I think most who have been or at least seen photos can agree that iconic Cinque Terre is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It’s an incredibly adorable collection of 5 towns (Cinque Terre means “5 lands” in Italian), all built delightfully on the edge of cliffs. It’s gained massive popularity over the last decade or so, and has become congested with visitors from all over the world as a result. Here’s my tips on how to make the most out of your Cinque Terre vacation.
How to get there:
Cinque Terre is located in the Liguria region of Italy. The villages themselves do not have an airport, so if you’re flying in, the closest airport would be Pisa, from which you can take a train to reach Cinque Terre. If traveling by train, the closest, big train station to the villages is called La Spezia, and you can arrive to this station from many other cities throughout Italy like Florence, Milan, even farther away Rome. From La Spezia, you can then connect to the 5 villages – each have their own train stations.
Where to stay:
The 5 villages are called Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare in that order. Where you stay depends on your interest and your budget. The most beautiful and quaint villages in my opinion (and the general consensus) are Riomaggiore and Manarola. These towns are probably where the iconic photographs that you’ve seen of Cinque Terre were taken. Monterosso al Mare is the only town with a proper beach, so stay there if that’s what you’re looking for. I actually stayed in La Spezia town outside of the Cinque Terre because it was much cheaper, and there were hostels available here. For all you budget backpackers: I stayed at Ostello Tramonti, one of my favorite hostels to this day. Where you stay doesn’t actually matter that much because it’s so simple and easy to get from town to town!
Getting around:
As I mentioned above, there’s a fantastic train system that connects all 5 villages. If you buy the Cinque Terre Pass (€7.50 for one day, €14.50 for two days), the train fare is included in the fee and you are free to hop on/off all day, visiting all of the towns! Trains come and go every 10 minutes or so, so you will never be waiting long for one, and the train ride takes only 5-10 minutes between each village. If you love to hike, you’ll be happy to hear that you can actually hike from each town on trails along the coast. Difficulty depends on the trail leg that you take, but each will take you more than 2 hours for one way. I opted to not hike at all and take the train instead. Your Cinque Terre day pass includes access to these hiking trails.
How much time you need here:
When I was planning my Cinque Terre trip, I could not find any solid information for how long I should stay. So I kept it safe and planned 4 nights, 3.5 days. Honestly… that was a tad too long. You could easily visit all 5 villages in a single long day. The villages themselves are very small – I only spent about 1-2 hours max. at each. I think giving yourself 2 full days would be smart, especially if you want to do any hiking trails. That way, you could spend the first day exploring all of the villages, and the 2nd day returning to your favorite ones, going hiking, or simply strolling around at a more leisurely pace. I actually met some people who made a just day trip to Cinque Terre from cities like Florence and Milan, though that would prove to be a very long day indeed.
What to do (including best photography spots):
Now on to the fun stuff! For a most efficient visit, you could start on one end and stop at each village along the route. I did this by starting in Riomaggiore and making my way to Monterosso al Mare at the end! Riomaggiore has a stunning harbor filled with characteristically pastel-colored houses. You can even rent kayaks and paddle out to enjoy the views from the water. This lovely harbor is a prime location for photography – it’s like, impossible to take a bad photo when the views look like this!
I moved onto the adjacent village called Manarola next, which proved to be my favorite out of them all! Manarola is one of the bigger of the 5 towns, boasting cute shops, restaurants, and most famously – it’s delightful view of the colorful buildings on the cliff! If you come here, I advise that you splurge on the wee-bit-pricey Nessun Dorma restaurant overlooking THE view, where you can sip wine and eat pasta all while experiencing the single vista that made Cinque Terre so famous. Manarola was the one village that I returned to every single day I was in Cinque Terre… I couldn’t get enough of the views.
Next, I skipped less popular Corniglia and headed straight for Vernazza. Smaller and more quaint than Riomaggiore or Manarola, Vernazza feels more intimate. There were less people here, and I could feel more of an authentic vibe from this village which was pleasant after the overly-touristy villages beforehand. Vernazza’s most famous viewpoint is located about 10-15 minutes into the hiking trail towards Monterosso al Mare. Once you’re in Vernazza town, follow the signs or ask around to where this hike starts and you will find the trail. After a bit of uphill walking, you will come across a stunning, elevated viewpoint of Vernazza town below, in all its wonderful glory. This is a really popular photography spot and can get quite congested… arrive early so that you don’t have to stand in line for “the photo.”
Finally, I hopped on the train and visited the last village called Monterosso al Mare. This one is different from the rest with its sprawling beach featuring turquoise water, white sand, and adorable brightly colored umbrellas to go along with the colorful theme of Cinque Terre. In the middle lies an imposing, large rock where daredevils climb and jump off of. It reminded me of an Italian version of Hawaii’s famous Waimea Bay! This town is rather small with nothing more than the beach, so after snapping lots of photos from different viewpoints, I returned back to my hostel.
Other tips:
It’s really crowded here. Like, Disneyland-level crowded, as I like to say. To avoid crowds, head to the villages early in the morning while most tourists are still sleeping. By mid-day, I felt like I was one sheep in a crowd of hundreds, shuffling to and from the train station to the towns, then back to the train station to do it all over again in the next town. I went at the beginning of high-season summer, so perhaps avoid crowds by visiting on the tail seasons of early spring or late summer/early autumn. Like other touristy places, Cinque Terre is on the expensive side. Meals will be at least €10 and gelato a good €4-5, though that didn’t stop me from eating it twice a day, every day.
