Help! Cinque Terre Base?
 

We are 30 years old and in good shape. How should we plan our Cinque Terre trip for about 2 days?

1) What should we make our base. It seems like staying in the towns would be nice, but I don't know how to get our luggage there?
2) Should we hike the entire trail in one day and move on to the rest of our Tuscany Trip?
3) If we decide to stay for two days, I don't know how to break it up and which cities to stay in?

Any advise is welcome! Thanks!

While Monterosso is the largest town, it is definitely not the most charming. Base yourself in Vernazza, it doesnt have any large hotels, only small guest houses. You can get the details at www.giannifranzi.it

A train runs between the towns regularly, and the stations are right in town, so it's easy to move your luggage around.

Take a few days staying in one place. The towns are ridiculously charming. The trail takes a couple hours in between towns, and you can always walk one way and take the train back to your base town, so you aren't constantly moving around. Plus in the evening, the tourists thin out of Vernazza, and it's really magically at night.

Hi ZZ - I'd second JV's suggestion - Vernazza makes a nice base.

Two days would be ideal, and gives you time to see all the villages without rushing ...

Steve

Is there parking in vernazza?
We want to do a similar thing in April...but we will have a lease car to deal with.
Sorry for hijacking zzalexz! It's a good post.:)
Rosie

Thanks! So if we base in Vernazza, on each day, what do you recommend we hike?

My concern is that we're going to hike the entire thing in one day and be bored with it... thoughts?


RosieinOz... We're going to be there in April as well (around the 19/20)!

Hi Rosie - There are 2 car-parks outside Vernazza - with a shuttle bus (€ 1.50) connecting to the village itself every 15 mins approx.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

ZZ - You could hike for an hour or two each day, then train-hop elsewhere to the other CT villages (- they are all within 2-3 mins of each other by train).

For details see:
www.trenitalia.com

If you want to go beyond the Cinque Terre you could catch a train up to the beautiful Portofino peninsular area (- Santa Margherita Ligure, Camogli, Portofino) for half a day ...

Or ... take a boat (- or train/bus via La Spezia) to Portovenere.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

You won't be bored hiking in the cinque terre for a couple of days. Basically there are five little towns connected by 1 trail that links them all. It takes a few hours in between each one, all along hugging a stunning and dramatic coastline. do a leg or two a day and then have a long boozy lunch and suddenly you will be wishing you had more time.

You can park your car and take a shuttle bus into the towns, or you can leave your car at Monterosso, La Spezia or Sestri Levante and just take the train which is very easy.

We stayed in Manarola, on a hunch that it'd be our favorite village. Our hunch proved valid.

Marina Piccola
www.hotelmarinapiccola.com

Vernazza is a good choice for a base. We preferred the old town of Monterossa on our trip last summer. It's a bit larger than Vernazza and offered a few more restaurants and shops to wander. We ate in Vernazza one night and took the 5 minute train ride back to Monterossa. We hiked the trail over two days, could have easily done it in one with stops in the towns for beverages. Recommend starting in Riomaggiore and walking toward Monterossa. Its a memorable hike, you'll enjoy it. If you have time don't rush it. Take 2 days, spend the morning hiking and the afternoons in the towns. Have fun