How to plan Cinque Terre in one day

Everyone must have seen these colourful houses stuck on the cliffs in the picture. Maybe you didn't know where it was or what it was called, but you've probably come across them somewhere. So let's take a quick geographical window. Cinque Terre is located on the east coast of Italy - in the region of Liguria, on the Ligurian Sea. The literal name means "Five Lands", in practice it is 5 colorful and incredibly photogenic towns - Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore. Since 1997 they have even been part of the UNESCO cultural heritage, and a few years later the Cinque Terre National Park was declared in these places, including not only the terraced villages but also the adjacent mountains, forests, fields, vineyards and part of the sea.

WHEN to go?

For your sake, avoid the summer season, because you really don't want that experience. We visited Cinque Terre in September as part of our Tuscan roadtrip, and even then it was too crowded for my taste. In July and especially in August, when Italians are on holiday, the situation will certainly be even worse => head to head, pushing through crowds of tourists, waiting in queues and squeezing on the train/bus... No, thanks! If I could choose again, I choose April, May or then October.

FROM WHERE to go?

I consider the town of La Spezia to be the ideal starting point for visiting the Cinque Terre, where there is a large concentration of accommodation and generally everything you can think of. If you choose to fly as your means of transport, you'll probably arrive in nearby Pisa, where Ryanair flies for literally just a few pennies. From there, you can easily get there either by Trenitalia train (travel time approx. 1h/€8) or by some local bus.

If you prefer to travel by car, you can get here from the Czech Republic by using the navigation system, so yeah, that's probably not a problem. Still, I recommend staying in La Spezia and not driving directly to NP Cinque Terre. The main reason is the fact that you will have to leave your vehicle at the (very expensive - about €25/day) parking lot and walk the rest of the way, because you can't drive into the individual towns. And the second thing - driving in the NP is unnecessarily long due to the narrow roads full of curves.

HOW to visit Cinque Terre?

The easiest, fastest and most comfortable way - BY TRAIN. Don't worry, they're no cogs, they have lovely clean modern low-floor trains that run every few minutes, especially in high season, that will transport you between villages in minutes. To give you an idea: from La Spezia to the furthest of the five villages, Monterosso al Mare, takes 15-20 minutes depending on the type of train. Please don't imagine any love ride from the train, as most of the route is through tunnels. So the transfers are more like taking the metro :) Oh, and I recommend downloading the Trenitalia app on your phone, where you can then check the current train arrivals/departures throughout the day. In short, don't wait like a drone at the stations, and rather spend more time exploring the cities :)

Buses aren't really an option here, as the ones in Cinque Terre only run within these five towns, but NOT BETWEEN them, which kind of sucks for you. The only bus you could realistically use is in the middle village of Corniglia, as there is quite an unpleasant elevation gain of long stairs from the train station to the centre.

The third option is your own feet. The entire Cinque Terre National Park is crossed by the popular Sentiero Verde Azzurro (Blue Trail). If you would like to visit five villages through this walk, prepare your strength for about 12 kilometers + a lot of climbing and descending and so on and so on :) For the best constellation of stars you would divide the route into 4 parts, BUT always check accessibility here beforehand! Landslides are very common in the Cinque Terre area, which unfortunately causes sections of the Blue Trail to close. Usually for quite a long time, as it is no fun to pave and rebuild these slopes.

• Riomaggiore - Manarola - the shortest (1 km) and least demanding section, and therefore also the most popular. It is better known as Via dell'Amore, unfortunately it has been closed for a long time and probably will be for a while.
• Manarola - Corniglia - 2,8 km, also currently closed, but for how long I have no idea
• Corniglia - Vernazza - 3,5 km, we have completed this section, so I will describe my own experience below
• Vernazza - Monterosso - 3,8 km

Of course, there are many more hiking trails. All info about trekking in the NP with maps can be found on the official website. The last option to visit Cinque Terre is a boat trip. There are a number of smaller and larger cruise companies, but we didn't have the pleasure of meeting any of them. Better to get advice from someone local (e.g. in accommodation) on how best to combine the cruises.

HOW MUCH will it cost?

Millions of tourists flock to the Cinque Terre every year, so it's no wonder that entry has been regulated for several years. I wouldn't say directly charged, like an entrance fee, as you imagine. It's more like an inevitable fee. However, the sums are not dramatic when you consider that the Cinque Terre area will provide you with a full day program, or even a multi-day program. So you have to get the CINQUE TERRE CARD, which is available in two variants:

• TRENO - For €16 per adult per day (until midnight, not for 24 hours!!!) you get unlimited train travel + entry to the walking routes (yes, you have to pay for those too). This is the option that the vast majority of tourists get - you buy and then you don't have to worry about anything at all, it's ideal.
• TREKKING - For €7.50 per adult per day, you can access all the hiking trails, with only the coastal sections charging a fee for the time being. This is where the entrance fee is really controlled - there are control booths at the beginning of the sections. 

The Cinque Terre Card can be purchased at the information centres, known as welcome centres. The full list is available here. But I definitely recommend buying option number two - in advance online, because especially at the info centre at La Spezia station there were quite long queues. For those who don't want to get either card, the prices for one-stop train transfers are around €2-3. Probably only worthwhile for someone who doesn't want to move around too much, and who isn't considering trekking between villages at all.

WHERE to stay?

I had mentioned La Spezia as a good starting point, so I was also aiming for accommodation here. We had originally booked a completely different apartment, but due to the football match and some traffic closures associated with it, we were forced to change at the last minute. In the end, our home for two nights was an apartment rented by a very talkative but very nice Italian - La Pieve di Luca. The key for us was a separate bedroom and free parking a short walk from the accommodation. The kitchenette, fridge, microwave and coffee maker were also an advantage. 

The only minor minus was the location, which is not right in the centre, but ultimately nothing that couldn't be handled. It is possible to take a one-stop train from Migliarina station to the central station for €1.90, or you can take the bus for €1.50, but it stops maybe every 20 meters :) Anyway, Lucy's accommodation was one of the cheapest in La Spezia (in September... and last minute), a night here cost us about €68. Or, of course, check out the other accommodations there:

• cheaper: Elite 19 - a cheap, but well rated guesthouse, where a night for two costs about €44
  
  
• medium: My Way or Echi del Mare - beautiful modern accommodations, from both of them it is about 10 minutes walk to the main station, the price is very similar at about €68/night for a double room

• luxury: Le 5 Terre La Spezia - designer rooms, some even with sauna, or designer and not too expensive apartments in Apartments and Suites 5 Terre La Spezia

Another option would be to stay directly in the Cinque Terre NP, but you have to take into account higher prices and generally very quickly occupied capacities. On the other hand, it will probably be quite a romantic affair for an evening like this, once the towns have cleared out of the tourist crowds. A small consolation is that those staying in the NP can take advantage of discounts on entrance fees - Treno Card for €14 and Trekking Card for €2, more info here. To give you an example:

• Riomaggiore: Affittacamere le Giare or Miramare Love Nest
• Manarola: La Piramide or Arpaiu
• Corniglia: Residenza Solferino
• Vernazza: Rina Rooms or Mada Charm Apartments
• Monterosso: Ricky Rooms or Hotel Porto Roca

How was our day in Cinque Terre?

I've already mentioned most of it in the individual paragraphs, so just a quick recap. We wake up in La Spezia at La Pieve di Luca apartment, from where we walk to Migliarina station. There's free parking, but we're leaving the car to rest today = the vision of a glass/bottle of wine is stronger! :) 

It only takes a few minutes to get to the main station, then the queue for the Cinque Terre Card is worse. Unfortunately, we find out that we can't buy it in the vending machine and not online anymore for this day, so we really have to wait in that queue. We have to fill in the names on the cards we bought and then we can hop on the next train.

We have Nina in our carrier for today, and if you too are thinking of visiting Cinque Terre with a baby, I recommend voting that way as well. A carriage was not an option for us, if only because we were determined to walk certain parts of the Blue Trail. But even in the towns, carriages are no prize - they're full of steps, bumps and most importantly, crowds of people to weave through... er, no thanks. Anyway, we choose to visit the farthest village first - Monterosso, which clearly sets the direction for the rest of the trip, so our stages are as follows:

1) La Spezia-Monterosso (by train)

Monterosso is not only the furthest, but also the biggest... plus I might add, the least authentic. A large part of it is occupied by a beach resort called Fegina, since in the whole Cinque Terre only Monterosso boasts a sandy beach, expect pebbles everywhere else. The light, clean sand contrasts beautifully with the colourful parasols and azure sea, a truly perfect spectacle. Just expect to pay extra for sunbeds and the aforementioned umbrellas, but if you're going to lounge around all day, it's probably worth it.

This newer part of Monterosso is separated from the old town by a rocky promontory with a viewpoint, a tower, a church and a quite extensive cemetery. I recommend to run at least for the view, it's really worth it! Plus, of course, walk at least a bit of the original part of the town with its typical colourful houses. TIP: if you find yourself in Monterosso at lunchtime, feel free to eat here. There are far fewer dining options in nearby Vernazza, which means there are queues everywhere, both at expensive restaurants and cheaper take-away bistros. 

2) Monterosso-Vernazza (by train)

Here we thought about a trek for a while, but the next section was recommended to us as nicer and with better views, so the choice was clear - we arrive in Vernazza by train. Many people refer to Vernazza as the most beautiful town in the whole Cinque Terre, probably because of the natural harbour overlooked by multi-coloured houses. Beautiful!

But what you can't leave without, in my opinion, is the view of Vernazza from above = the photos that pop up when you google Cinque Terre. The best view of the harbour is just above the town, on the walking route to Monterosso. You will need to take a short hike, expect a 10 minute walk. You pass a booth where you show your Cinque Terre Card (or buy a trekking pass for €7.50), walk a few dozen more metres and voila, a great view.

3) Vernazza-Corniglia (by foot)

After seeing Vernazza from above, we return to the centre... to climb up again, this time in the direction of Corniglia. There are a lot of stairs, but the view from here is worth it. But it's not just the view, we want to walk the whole 3.5 km stretch to Corniglia. The route is on a paved, rocky path and up and down quite often. Be sure to wear some sturdy shoes and in the summer you'll need a sunscreen, sunglasses, or something for your head, because you won't see as much shade. But what you might enjoy - about halfway there is a snack bar called Bar Il Gabbiano, where you can have a freshly squeezed citrus juice (€4) and sit with it on the shady terrace overlooking the sea and the cliffs.

views of Vernazza in the direction of Corniglia:

At these points you will also see Corniglia itself + you will pass the highest point of the entire Blue Trail (208 m above sea level). I have to say that Corniglia impressed us much more from afar than up close. It is the only one of the five villages that does not have a harbor, instead it looks out to the sea from a ninety meter high cliff. Perhaps that's why it seemed prettier from afar - its unusual high position stands out more. We arrive in Corniglia after about an hour and a half walk, we run through the centre quite quickly, because there is not so much to see, we have an ice cream in one of X home made gelateria. The bus to the station (included in the Cinqeu Terre Card) has passed right in front of us, so we have to walk up those long stairs I mentioned. Never mind, we'll rest on the train... during the three-minute ride... erm...

4) Corniglia-Manarola (by train)

And here again there is no lack of water washing the village, people even swim among the rocks or just rest in the last remnants of sunlight. Instead of swimming, we'll run to the Manarola Scenic Viewpoint (google maps), where you'll get the best view of the pastel houses stacked above you. From here we had planned to take the Via dell'Amore trail to the next town, Riomaggiore, but unfortunately this section is still not cleared. We at least check out the ascent of this short trail, see the last two photos, and have to take the train again.

5) Manarola-Riomaggiore (by train)

We reach the last of the five villages, the one closest to La Spezia - Riomaggiore, just before sunset. What a romantic rag, I tell you. Unfortunately, we are not getting as much energy as this little town probably deserves. So we'll at least do a quick walk, take some pictures of the harbour with its typical wrinkled rocks and somewhere we'll manage to grab a ciabatta for dinner. Then we have no choice but to cut the last bit of our journey, and take the train back to La Spezia.

Ugh, and that's really it. It's been a busy day, but we can see why such crowds flock here every year. These former fishing villages are definitely worthy of admiration, and to anyone who is procrastinating on visiting, I can only recommend one thing - pack your bags and just go! :)

If you are interested in more travels in Italy, check out the previous articles from Tuscany - Tuscany roadtrip with itinerary or Val d´Orcia: the true Tuscany.

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