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-   -   Cinque Terre in late July (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/cinque-terre-in-late-july-1080526/)

RushBijoux Dec 8th, 2015 01:28 AM

Cinque Terre in late July
 
Is Cinque Terre crowded in late July?

I don't plan on taking any cruise, just want to leisurely walk around the villages / hike some of the trails. Would there be too many people there?

StCirq Dec 8th, 2015 01:52 AM

You couldn't pay me to go to le Cinque Terre in July. I don't think there could be much of anything further from leisurely.

sandralist Dec 8th, 2015 02:17 AM

Yes, but you can go to any number of other towns along the Riviera with hiking trails that aren't crowded in late July except possibly on the weekends -- and even then the hiking trails won't be crowded, but only the beaches, most of which are pay establishments. Some places to check out are Moneglia, Bonassola, Chiavari, Camogli, Zoagli, Sestri Levante and Lerici/Tellaro, although the last is not on the train line.

It is typically hot everywhere on the Italian Riviera in late July, and unless you are planning to start out quite early in the morning (sunrise) it is not pleasant to go hiking in the steep hills because there is generally no shade and the afternoon sun is brutal.

neckervd Dec 8th, 2015 07:35 AM

Scenic panoramic hiking trails along the Riviera:

People who like crowds go to 5Terre.

People who don't like crowds walk along the sentier de grande randonnee 51 (balcons de la Mediterranee)
either from Menton to La Turbie - Eze resp Nice
or from Cassis to Marseille.
http://groundhogwalking.co.uk/?page_id=171
http://www.gr-infos.com/gr51a.htm

If it must be Liguria, there are nice hiking trails
from Camogli to San Frutuoso - Portofino - Sta Margherita, from Sestri Levante to Levanto,
from Lerici to Montemarcello - Bocca di Magra
too.

hpeabody Dec 8th, 2015 07:38 AM

Yes, crowded and very very HOT!!!

RushBijoux Dec 8th, 2015 07:08 PM

Thank you!!

Been posting here a bunch, I still can't decide where I wanna go next July. As I've mentioned in my other posts, I want this trip to coincide with a milestone birthday, hence I'd like it to be more of a scenic excursion (Cinque Terre, Riviera), unlike last time I was in Italy (late May this year) where it was more of a city excursion.

I guess the timing is a bit of an issue if I choose coastal areas (I'm crowd-averse and I like to just amble around).

klondike Dec 8th, 2015 11:17 PM

"I'm crowd-averse and I like to just amble around)." -- then, don't go to 5-Terre
during any of the summer months; it will be excruciating for you.

What about a stay in the Val d'Orcia where they too have hiking paths like the grande randonnee in France? Though that is more indland so you won't have the sea factor if that's important to you.

sandralist Dec 8th, 2015 11:39 PM

Most of the scenic towns of the val d'Orcia are quite crowded in summertime, and likewise the rest of Tuscany. Plus it is gaspingly hot and humid, with no relief of a seabreeze.

In late July, there are literally hundreds of beautiful scenic towns in Italy that are uncrowded and generally have cooler temps than the cities and the interior. A lot of these areas -- the valle d'Aosta, the little-known towns of the Riviera, the mountains and beaches of Le Marche, the Tuscan islands -- have been mentioned to you in your other posts. If you want to get away from crowds, you are going to have get away from looking for which very famous scenic desetination you could to to that is uncrowded. You should start taking a look instead at the off-the-beaten track suggestions being made. If you are willing to look at non-beach destination, also consider the Pyrenees in France and the Julian/Carnic Alps.

But even if you want a beautiful beach destination, there are many, many lovely towns and islands on both sides of Italy (and don't forget Sardegna) and Sicily, France, Greece etc that are not all that busy in late July. You just can't keep asking about the famous ones in tourist guidebooks because the answer is always going to be the same: They are wall-to-wall with foreign tourists in July.

Keren Dec 9th, 2015 04:53 AM

You could take a look at Western Liguria, which has some lovely towns and villages, and hiking trails: Finale Ligure, Finalborgo (a fantastic village from which you can hike the sensational Strada Beretta), Varigotti, Noli (another gem, with lots of hiking trails above), Borgio-Verezzi, Cervo, the town of Porto Maurizio. So much to see and love. Apparently, this part of the Riviera is less crowded in July than the Eastern part, around Le Cinque Terre. I was there in late September and had a fabulous time.

StCirq Dec 9th, 2015 05:44 AM

Or go up into the hills of Umbria where there are countless shady spa towns and no crowds at all.

bvlenci Dec 9th, 2015 06:09 AM

In the summer, I love to spend time in the Upper Potenza valley, in Le Marche, but very near the border of Umbria. There are walking paths along the river Potenza, and lots of little towns to explore. It's a popular summer getaway for Italians, especially Romans, but there are almost no foreign tourists. Many of the summer visitors own second homes there, as we do, and return every year, so it's a non-touristy kind of tourism. The biggest town in the area is Camerino, a very attractive medieval town, the seat of an ancient university.

You really should rent a car to explore this area. There are buses from Fabriano to the little villages of the valley, and you could get around the valley itself by bike, although exploring the surrounding hills would be more difficult. There are also buses from Castelraimondo to Camerino. None of these bus services are frequent, though, and usually don't operate at all on Sundays. Also, Camerino is at the top of a hill, so a bike wouldn't be much use there unless you're very fit.

If you want to visit a seaside location, Sardegna is probably your best option, but, again, the uncrowded beaches will be the most inaccessibile ones. I've only been there in the off season, so I can't advise you on that.

sandralist Dec 9th, 2015 06:56 AM

I honestly think for someone who might want a combination of charming towns, hikes and sea, the Italian Riviera is so much simpler than Sardegna, and you don't need to rent a car or fly/ferry there. There are not a lot of coastal towns in Sardegna, and the interesting small villages are few and far between. There are just not that many people in Sardegna any more! I've not seen all of the island, but if I were looking for an area to explore (with a car), I might pick the area around Bosa, for beautiful scenery and interesting towns.

But most of the towns of the Riviera -- and there are plenty will have elbow room in July, apart from prime beach real estate on the weekends. You just can't go to le Cinque Terre and Portofino (or increasingly Portovenere) because of the stampede of cruise ship tourists and other foreign tourists.

sandralist Dec 9th, 2015 07:02 AM

http://relaxinsardinia.com/bosa.htm

http://sarahalexandrageorge.com/trav...m-of-sardinia/

isabel Dec 9th, 2015 09:05 AM

I think people have very different definitions of 'crowded'.

Do you want solitude? - to be able to walk for hours without seeing other people? Or do you just not want to be walking five feet behind the person in front of you the whole hike?

I've been to the CT region twice in July - most recently two years ago. Mid day, in the center of the five CT towns, it was packed, anybody's definition of crowded. But even five minutes away from the center of the towns was totally different. Some of the time I couldn't see another person, other times I would pass others every few minutes. I based in Rapallo which I would say was 'normal' crowded for a town of it's size.

So I guess you would need to define what crowded means to you. And then decide what else is important to you. The scenery in the CT region is wonderful and I would go there again in July (and hopefully I will)- but I probably wouldn't stay IN Vernazza or Manarola.

sandralist Dec 9th, 2015 09:25 AM

I think Isabel's experience of being five minutes away from the center of the le Cinque Terre villages in July and not seeing anybody else was lucky. If you are spending a lot of money to enjoy a place, and are crowd averse, yuor chances of constantly being in a true crowd of people -- by anybody's definition in le CInque Terre -- on the trails, in the towns, on the train stations is VERY high and the "norm" in late July.

Rapallo is a market town, and it is lively year round with shoppers. In the summer, it also get some knots of cruise ship tourists, but most head to nearby Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure instead. But if you are crowd averse, it is much simpler just to go to a town where tourists don't go but is still charming with pretty views. Bonassola, Zoagli, Tellaro, Moneglia, Bogliasco (or Chiavari if you don't need a seaview hotel) or try the "other" side of the Riviera, between Genova and the French border.

sandralist Dec 9th, 2015 09:32 AM

Tourists queuing for boats in Vernazza in le CInque Terre

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...i_3457672b.jpg

Tourists in the town of Vernazza

http://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-conten...uise-crowd.jpg

Tourists at the train station in Vernazza

http://theborrowedabode.com/wp-conte...-Terres229.jpg

By contrast, here is somebody who went to Bonassola, about 3 train stops north:

http://theborrowedabode.com/2013/07/...-cinque-terre/

RushBijoux Dec 13th, 2015 06:49 PM

Thank you all for the suggestions, I'll do my research based on those.

sandralist wrote:
But even if you want a beautiful beach destination, there are many, many lovely towns and islands on both sides of Italy (and don't forget Sardegna) and Sicily, France, Greece etc that are not all that busy in late July.

There are non-crowded place in Greece in late July? I'd like to know where, please? I'd love to go to Greece if I could find a non-crowded destination.

FYI, it doesn't have to be "famous" or "popular", just needs to be beautiful / serene. I don't really want solitude, I just want to be able to amble around town comfortably.

sandralist Dec 13th, 2015 09:42 PM

You should put up a separate thread tagged "Greece" because there are two or three people who post here who know all of Greece like the back of their hand, including islands that get very few tourists but are reachable by public transport. They could give you lots of options.

Greece is a fabulous destination, and so cheap!


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