Judy

I hiked along Cinque terres last week, the weather was warm and cloudless, the views were breathtaking, and hardly any tourist.( I met totally less than 10 persons). But, the walking was scary in couple areas where the mudslides were, there are fixed very roughly,one step skid, and down you went.One hiker I met was in tears since turned back was same difficult too.I couldn't imagine how the walking would be when it rained. Certainly it was a great experience, but for people not used to maintain hiking, before they fix the pathes completely, think before you try.

Sally

Judy, Was this the whole walk between all five villages that was bad? What was the Via del amore(?)like? I will be there in five weeks time. Thanks.

Moira

Judy -- Thank you for your posting! I am going to that area in May and would love to do some hiking, but I have a bit of a fear of heights. Do you think there's a way to do part of it and avoid the hardest parts? I'd hate to miss out completely, but I don't want to be in tears (or in pieces) on my vacation . . .

Lorraine

Happily, the local train runs between the towns, so even if you are forced to turn back on one path, you can still get to the next town. My husband is afraid of heights so we just played it by ear (feet?) and didn't feel cheated in the least. It's all so magnificent.

Tina

Don't know if they run during March, but another option to get between the towns is by boat. In October we took the local train to get from Riomaggiore (1st of the CT towns when coming from south) up to Monterosso (northern most CT town) --- then took a boat from Monterosso to Vernazza. The views are exquisite.

Wasn't prepared for hiking, so didn't walk the trails between any of the towns. However it does seem the majority of the pathways are running alongside the cliffs (???) --- don't know if it's the best trail for someone with fear of heights. Other posters who've actually 'walked the walk' would better be able to describe the pathways.

Judy

The scary parts I talked about was one third way from Vernazza to Corniglia, and it was because the previous mudsildes,otherwise the walking wasn't difficult for people not afraid of hight,since half the pathes is along the cliff. The easiest part is from Riomaggioe to Manarola,but the scenery is not as drastic as the other part.However, when they fix up the pathes, and the weather is nice, walking along the pathes is a very rewarding experience. For people enjoy walking,try the walk from Montlcino to abbey St.Antimo.It is about 2 hours easy walk among vine yards and olive trees along the tranquil, most beautiful tuscany hills, then suddenly see the solemn yellow stone abbey in the green vally. When I arrived, it happened the monks were doing the Gregoriano chanting in the almost empty chapel, it was really moving.

Diane

I was there in 1997 and was surprised that the hike was not as much a "stroll" as I'd imagined after watching Rick Steves' show, but I'm grateful to him for introducing me to the area. Some portions are not appropriate for people afraid of heights. There are no handrails for the majority of the walk. In some parts, if you slip you could injure yourself seriously. Do not let this deter you, just plan accordingly. Wear hiking shoes/boots, have some bottled water with you, etc.

fred

i hate to state the obvious but mud and rock slides are not all that uncommon in the spring. no big deal just use common sense if hiking especailly after a heavy rainstorm. the view is so beautiful that the problem of a small obstruction should not deter most people from hiking

christina

buonguorno a tutti.

i visited 3 weeks ago the cinque terre (from firenze by car it's a daytrip) and we drove the "hidden" small roads by car. i'm very used to drive this bad streets and we had some mudslides and landslides here where i live last november, this happend even to other spots here in toscana, liguria and piemonte, lombardia etc. anyway: the streets are sometimes in a real bad condition in cinque terre and i can promise you, they will not fix them so fast! the same for via del amore, it's closed and will be closed for a long time, they try to repair it, but the terrain is so bad, that they except more "stone-slides" and mudslides.

anyway, have a nice day!

christina

Jim

I too am heading to Cinque Terre May 28-June 4 after a biking/hiking trip to Sicily with Ciclcimo Classico and a side trip to Malta. I am interested in learning of neat, yet not too expensive places to stay in Portofino & Cinque Terre - any suggestions?

Lisa B

This is so great to see all this "back-n-forth" about Cinque Terre. My husband and I are going to take my 64 year old mother with us in May, staying in Tuscany for two weeks and taking day trips. I'm glad to see that Cinque Terre can be a "day trip" and also that the trains are useful for folks who can't hike the trails. The walk mentioned that goes from Montlcino to abbey St.Antimo sounds like a great option for us, since my mom is not much of a hiker. Thanks everyone for all the good advice!! I look forward to more info.

Jim

For those wanting an organized multi-day walking/hiking tour of Cinque Terre, check out the Ciclismo Classico 8 day tour to the area. I have traveled with them before, and they are great. You can reach them online at ciclismoclassico.com or 1-800-866-7314