Cinque Terra
 

We are planning to walk Cinque Terra next May. Which is the best starting point, Monterosso to Riomaggiore or vice versa. Any suggestions for accommodation?

J-
I posted a question about cinque terre hiking and got a lot of good responses. Read my thread...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...ina4&fid=2

Also, try typing cinque terre in the search box or try using a more specific question when posting.

good luck!

Trey this:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34702464

Trey? Try.

No question about it - start at Riomaggiore (the easy part)and end at Monterossa (gets progressively harder).

We stayed at Hotel Porto Rocco in Monterosso. It has spectacular views and the dining room was great. You can take a taxi up the very narrow steep hill.....or walk up.

My favorite walk is from Levanto to Montorosso. There aren`t as many people there, and it`s beatiful. Then we took the train back to Levanto. How much time do you have? Another day, we did walk the other towns too. I went in May also, and it was great weather. I`d love to go back!

You are wise to ask about the walks in Cinque Terre. We foolishly thought because we are in good physical condition and go to the gym 4x a week that the hike would be a piece of cake for us. We started out in Monterossa and headed for Vernazza. We had no water with us and were not dressed properly (I was carrying a purse and was wearing a sweater!). By the time we got to Vernazza we were so incredibly thirsty, hungry and hot that after eating there we jumped on the train back to Rapallo where we were staying. We still laugh about how ridiculous we must have looked!

I think it's better to start in Monterosso so that you can do the hardest part of the hike (Monterosso to Vernazza) while you are fresh and strongest.

Thanks for everyone's input. It has certainly given us some food for thought.

Angela m- Not many posters on this site have stayed in Rapallo. We will stay in Rapallo for 6 nights of our 3 week trip, in June/July. Do you have a thread where you discussed Rapallo? Or a thread about your stay there? Thanks, Phil

Viaggio_sempre: I didn't post a trip report, but I can try to answer any questions you would have. We stayed at the Hotel Guilio Cesare in a corner room which had balconies overlooking the boat harbor. It wasn't luxurious, but we liked it and would stay there again without hesitation. We usually like a place for reasons that we can't explain--just some kind of feeling we come away with and that's how we felt about Rapallo. If you have specific questions, please ask away.

My wife and I(we're in our early 50s) hiked the trail last May and while it's not too hard you should be prepared. Dress to what will be the hottest part of the day and bring water. We found a room in Vernazza and hiked from there to Monterosso first thing in the morning while it was cool. We then caught the train back to Riomaggiore and continued north back to Vernazza. I think the rate of climb is easier going north.

Vernazza was nice in the evening after all the tourists took the train back to the bigger towns.

Angela M - Thanks, I had found a post of yours and looked up the place you stayed - it looks nice and the site had nice pics of Rapallo. I will get back to you about specific questions I have, thanks (right now have to log off to watch Shadows In The Sun).

Angela M -
Did you eat in Rapallo?
Any eating places in Rapallo worth noting?
Did you explore Rapallo at all, or did you only use it as a base?
Any difficulties at the train station?
How is the swimming in Rapallo?
How are the beaches?
Did you go to any open-air markets there?
Thanks for info on any of these.

We hiked from Monterosso to Riomaggiore and thought the first half was the most beautiful (also the most strenuous). Take water and a camera, wear running shoes (or hiking boots), take a swim suit - you will want to jump in the water, it's so beautiful and refreshing! In Riomaggiore we hopped on the train back to Monterosso. We stayed at the Porto Rocca and loved it. A smaller place in Vernazza might seem a little more authentic. We also enjoyed spending a day on the beach in Monterosso.

viaggio_sempre: so sorry that it took me so long to get around to answering your questions. I had to dig out my travel journal, but it isn't very detailed so I have to rely mostly on memory (scary!):
swimming/beach - there is a beach, but as most Italian beaches, it's kind of pebbly with platforms with lounge chairs set out; I think you had to pay to get in. We really don't pay much attention to the beaches when in Europe. But it is right in town; the bay is shaped like a horseshoe with the town surrounding it on three sides.
train station: very easy - walk a few blocks across the bridge and through the center of town (5 minutes from the Hotel Guilio Cesare). We took the train to Monterosso which was about a 30 minute ride unless your train hits a person (as ours did which is a whole other story!). There were alot of beach-goers on the train getting off at various stops on the way to Monterosso, so the beaches along the coast are probably much nicer than the one in Rapallo.
restaurants: strange as it seems we only ate at two restaurants while in Rapallo - one was right down the street from the hotel called Bella Napoli and was filled with locals. Their specialty was pizza but they had other dishes on the menu. There were lots of restaurants along the other side of the bayfront. We had lunch at one, but I don't remember the name. I do remember it being very good, but seemed to cater more to tourists although when we were there at the end of May there wasn't very many. There was a very good wine bar in town where the wine was very inexpensive. They served free (I think they're called cichetti? - little appetizers) when you ordered a glass of wine. We got so full one afternoon that we skipped lunch and dinner and just bought pizza at a little bakery. They also sold bottles of wine - the local wine was so inexpensive, under 3 euro! We just bought some and drank it on our balcony that evening.
From Rapallo we did day trips to Portofino and SML and more interestingly to a little sanctuary up in the mountain behind Rapallo called Sanctuario Monteallegro. The views from the church were amazing and there were two hotels up near the church as well. There was also a funicular leading up to the area, but it wasn't functioning when we were there.
I hope I helped somewhat in answering your questions and I hope you enjoy your trip!

the section between monterosso and vernazza is definitely the most challenging,so I would suggest starting there and hiking it in the morning, when it is somewhat cooler.

We spent two nights in Vernazza in mid May 2004. Hiked all the trails and the two steeper trails were not crowded at all--lower and easist parts had the most hikers. the Ligurian Sea was very cold in May so you may not be able to swim.