Tours to Cinque Terre.

[Bristol]

Has anyone taken the Cinque Terre tour offered by the ships?

We're doing the Med cruise next year and definitely want to go there.

Are there any private tour companies that anyone can recommend?

Time to get started with making plans and I would appreciate any advice from someone who's been there.

 

Thanks, Joan

[janchor]

HI Joan,

My DH and I just did the Cinque Terre tour from Emerald Princess at the end of May. And it was one of our favourite tours on the cruise. We visited 4 of the five villages. We were dropped off at one, walked to another, we were to take a boat to a third but the sea was very rough so we went by train and by train to the fourth. It was such a lovely area and we had time for shopping, trying the local pizza and even had lunch. DH thought we should have skipped lunch and explored some more but I was hungry!! And the food was great. It was not nearly as crowded as some of the other ports we had been to so I appreciated the relative peace and quiet!! We didn't go to Florence because we had been there before and Cinque Terre was fabulous alternative. On the way there and back we could see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the distance. Our guide gave us all a taste of Limoncello on the way back and I think we all slept back to the ship!!!:).

 

Jane

[Leejnd4]

I'm a major Cinque Terre lover - been there several times, both as day-visits from a cruise ship and staying there on a land-based trip. It's actually my favorite place on earth - my will even says that when I leave this world, my ashes are to be scattered over the cliffs of the Via Dell'Amore! (That's the paved path between two of the villages.)

 

I personally don't think you need a guided tour - there's not really much that a tour guide can do for you that you can't do yourself, and it's definitely best NOT to be on a ship tour when you're stuck with a big crowd and can't go at your own pace. The Cinque Terre trail connects all five villages, as does the train, which comes regularly and only takes a few minutes in between each village.

 

My suggestion would be to take a train from your port stop straight to the furthest-south village, Riomaggiore. Explore there for a little while (I love to wander up and down the narrow stairways in between the buildings). Then follow the Via Dell'Amore clinging to the coast, which is a 20-min. paved walk directly to the next town - Manarola. Have lunch in Manarola - there's a great little restaurant near the waterfront, with a mural on the wall inside, you can't miss it. From Manarola you can either continue hiking the trail (if you're fit and adventurous - it gets much more challenging from that point on) or take the train to the next village, Corneglia. This is my favorite village, and is also usually the least crowded, as it sits not right on the water but way up high on a cliff over the ocean, with views to forever, and fascinating narrow passageways in between the ancient buildings. If you take the train, the station is at the bottom at the water and it's a steeeep climb up to the village, but there's a free shuttle bus that circles back and forth between the station and the main square.

 

The next leg of the trail, between Corneglia and Vernazza, is my favorite, but it's also the most challenging and harrowing, so you really do have to be fit to do it - but if you are, don't miss it! Otherwise, take the train to Vernazza - it's only about an 8-minute ride. Vernazza is usually the most crowded of the villages (thank you Rick Steves) but it really is a charming village with several sites worth exploring.

 

I wouldn't bother going to the fifth village, Monterosso - it's not nearly as picturesque and charming as the others, and is more of a tourist draw for Italians, sporting a small beach and several hotels.

 

There are a number of online resources and guidebooks that can give you specific details of what to see in each village, how long each leg of the trail takes to hike, etc. If you plan your day out in advance and decide how much time you want to spend in each village, and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship, you should have a wonderful day at one of the most beautiful spots on the planet.

 

Hope this helps!

[cruiserus]

HI Joan,

My DH and I just did the Cinque Terre tour from Emerald Princess at the end of May. And it was one of our favourite tours on the cruise. We visited 4 of the five villages. We were dropped off at one, walked to another, we were to take a boat to a third but the sea was very rough so we went by train and by train to the fourth. It was such a lovely area and we had time for shopping, trying the local pizza and even had lunch. DH thought we should have skipped lunch and explored some more but I was hungry!! And the food was great. It was not nearly as crowded as some of the other ports we had been to so I appreciated the relative peace and quiet!! We didn't go to Florence because we had been there before and Cinque Terre was fabulous alternative. On the way there and back we could see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the distance. Our guide gave us all a taste of Limoncello on the way back and I think we all slept back to the ship!!!:).

 

Jane

 

We took the same tour on the Grand Princess TA in April. It is one of my favorite tours of all time. The villages are so picturesque. We thoroughly enjoyed the walk between Manarola and Riomaggiore. Then we took the boat to Vernazza, perhaps my favorite of the villages. We had about 45 min-an hour to explore this small village on our own before catching another boat on to Monterosso. In Monterosso we had almost 2 hours. We had a great pizza for lunch and wandered around exploring the side streets and little shops. After reassembling with our group, we had a short walk past the beach area to where the bus was parked. This was the most crowded of the villages, as we were there May 1, a major holiday, but as an earlier poster said, it is a place where the Italians go to enjoy the sea, so I imagine it can be very crowded in summer. I highly recommend this tour.

[winncruiser]

probably a dumb question, but what do women wear on this tour? Especially what type of shoes? Do they have to be hiking shoes if I plan to only walk the "path of love" or may I wear flip flops? Just wondering if this is a dressy casual port or a truly casual excursion?

[Leejnd4]

Cinque Terre is definitely a CASUAL port. Up until Rick Steves brought it to the attention of American tourists it was truly a hiker's destination, and that's all you'd see there, other than the local fishing-and-farming families who've lived there for generations. What to wear depends on what you plan on doing, but for SURE you should be wearing very comfortable shoes, as you will be doing a lot of walking, and there are many steep climbs even if you don't hike. If you plan only on doing the paved leg of the trail (between Riomaggiore and Manarola), then you really don't need hiking shoes, although I would recommend against wearing flip-flops and go with shoes more geared towards walking. If you are going to do any of the other legs, hiking shoes, or at least some sturdy sneakers with a good tread, would be more appropriate.

[twotraveljunkies]

We just did that tour through the cruiseline and loved it - Voyager May 17. It was the best day on our cruise, not to be missed!! Not that it was strenuous really but Very comfortable shoes for walking and up/down and unlevel ground quite a bit.

[winncruiser]

Thank you both for your good and much needed advice!

[mrspaper]

My suggestion would be to take a train from your port stop straight to the furthest-south village, Riomaggiore. .

 

Hope this helps!

 

LeeAnne

can you please tell me how long the train takes from the port to Riomaggiore?

 

Linda

[GSPLover]

If you click on the train link below, you can jump to my website and the Cinque Terre section, includes slide show as well as a link to a SelfTour document with discussion and train schedules.