Cinque Terre tour- How strenuous?

[Leejnd4]

Ah...well, yes of course it's MUCH easier to do Cinque Terre if your ship is at a much closer port! :) Last time I did the Cinque Terre from a ship, we were anchored in Portofino.

 

Btw, not every cruise ship that docks in Livorno is a "floating theme park"... :confused:

[CathyCruises]

LeeAnne, I don't know if I've thanked you for all the time you put into this! I feel very confident now in my ability to have a wonderful day and am so excited to finally see Cinque Terre. I am hoping I can talk some of the folks on our cruise into coming along--it would be fun to have some company! But both Eric and I lived for a time in Europe in our (far) younger years and feel really good about doing things on our own--especially with such specific information.

 

BTW, I grew up not far from your neck of the woods--in the SF Valley, was one of the original "valley girls" hanging out at the new malls a gazillion years ago. Thrilled not to live there any more but it is fun to visit, once every 5 years! I always wanted to live in a small town in the mountains, just didn't realize it would take me 50 years and I would end up in a town of 242!

 

Thanks again and I will report in after we return in mid-November!

 

Cathy

[Leejnd4]

Cathy I'm glad I could help. I've been visiting the Cinque Terre since before Rick Steves made the region famous - back when it was just five sleepy fishing villages beloved by adventurous, in-the-know backpackers. :) While I've disliked seeing how crowded and touristy they've become, they still maintain their appeal - especially outside of the summer months, when they can become sleepy fishing villages again. You are definitely going at the right time!

 

I'm actually north of the valley - we're in Ventura County, which is pretty different from the SF valley. We love it here! I expect we'll head to a quiet mountain town someday - maybe after the kids are through college. :)