It’s hard to believe that just about 5 months ago we were exploring the beautiful country of Italy. The lively and friendly spirits, beautiful scenery, delectable cuisines, and the iconic history is something I’ll never forget and I already have plans to return to Italy again one day soon. Fast forward to now in 2020 during this awful time of the COVID-19 pandemic and my heart truly aches for the pain that this gorgeous country is going through. Reading about the overwhelmed healthcare system and the many deaths is so heartbreaking and I honestly wish there was more I could do personally. I really hope Italy is able to pull through this sooner rather than later. We all are experiencing the impacts of this virus on so many levels and I know that every country’s economy after this will need all the help it can get but especially those countries that have so far been impacted the most like Italy. I do hope that anyone who had trips planned to Italy were able to reschedule to a later date and not just cancel completely to help out their economy and small businesses when things finally get better. Sending a lot of love to you Italy.
I feel a little strange writing this post but as I said, I do hope that people are still planning to come here when traveling is feasible again. We had the best time on our girls trip here in October and Italy should truly be on everyone’s bucket list. The Cinque Terre was probably my favorite area of our whole trip and I keep thinking of all those small businesses on that beautiful coastline that mainly depend on tourism. I hope the families are doing okay. We interacted with a lot of friendly locals at many different cafes, restaurants, stores, and stands but I vividly remember our last dinner in town and being served by a somewhat gruff waiter who I thought wasn’t very fond of us but by the end of it all he was laughing and hanging out with us and even drank a beer with us! It was such a fun time and the Italians really had a way of making everything feel like a party which I’m just not used to in the United States, especially in restaurants where you’re mostly being rushed out for the next customer.
I also remember meeting a super friendly Filipina woman who had been living there for years after meeting and falling in love with her Italian husband. She owned a little store with him that sold all sorts of Italian goodies and she was so friendly and talkative. It was funny because she was instantly attracted to us because she thought we were Filipina’s (my friend is!). I’ll always remember little moments like those mentioned and the welcomed feeling I had throughout most of our trip which makes the impacts of the pandemic even more disheartening. So I wanted to share more of our adventures in this wonderful area and I hope it helps you with planning if you are hoping to vacation in Italy when things get exponentially better.
If you read my first post in this Italy series, you’ll know that we began our travels in Florence and the Tuscany region so from Florence we took a train to Monterosso Al Mare which is the village we decided to make our homebase. The ticket we booked through Trenitalia had a quick connection in Pisa and then from there went straight to Monterosso. The ticket was about 20 Euros per person in October of 2019 and the train ride was just a little over 2 hours long. Once you arrive, if you plan to take the train a few times in a day I would recommend purchasing a Cinque Terre Train Card which allows for unlimited train rides. The pass was 16 Euros per adult in October of 2019 for a 1-day pass and 29 Euros for a 2-day pass. Alternatively a single ride ticket is 4 Euros per ride. If you’re planning to visit all 5 villages per train then the Cinque Terre Train Card is definitely worth it, especially if you visit all 5 and plan to go back to one of your favorites for dinner or things of that nature. You also get free use of the bathrooms with this ticket instead of having to pay each time you need to go, you get free Wi-Fi access when available, you get access to hiking trails, and you get to ride the bus for free that takes you to the village of Corniglia and back to the train station after.
Train travel is definitely the best way to explore all the villages. We did see a little car park area in Monterosso and Riomaggiore but I’m not sure what the price was and I feel it would still be difficult, especially during peak season. Alternatively, you can also hike between most of the villages which of course takes a little longer. Unfortunately while we were there some trails were closed and also since we were short on time (and there was a large storm on our 2nd day there) we were not able to do any hiking so unfortunately I can’t give any advice on the hiking trails in Cinque Terre. Trust me we were pretty bummed we didn’t get to hike!
If you’re planning to go to Cinque Terre you probably already know the basics of this area. The Cinque Terre is comprised of 5 villages each with their own little charm. To summarize my research when we were deciding on a homebase here are some basics from each village that may help you with planning which to choose as your homebase:
Riomaggiore: This is the southernmost village and most likely the first one you’ll stop at depending which direction you’re coming from. Riomaggiore was a little busy but not quite as busy as Vernazza. You’ll recognize some colorful iconic building and harbor shots in this village that you’ve probably seen while researching Cinque Terre or on social media. The village is built into a cliffside and it’s quite steep so keep this in mind if this would cause any issues for you. There is a beautiful small harbor where you can sunbathe and swim at but it’s very tiny so I imagine it gets very crowded during peak season. There also seems to be the most bars and restaurants in this village and a lot of lodging options at various price points. I was reading in a lot of reviews of people who stayed in this village that it can get a little loud at night depending where you stay and what time of year so we decided to stay at another village because of this.
Manarola: You’ve probably seen a lot of pictures of this descending colorful cliffside village as well. This village from what I read in my research seems to be popular with folks that are a little older or couples seeking a beautiful village like Vernazza but want things to be a little more quiet at night. I saw on many blog posts that people refer to it as the more “mature” and “sophisticated” village. The village is definitely gorgeous and there is an easy viewpoint you can walk up to which makes for a gorgeous photo op of the colorful buildings against the water. This was probably my 2nd favorite village and I would have stayed here if we didn’t fall in love with the Airbnb we chose in Monterosso. There are also a lot of restaurant options here as well and during peak season lodging options can fill up quickly due to popularity.
Corniglia: This village is definitely the place you want to be if you’re looking for peace and quiet. It is way up on the hill so you can only get there by trekking up quite a ways or catching a quick bus ride up there (if you have the Cinque Terre train pass you get free rides on the bus). I think the steep climb up and not having direct access to the water is what keeps the crowds at bay. There aren’t quite as many colorful buildings here but the scenery is absolutely stunning with the best view of the coast combined with lush green countryside. I loved the older rustic stone alleyways and buildings as well. While researching lodging options there seemed to be a fair amount of choices here even though there are less buildings and the price point is cheaper than most of the villages since people tend to stay at the more popular villages with ocean access. This was probably my 3rd favorite village and I wouldn’t have minded staying here as well.
Vernazza: A lot of people think this is one of the more “prettier” villages with its plethora of colorful buildings and pretty harbor. In my research I read that this village is probably the most photographed of them all. Vernazza was definitely pretty but for me it was a bit crowded and I did read in my research that it is one of the more busier villages out of the 5. Nonetheless there are a lot of bar and restaurant options here if you’re a very social person or like the convenience and I’m sure at night or early in the morning when things die down it’s a great place to be for all us introverts. There are also 2 small beach options as well. Unfortunately I was a bit overwhelmed with the crowds here (even in October) so I did not get too many pictures here as you’ll see further along in this post, but it is definitely popular among photographers.
Monterosso Al Mare: This is the northernmost village and is ultimately where we made our homebase at. Our main reason for this is because we love the beach and we love to swim and Monterosso definitely has the best beach option out of all the villages. The beach is long and stretches for quite a ways and it is sandy and perfect for swimming. It definitely has a very Italian Riviera coastal town feel. There are a lot of restaurant and bar options here as well as a good amount of Airbnb’s and hotels to choose from. I would say this would be a great village for families as well as couples. There isn’t quite as many colorful buildings as some of the other villages but it’s still a super gorgeous village with stunning coastal viewpoints you can walk to and a lot of little areas to explore. It is a lot more flat compared to some of the other villages so this would be great for people with any knee issues. It was also fun to be able to stay at the beach late and watch it clear out with everyone catching the train back to their respective home bases. We got to watch some epic sunsets and then walk just a few feet away to enjoy dinner. There is also an old town and a new town and it was fun to explore both.
We ended up staying at an awesome Airbnb in Monterosso’s old town that had an amazing rooftop balcony and gave us perfect views of the colorful buildings and the water. The Airbnb is a Ligurian tower house that is common in Cinque Terre. Our house had 3 levels, with the bedroom on the first floor, the bathroom and a living room and kitchen on the 2nd floor (as well as additional small balcony), and finally a private rooftop balcony on the 3rd level. It was such a unique and cool place but I do want to emphasize that the unit has a lot of stairs, which should be common sense but I just want to reiterate so you’re not caught off guard if you decide to book here and have any physical disabilities or heavy luggage to carry. There were quite a bit of stairs just to get to the unit and then even more stairs inside your unit but for us it was worth it for the views up top and also for the privacy. Here is a link to our Airbnb as well as some photos of our super cool rooftop balcony! It was definitely bigger than the pictures show since it’s only showing a portion of it:
We allotted 3 days in Cinque Terre and I honestly wish we could have spent more time there. Also, unfortunately while we were there on our 2nd day there was a huge storm so we were housebound for one of our days there which really sucked! We were just happy though that the other 2 days were sunny and gorgeous but it did put a damper on our plans and because of that we didn’t get to see as much as we would like. We definitely would have spent more time at each village and seen them all more in-depth and we would’ve loved to have done some of the hiking but you just gotta roll with the punches sometimes. Be aware that big storms do happen here! Our host was great at keeping us informed the day before that it was coming so we were prepared and were able to get snacks and food beforehand.
Below is our itinerary for the 3 days we spent in Cinque Terre:
Day 1: Arrive in Cinque Terre, explore our homebase village, beach time!
We arrived in Cinque Terre from Florence around 1:00 P.M. It was a sunny and hot day and we were so giddy once we saw the beach and the beautiful views of the coastline. We headed to our Airbnb to get settled in and then decided to grab a quick lunch that we could bring to the beach. We ended up stopping at Fast Bar in the old town which was a really popular sports bar style restaurant that served coffee, alcoholic drinks and other beverages, sandwiches, and pizza. We ordered sandwiches there and headed to the beach. I highly recommend their sandwiches by the way if you’re looking for a quick takeaway lunch. We then spent time at the beach for a couple hours and enjoyed the soft sand, cool waters, and sunshine. It never felt too crowded at the beach and I attribute this to the time of year we were there. Everyone we encountered, locals and foreigners alike, were all super friendly and enjoying the good vibes. After things started to cool down we walked around the village for a little before cleaning up and enjoying dinner in a small little alleyway restaurant called Al Carugio in the old town. The food was phenomenal and the servers were so incredibly nice. We also enjoyed the little touches like our wine being served in a homemade beautifully painted decanter. Definitely recommend this restaurant and to sit outside in the alleyway if you can!
Happy gals 🙂
Day 2: The Storm
Unfortunately this was the day it stormed! Our plan on this day was to explore all of the villages and then on day 3 we planned to go back to any villages we really liked to explore in-depth, maybe do a little hiking, and then basically spend the rest of the day at the beach but things don’t always go as planned unfortunately. The storm was bad enough that almost all of the restaurants and shops were closed so we had no choice but to hole up for the rest of the day after doing a quick little walk in the rain outside. I will say that our Airbnb was not super fun during a rainy day because there were no amenities like a smart TV with access to Netflix and things of that nature, no board games or books, and the Wi-Fi was not the best in the storm. We did the best we could to stay entertained but we were so thankful that day 3 had much nicer weather.
Day 3: Village hopping, beach session, and the last dinner
After the disappointment of the rain storm we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun rising the next day. After getting a sandwich and coffee at a little cafe we headed on the train to village hop. We started at the beginning of the track at Riomaggiore and worked our way back home. The route was Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso Al Mare. I briefly described each village above and with that being said if you do have one of the more popular villages in mind first (Vernazza, Riomaggiore, Manarola) I’d suggest heading to them first early in the morning to beat any crowds, even though your train journey may be a little wacky. Corniglia seemed to always be calm even in the heart of the afternoon and Monterosso is spread out enough with an old and new town as well as the beach areas and trails that it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. After hopping around and exploring each village we headed back home and spent the rest of our time on the beach until sunset and it was magical. After that we got cleaned up and had our last dinner at La Cantina di Miky which I definitely recommend because the food was phenomenal! This is the restaurant that I mentioned earlier where we ended up having the best time with our waiter. We met other staff as well while paying inside and everyone was so friendly, funny, and energetic. It was the cherry on top of a perfect last day in Cinque Terre.
That about sums up our Cinque Terre portion of the trip. Again I wish we could have spent more time there, especially at the time of year we went where it was still warm enough to swim and enjoy the outdoors but the crowds were much more calm compared to the peak seasons of June-August. Do keep in mind though that the restaurants and shops seemed to close a little earlier than those peak summer timeframes. I think most places closed around 9-10 PM with only a couple staying open until about 11 PM or midnight. I definitely would love to return to this part of Italy sometime soon when the opportunity arises to explore more in-depth, do some of the hiking we missed out on, and to enjoy the beautiful beach again. Have you been to Cinque Terre or are planning to go as soon as traveling is feasible again? Let me know in the comments! Tell me what your favorite spots were if you’ve been!
You can click on all the photos in this post to enlarge them for better viewing purposes if needed 🙂
Until next time,
Kelsie