Italy - Cinque Terre

Well, the vacation that I spent the better part of 2.5 years dreaming of and planning has come and gone. In the blink of an eye. We were thrown smack dab back into the middle of a blazing hot Texas summer, and while I love Texas, I already miss the Italian sun, the smell of jasmine everywhere, the sound of tiny espresso cups clinking against porcelain saucers, and the promise of gelato around every corner :) Oh Italy, how I love you so!

I’ve had many requests to share the details of our incredible two week trip through Italy and quite honestly, I don’t even know where to start! I feel that I am just about a walking thesaurus on planning a trip to Italy so if you have any questions after reading everything, please feel free to ask! If there’s anything I love talking about more than food and fitness…it’s Italy :)

I think the best way to tackle this and share all the deets is to break it down by each location. That way you can easily have all the good info divided up by location for your own planning purposes! In this segment, I want to talk all about stunning Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre

How to get there - again, the train will be your best friend here! I don’t think driving into this area is very recommended but the trains were great! We purchased the Cinque Terre card (3 day pass), which gave us unlimited access to the local trains and access to the hiking trails (which have an entry fee otherwise). It also comes with free bathroom access (yes, most public bathrooms in Italy will cost you some change) and the bathrooms were all very clean and well-maintained by an on-site attendant. It also comes with wifi access but….I can’t speak much on the reliability of that!

Where to stay - there are five villages along the coast and you can stay within any of them! In my opinion, the more popular ones are Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Monterosso and they seemed to be the largest in terms of options. We chose to base ourselves in Riomaggiore because it was the first stop on the train coming from Florence. We didn’t have any issues and each of the five villages are all pretty similar so you can’t go wrong! Just be warned that Corniglia is the only one that requires some trekking from the train station. It’s up on the top of the cliff meaning the views are great but you have to either take a bunch of stairs or find transport to the top. Taking those stairs with luggage would be quite the challenge. While we were there, we all agreed that Vernazza seemed to be really quaint and we all liked the look and feel of that one the best! Hotel options will be best in Monterosso, but it’s also the most crowded. Don’t expect to find many….upscale accommodation options! These are small fishing villages afterall. You might find some, but I think the best option is checking airbnb for apartments! This is the one we stayed in. It was really clean and the view from the top balcony can not be beat but the stairs were a challenge and there was no a/c :)

What to do - hike! The unique characteristic about this part of the Italian coast is that each of the five villages are connected by trails. You can hike between each one or you can also ride the train and village hop that way. We did a mixture of both! We spent one afternoon hiking between Vernazza and Monterosso. It was hot and challenging, but the views were worth it! And the crisp Italian sea was waiting for us in Monterosso! After our hike, we went straight to the beach and spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing. We also enjoyed just wandering through each of the villages and admiring how charming and quaint they were.

*NOTE - two sections of trails were closed when we visited (and were going to be closed for a while) due to repairs and unsafe conditions. Make sure you check the trail conditions before you make your plans! For trail conditions visit https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-current-situation

What to eat - while there aren’t as many options in the area due to the size, you can definitely find some tasty food in Cinque Terre. Whatever you do, DON’T MISS the focaccia or pesto! They both originated from this region and they were both SO GOOD. Wherever you can get your hands on some, do it!

Restaurants:

• Nessun Dorma - famous view and cocktails in Manarola, they have really good aperitivo and pesto that I’m still dreaming about (you have to download their app to get a table) https://www.nessundormacinqueterre.com/

• La Cantina di Miky, Monterosso - we didn’t get to eat here but I hear it's wonderful and it’s right along the beach so it has a great atmosphere!

• There were several Michelin star restaurants that we didn’t visit, but they looked amazing!

• We stopped and got slices of focaccia before starting our hike. There are so many little focaccia shops around, you can’t go wrong! Just don’t miss it!

• We also got some fresh fried fish from a little stand in Monterosso which was so good! Don’t be afraid to venture off the beaten path ;)

Cinque Terre was so beautiful! When we were planning our trip, we ended up having to choose between Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast because we just didn’t have time for both. We ended up choosing Cinque Terre because of its close proximity to the other places we were visiting and because it was more geared toward hiking. I know the Amalfi Coast is gorgeous, but I think it’s more high-end beachy vibes and we just decided we wanted the more rustic hiking environment of the Cinque Terre. I don’t think you can go wrong either way! They are both along the Italian Coast, after all :)