Has anyone hiked the Cinque Terre? Looking for info: experiences, recommendations, timeframe, etc. Thanks!

I hiked the trail about 2 years ago. The "trail" will take you on paved sidewalks, wide dirt paths, very narrow dirt paths with brush, rocks and most interesting through the villages. It is a good walk, I'm guessing on the length for to walk all 5 villages, maybe 6-7 hours.

Excellent info on Cinque Terre at http://home.sunrise.ch/avong/cinque_terre/ <BR>

We stayed three nights at Manarola at Piccolo Marina. First day we spent there and walked south to Rommigiore, about a half hour walk each way. The second day we spend all day going north to Monterosa (sorry, I'm sure these spellings are all wrong). That was a spectacular day, starting about 8 AM and with a wonderful 2 hour lunch stop in Vernazza, we arrived at Monterosa about 4 in the afternoon and took the boat back to Manarola. This was the highlight of a four month trip in Europe, mainly France and Italy.

LAST SUMMER TWO OTHER AND MYSELF HIKED FROM MONTEROSA TO VERNAZZA. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL HIKE WHICH TOOK ABOUT 1 1/2 HRS. IT BOASTS A GREAT VIEW FROM UP TOP. WE WERE THERE IN EARLY JULY AND THE WEATHER WAS VERY HOT. BRING LOTS OF WATER AT THAT TIME OF YEAR.

We've hiked the CT twice, 1991 and 93, each time from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. About 6 hours of hiking, but plan on 1 1/2-2 hours in Vernazza. Each time, between Manarola and Corniglia a makeshift barrier had been put up, but just climb around it, if it's still there. Stop in Vernazza for a gelato and picnic supplies. After Vernazza the trail leaves the terraced vineyards and continues through olive groves. The trail is marked with blue/white blazes, hard to find sometimes. Take a liter or two of water, wear sturdy shoes. We are drawn to two things on our trips to Italy, the CT and Civita de Bagnoregio.

Your hiking itinerary should depend on the amount of time you have in the region. Contrary to what you've probably been reading, there is no requisite to hike the entire Riomaggorie to Monterosso footpath in one day. No medals are passed out at the end. My wife and I were in the Cinque Terre in October for 5 days and broke our hikes into segments and took the opportunity to explore each town in greater detail. If your time is limited, the Corniglia to Monterosso "half" is the most challenging and indicative of historical life in the region. If you want greater detail and recommendations, please feel free to email.

My husband and I were in the Cinque Terre for five days. Hiked from Montorosso al Mare to RioMaggiore. It is a 12 mile walk through terraced and very steep terrain. Most folks walk the opposite direction but we read that to go from north to south gets the hardest part of the hike (most strenuous) out of the way up front. Be prepared to meet folks along the way, selling their homemade wine or olive oil. This was the highlight of our entire 4 week trip to Italy! ForgteRopme, Venice and Elba. This spot captures your heart! Ciao!

I hiked the trail back in 1996. Very beautiful views, but if you are looking for a nice hike and a relaxing afternoon simply hike between just two towns. The entire trail takes about 6 hours, but in between where you are staying and the next town it will only be about a 2 hour hike.

Reading all your posts about hiking almost made me fall out of my chair, I was laughing so hard. My husband and I drove from each of the five cities to the next and it sounds as if it would have been much easier to walk it. There were several places that I thought we weren't going to make it. The book we had suggested hiking as an aside. The cities themselves were lovely gems, and I'll have to agree with Linda, Rome, Florence, and Pisa were beautiful but Cinque Terre took the cake, EASILY!!!

Would you recommend hiking CT for a novice hiker?

No experience necessary. However, if the extent of your usual walking is a brisk spin around the local mall, I'd say it might be a bit of a stretch. Interesting comment about going North to South. I agree the most strenuous part was the part just south of Monterossa, but going to the north, that stretch was all down hill, starting there it would be uphill. Of course since you are essentially following the water, for every foot you go up, you will go the same distance down. It just seemed better to be going south to north. Take your time and you will have no problems. It is not difficult, just a bit strenuous at times.