king_roscoe

Late May Going to Cinque 2 couples in 50s and will walk and maybe stay. Knees aint what they use to be so would prefer the least onerous method of walking. Have read somewhere it is best to walk from one direction to other to save legs or to be angled to the sun . Interested in best direction ideas as we can catch train to either starting area.

yipper

Hi,
I am not sure it makes a lot of difference which direction you walk in, but walking between Monterosso, Vernazza, and Corniglia is more challenging. Walk between Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The walk between Manarola and Riomaggiore is easy. I walked the whole trail, but not in one day, when I was in my 50's and after a back operation. But my knees are fine. The views are spectacular. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

dgkp

I believe you want to start in Monterosso and head south, so you do the tougher trails earlier and head generally downhill /flat at the end. That's what we did. As yipper said, the trail between Monterosso, Vernazza, and Corniglia is toughest, and it gets easier from there. Definitely spectacular scenery, so the payoff is good.

Patrick

Funny, I was going to say the opposite of dgkp, for almost the same reason. If you start south and end up north, the last part of the trail is the long descent into Monterossa. That comes when you are at your tiredest -- and walking down is so much easier. If you start in Monterossa and you're not a major hiker, you may want to quit after the first hour of hiking up and up and up.
Likewise there are seemingly a thousand steps at the south side of Corniglia. I'd much rather walk up those steps that down, which is what you'll be doing if heading north. I find it less taxing on the knees to ascend a lot of stairs than to descend them.

bc_canuck

My wife and I hiked it last June and didn't find it too hard. We're in our early 50s and just took our time. Remember to stop and enjoy the views and smell the flowers.
We started from Vernazza where we were staying and left around 7:00 am figuring to beat the heat.We headed north to Monterosso then took the train back to Riomaggiore. The walk from there to Manarola is very easy. We had breakfast in Manarola then continued north back to Vernazza. It is easier walking north as the grade isn't as steep and the sun was to our backs. It was a great hike and took about 5.5 hours including stops. Remember to take lots of water, it gets hot! Your Cinque Terre Card park pass covers entry to the trail and free train and minibus travel if you get tired.