What amount of time should be allotted for this area?

If you like to hike it is great. I stayed there with my sisters for 3 days and we would have enjoyed several more days time permitting. Slower paced than the cities so that is your preference. We loved it.

I couldn't stand more than 1 or 2 days. It is really pretty, but I was able to soak up all that particular pretty I needed in a day. But it all depends on your interests. If I need relaxation, I don't need to spend a lot of time and money going to Italy for it.

Hi LTT

My sister and I spent 4 nights at
http://www.cinqueterre-laposada.com/...partments.html
Ask for Sole Y Luna apt.
The view is priceless.

We enjoyed every minute in the CT.
We either took train or boat to the different villages.
It was fun to shop, eat, and drink in each one.
Try Sciachetra with liitle biscuits..

I had 5 nights in Riomaggiore, and was never bored, even though the walking track from Manarolo north was closed, and no ferries were running. The area is so beautiful, and such a nice change of pace from the cities. I made a day trip to Pietrasanta, where Michelangelo sourced some of his marble. In a tiny church on one of the main streets, there are a couple of amusing (relatively modern) frescoes, with very plump Madonnas and rather clunky skeletons!

Two nights and 1 full day were enough for me. It just depends on the person.

I adore Cinque Terre..My daughter, grandson and I spent 8 days in Manarola..We enjoyed the walking, taking the regional train in different village, the day outings to Pisa,Portofino and other smaller town.
I go back again in September ,this time I will take my granddaughter, usually is my traveling companion when I go Abroad.

I forgot to say that we were there in Sept.

I was there with sister and her husband for 7 nights, 6 full days at the beginning of April a couple years ago. We enjoyed the slow pace. We hiked between the towns and up into the hills and took the boat. The one rainy day we took the train to Pisa for a day trip. It was what we all needed--a chance to unwind, get some outdoor time, and sample the delicious foods. We loved every minute of our stay.

I went to cinque terre a couple of years back. Stopped there on our way to Pisa from Genoa. Only spend a few hours. Would have hapilly spent at least 1 day maybe 2. Lovely quaint set of 5 towns. Nice walk between some of them. It was one of the highlights of my trip coz every where else we went was buzzing.

Hi L,

>What amount of time should be allotted for this area? <

If you are the rapid sort of traveller who likes to fit in as much as possible, It's 0:23 hr from La Spezia to Levanto, with stops in Riomaggiore and Monterosso.

My wife and I took the train to CT from Santa Margherita Ligure (a wonderful town!!). We got off of the train and hiked the 5 cities.

Be aware..Going from Monterosso to Vernazza to (the third city whose name escapes me) were serious hikes! My wife was cussing me out after the first 500 steps on our ascent out of Monterosso. I kept telling her we could stop at the next town and take the train back. She hung tough and we made it all the way to Riomaggiore in 5 hours. From there we took the train back to Santa Margherita Ligure.

The completion of this "hike" was one of the highlights of our trip!

Each town looked pretty small and not a heck of a lot going on there. Not sure I could have stayed too long there.

Cingue Terre is lovely but it is quiet/peaceful depending on the time of year you are there. The walking paths between the villages can be tourist filled - or not. We were there last July with our children and grandchildren (my husband and i had also stayed in Monterosso Al Mare for 3 days many years ago). Last year's visit was a day trip from a villa we rented near Lucca. We parked our car in Riomaggiore, took the train to Corniglia and walked to Vernazza where we spent the day. Our son-in-law walked back to Riamaggiore and we met him for dinner, watched the sun set over the village and drove back to our villa. It was a perfect day. The villages are crowded during the day but fun. The hikes between them are easy and beautiful as they wind along a cement pathway above the sea. The only difficult parts are walking up the many stairs to get to the pathways. If you are not inclined to walk, the train is an easy option as it takes just a few minutes between villages...however, you don't see much from the train so to get the full Cinque Terre experience, at least one walk between villages is a good idea. Monterosso Al Mare is a larger village, more like a town so staying there was a reasonable option as there were many boats to take in different directions for visiting places other than the 5 villages; Portofino, Lerici, and others. Have fun.

Well, sorry to say but I was a little disappointed. We spend several days in Northern Italy and went to CT for one day. We only hiked to the first three villages then got the train. That worked really well, and remember that if you get the train ticket the bus to the center of the villages is included. The train price was much less than I had thought as we got a ticket to the last two villages and back to the beginning (just one ticket covered the stops).
The views were lovely but in May CT was full of loud tourists which was so different from all the other towns and villages in Northern Italy. The towns themselves were full of souvenir shops and we found a mediocre restaurant.
I am so glad we went and we enjoyed it, but would I go back..not on my list.

That's generally been my experience of le Cinque Terre -- and I live in Liguiria! If you are looking for pretty views and nice hikes with better food and fewer crowds of tourists, the Monte Portofino area is lovely.