Hiking the Cinque Terre
 

Just wondering if anyone out there has hiked from one end to the other and if so, how many hours did it take and at what fitness level are you. I was told it takes about 8 hours to go from one end to the other. However, last year it took us 2 hours to get from city 5 to 4, granted we did have some elderly folks with us. Also is the park pass worth the money?

It took me about 6 hours, with stops/rests at every village, lunch, etc. My fitness level isn't that stellar - maybe 45-60 minute walks with the dog up and down hills. I did the Cinque Terre hike after 3 weeks of walking in Italy, though, so it was a good warmup. I'm glad I did the Cinque Terre hike in one day - but I was exhausted.

Big advice - start with the easy hikes first that get progressively harder/longer (Riomaggiore, ending at Monterrossa) - the last stretch between Vernazza and Monterossa is TOUGH - and if you do it first, you might not want to continue.

I agree with Carin. And the best part about starting in Riomaggiore and ending at Monterossa, is that you end that hard stretch by going all down hill.
I can't give you exact times, but we didn't start too early in the morning, and we arrived in Vernazza for lunch --spending about 2 hours eating. Maybe another hour to reach Monterossa, and then took a boat back to our base of Manarola arriving maybe 4 or so. We took our time. Not all that rough! But those stairs going up and up to Coniglia were killers.

We had a great time in the Cinque Terre! We arrived by train in Vernazza and rented a room. We then took the train to Riomaggiore to start the trek. We hiked to Corniglia (fairly easy) and caught a train to Monterroso. We stayed there for awhile to have lunch and to take a dip in the Med. From there we hiked back to our base in Vernazza. The last stretch was a hilly 2 hours, but very beautiful. The stretch we skipped (b/t Corniglia and Vernazza) is also tough and fairly long - but I've heard worth it if you have the time and energy!

Thank you also for the advice. From 30 minutes west on the rail line we are also going to include walks from the Sanctuary at the top of the cable car in Rapallo to Chiavari and possibly around certain of the tracks in the National Park at Portofino.

It took me about 4 hours but I live in Denver and am used to hiking in the mountains so I tend to move pretty fast :-)
Just to prepare you, the beautiful Via dell Amor between Manarola and Riomaggiore is absolutely covered in grafitti these days :-(

Now I am new at this and for three days in September we will be powering through the area on foot and maybe some mountain-bikes around the hills behind Deiva Marina but - When you all say one end to the other, do you mean one particular track or a series of tracks ? Thanks for your help

Hi SydneySteve,

I'm not sure I completely understand your question, but from one end of the Cinque Terre to the other would be referring to the trail between the 5 towns...

The northernmost town is Monterosso al Mare. From there, take the trail to Vernazza. From Vernazza, take the trail to Corniglia. From Corniglia, Manarola. From Manarola, Riomaggiore. The hiking trail will take you through all 5 villages "top to bottom" (order I listed), or "bottom to top" (reverse my order). Hope this helps!

Hi TexasAggie. I thought the tracks were all numbered and that some people move between different tracks to traverse the CT ! ? You are very fortunate living in that part of the world - I was at the Monaco Hotel a month or two back on a business trip. its nice up there in the hills above Denver and I particularly like the drive down to Aspen through the Canyons of Gunnison area. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for the advice. We are gearing up to do the entire hike and are really looking forward to it! We made that very mistake you mentioned, of starting at Vernazza and hiking to Monterossa, I thought I was going to die! Definately all uphill and we had 2 elderly people with us to boot! Now they brag to their friends that they made it through the toughest part! Does anyone have any thoughts about the park pass? Is it worth the money? I think its only 18 EURO but seems kind of convenient!