Cinque Terre ~ Looking for advice

pjproby

I would love to hear from others about their recommendations in relation to a trip to Cinque Terre. I will like to use the train from Pisa and thinking of staying in Monterosso. Any recs for hotels/ apartments and restaurants and 'must sees'.
What is the best time to go when it is not freezing and not too crowded!

SuperStarHoney

Myself and OH were there for a week in June and would go back in a heartbeat. Fantastic scenary, great hiking and amazing food. We stayed just outside the actual Cinque Terre in Levanto. The five villages were very busy particularly during the day with day trippers.

If you want to stay in one of the five villages, I'd recommend Monterosso, it definitely has the most going on.

Getting to and around the area is very easy on the local trains but they can be jammed at times.

I wouldn't really say there's must sees apart from the villages themselves obviously. We hiked between all five one of the days and then spent another day getting the train and taking our time wandering round each.

Pecker31

Hi all, I am trying to plan a holiday to the beautiful Cinque Terre. We will be flying from either Cork or Dublin and plan on spending around four nights, perhaps staying in Monterosso and visiting the rest of the villages.

Has anyone done this, is it something you would recommend?

Any advise would be great, i.e places to stay, is it expensive, is four days enough etc

mfceiling

Was there last year. Absolutely beautiful but in the summer it is jam packed. The roads are busy, the traffic is mental (parking is next to impossible) and the crowds are off putting.

It's my first holiday to Italy where I wouldn't visit the same place again, and I've been there 7 or 8 times now.

Further up the coast towards France (liguarian region) is equally as beautiful IMO and much less touristy. Prices will be way more reasonable and the whole hustle and bustle seems to dissolve.

If you are still thinking about Italy I can recommend "agriturismo". These are great value places to stay. Some of them are working farms or vineyards!! We stayed in one where the owner plied us with his own beautiful wine and olive oil and wouldn't take payment at the end of the stay!!

irishmoss

We stayed in Levanto at hotel Al Terra do Mare small but stunning location and views. We drove from Pisa up and parked the car for our entire stay in the hotel garage. The owner dropped us off each day at the train station which has frequent trains connection the five villages. The hotel owner also dropped us down to Levanto at night where there was some fabulous restaurants, particularly seafood. I loved the towns, the atmosphere but it is touristy and we found the restaurants overpriced and really wouldn't recommend any of the restaurant except for light lunch. From there we drove to Genoa, again stunning places, aargh, I wish I could go back, my favourite country

Pecker31

irishmoss wrote: »

We stayed in Levanto at hotel Al Terra do Mare small but stunning location and views. We drove from Pisa up and parked the car for our entire stay in the hotel garage. The owner dropped us off each day at the train station which has frequent trains connection the five villages. The hotel owner also dropped us down to Levanto at night where there was some fabulous restaurants, particularly seafood. I loved the towns, the atmosphere but it is touristy and we found the restaurants overpriced and really wouldn't recommend any of the restaurant except for light lunch. From there we drove to Genoa, again stunning places, aargh, I wish I could go back, my favourite country

Thank you for replying! Do you think four nights staying here would be too long, is there enough to do and see? We are both in our 30's and not major fans of lying around on the beach ~ like culture and exploring!

irishmoss

Pecker31 wrote: »

Thank you for replying! Do you think four nights staying here would be too long, is there enough to do and see? We are both in our 30's and not major fans of lying around on the beach ~ like culture and exploring![/QUOTE

I wouldn't stay four nights, two would be enough for me if you got there early in the day.
The hotel we stayed in was perched high on a hill so we were dependent on the hotel shuttle service so that would be something to think about too.

Levanto is easy driving distance of Portofino, we didn't stay there , too expensive but worth seeing where the rich and famous go.

Have you done Florence and the Chianti region?

Pecker31

irishmoss wrote: »

Pecker31 wrote: »

Thank you for replying! Do you think four nights staying here would be too long, is there enough to do and see? We are both in our 30's and not major fans of lying around on the beach ~ like culture and exploring![/QUOTE

I wouldn't stay four nights, two would be enough for me if you got there early in the day.
The hotel we stayed in was perched high on a hill so we were dependent on the hotel shuttle service so that would be something to think about too.

Levanto is easy driving distance of Portofino, we didn't stay there , too expensive but worth seeing where the rich and famous go.

Have you done Florence and the Chianti region?

No I have never been to Italy but Cinque Terre is always somewhere I wanted to visit. We won't be driving so I was going to fly Dublin to Pisa and then get the train to Cinque Terre, stay three nights and come home again?

There are so many places to see and do! Did you find Cinque Terre expensive?

Pecker31

SuperStarHoney wrote: »

Myself and OH were there for a week in June and would go back in a heartbeat. Fantastic scenary, great hiking and amazing food. We stayed just outside the actual Cinque Terre in Levanto. The five villages were very busy particularly during the day with day trippers.

If you want to stay in one of the five villages, I'd recommend Monterosso, it definitely has the most going on.

Getting to and around the area is very easy on the local trains but they can be jammed at times.

I wouldn't really say there's must sees apart from the villages themselves obviously. We hiked between all five one of the days and then spent another day getting the train and taking our time wandering round each.

Hi I am thinking of taking a trip there, did you find Cinque Terre expensive? I am thinking of maybe three nights

irishmoss

Pecker31 wrote: »

irishmoss wrote: »

There are so many places to see and do! Did you find Cinque Terre expensive?

No it is not expensive, it is just very touristy and a lot of the restaurants want as many people as possible so service is rushed,

Have you looked at staying La Spezia. You can get the train to Cinque Terre from there.
Another option is to stay in Leirici, train from Pisa to La Spezia and bus to Leirici ( the Bay of Poets ) about 20 mins away. There is a ferry running hourly I think to Portovenere and all five villages, this costs around 30 euro per person return. I would stay the four nights staying in either La Spezia or Leirici as there is lots more to see and do from either of these bases

The five villages are lovely but jam packed with tourists so it is much better imo to stay outside and get the train or ferry in.

dia squish

Heading to Cinque Terre at the end of September this year and currently looking into where to stay.
Would the five villages still be very busy at that time of year? Open to staying in La Spezia if so.
We'll be there for 4 nights, flying in/out of Pisa.

Muahahaha

Was there at the end of Sept a few years back and while the villages were busy enough it wasnt madness or anything. I wouldnt like to go there in peak summer, would imagine it is packed everywhere but by September the crowds have thinned out.

k123456

dia squish wrote: »

Heading to Cinque Terre at the end of September this year and currently looking into where to stay.
Would the five villages still be very busy at that time of year? Open to staying in La Spezia if so.
We'll be there for 4 nights, flying in/out of Pisa.

La Spezia looks nice and a suitable place to stay. From La Spezia, you can buy "an all day" boat ticket , and use boats to travel to from CT

There is the train, but I found the boats nicer

franglan

Was there after the ireland Italy game in Rome in Feb this year. Stayed in Vernazza. Nice couple of restaurants open even for that time of year. Its fairly special tbh. We walked between the villages - brilliant holiday. Would recommend vernazza. September is a good time, the villages are small and space is at a premium. Wouldn't be ideal in peak season as villages are literally too narrow and cobbledy to deal with the masses - which they most likely do at this time of year. Likewise with the hikes - some sections are single lane would be awkward enough if mad busy.

josip

I wouldn't bother with La Spezia, we tried it years ago, bailed at 11pm and drove to Riomaggiore where at midnight a bartender rustled up a room for us across the street.
A large part of cinqueterre I think is to spend a few nights among the locals if possible to see how they live.
If you have the time.

dia squish

josip wrote: »

I wouldn't bother with La Spezia, we tried it years ago, bailed at 11pm and drove to Riomaggiore where at midnight a bartender rustled up a room for us across the street.
A large part of cinqueterre I think is to spend a few nights among the locals if possible to see how they live.
If you have the time.

Thanks. We were thinking of either Riomaggiore or Vernazza if we stay within the 5. Would you recommend Riomaggiore? Would like somewhere with a bit of a buzz at night, bearing in mind it will be late September.

Gael23

We stayed in Rapallo and got the train to Monterosso, then you get on the train to each of the villages. That was late September and there was a constant stream of people but it wasn’t crowded.

Muahahaha

The trains make it easy to get to each of the villages but IMO if you don't hike between them then you are missing out on some absolutely spectacular scenery from up on high on the cliffs. Cinque Terre is best done as a 2 or 3 day hike staying in the villages at night time when all the day trippers have gone home. We didnt see any crowds at all until our final day when we had to get a train out of there and the station was mobbed with day trippers. Hiking it is a totally different experience than just getting a train from village to village with hundreds of other people.

Gael23

I have some mobility difficulty over uneven terrain so I was unable to do the hike. Some of our group did it and the photos looked amazing but I enjoyed just taking the train at the same time.