suze

<the Cinque Terre suits those with little or no taste and low expectations.>

Oh brother. Here we go again.

samoca

I agree with Sojourntraveller that Portovenere is a much nicer place to visit than the Cinque Terre towns. It's prettier!! And the waves are so quiet (the harbor is protected by a breakwater)--I wanted to lie down on the spot and stay forever. You can get there easily by bus from La Spezia and of course by car or water. There was no train station (at least in 2009). I was told about Portovenere by a local kid on the train in to La Spezia from Pisa--best travel tip ever.

Sojourntraveller

You can lead a horse to water............ samoca. American tourists have been listening to Rick Steves for so long, they can't see outside the box.

MmePerdu

"American tourists have been listening to Rick Steves for so long, they can't see outside the box."

I'd rephrase the above to read: Unimaginative tourists have been listening to guidebooks for so long they can't see outside the box.

The least imaginative tourist this American has traveled with was a Brit. Lack of imagination knows no boundaries.

NoFlyZone

So I guess I should go look up this Steves guy ... have heard his name but know nothing of him.

MmePerdu

One need not follow in lockstep with itineraries in any guidebook. Steves has his uses, as do others. I've bought his on occasion cheap as remainders and put the information together with others for an overview. I think it's a mistake to use just 1 opinion in anything travel, at least until we become familiar with a region. Then I use them mostly for logistics and there are better ones for that than his.