the towns during your stay (and why wouldn’t you!) then I’d recommend getting a Cinque Terre Card, which will give you unlimited train travel for 1, 2 or 3 days. You can buy the card online and save the PDF to your phone, easy peasy!
Itinerary
Day 1
Take the day to explore Riomaggiore – walk down the main street, explore the local shops, eat multiple gelatos, jump off the rocks into the crystal clear water at the harbour. In the early afternoon, catch the train to Manarola and head to mountain-top bar Nessun Dorma, a perfect spot for for sunset drinks – in the busy summer months, it fills up quickly so make sure you get there early to nab a table. Once the sun has set, make your way to Trattoria dal Billy for dinner.
Day 2
Get your walking shoes ready, Day 2 has hiking on the agenda! Some sections of Cinque Terre’s hiking trails are closed (and have been for years), so check out the Cinque Terre Hike site before deciding which tracks you want to tackle.
Before you set off for the day, pick up a panini from one of the bakeries in Riomaggiore, you’ll need the sustenance for the next few hours! Catch a quick train to Manarola to get started on the Manarola to Corniglia trail, which will take around 2.5hrs. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you could skip the train and set straight off from Riomaggiore to Manarola (be warned, this stretch is said to be one of the harder hikes in Cinque Terre) and continue on to Corniglia after a drink break in Manarola.
When you arrive in Corniglia, grab a gelato to cool down and then make your way to Bar Terza Terra di Cadario Alison for lunch. Sitting at the edge of the hilltop village, Bar Terza has the most stunning view along the pristine Cinque Terre coastline. Train back to Riomaggiore and (after a well-deserved shower) reward yourself with a sunset drink at Bar e Vini a Pié de Má before making your way to Dau Cila for a mouth-watering, Michelin star dinner.
Day 3
After a full day of physical activity yesterday, it’s time to relax and soak up some Italian sun. Head to Monterosso al Mare and set yourself up on a sun bed for the day – it should set you back about Є25 for 2 beds with an umbrella for a whole day.
For lunch, make your way to Da Eraldo, the seafood linguine is a must…I’m still dreaming about it! Once you’ve had your share of vitamin d for the day, make your way to Vernazza for dinner. I’d recommend grabbing a waterside table at Burgus, ordering yourself an Aperol and watching the sun go down. And of course, no day in Italy would be complete without a gelato, grab a scoop or two from Gelateria Vernazza before heading home for the night.
Day 4
Another BIG hiking day but believe me, it’s so worth it. Catch an early morning train to Vernazza and get ready to hike The Azure Trail to Monterosso. This section of the Cinque Terre trails is one of the only ocean tracks currently open and there’s a small fee to access the path (although access is included with some of the rail tickets). The Azure Trail is breathtaking – views of the calm ocean stretching as far as the eye can see, dotted with boats making their way between the coastal towns. The hike itself is challenging but not as tough as the Riomaggiore to Manarola stretch.
On arrival in Monterosso, head to San Martino Gastronomia for lunch. I’d recommend trying the Trofie al Pesto, which is a speciality pasta of the region – yummmm. After you’ve re-fueled and rested your legs, head to the station and catch a train from Monterosso to San Margheritta, which should take around 45mins. From San Margheritta, there’s a coastal path you can take to walk all the way to Portofino, taking around an hour all up (possibly longer if you stop every 5 minutes to admire the views and snap photos like I did). It was one of my favourite walks of the whole trip, this part of the world is so uniquely beautiful and I was pinching myself that I was exploring it. In Portofino, wash off the day with a swim either at one of the many public swimming spots along the way or in the Portofino harbour (there’s a local swimming spot at the end of the path around the harbour). Treat yourself to an early dinner in Portofino before catching the ferry back to San Margheritta, and from there a train back to Riomaggiore.
Day 5
It’s sadly time to pack up shop and head home, wherever that may be for you. Make the most of the last morning and squeeze in one last early morning swim and coffee before making your way to the airport. Ciao for now, Cinque Terre!
I hope you enjoy exploring Cinque Terre as much as I did, it really is the most magical place. I’m already planning my next visit!
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