Cinque Terre

Dear friends and family,

We thought it would take some time for us adjust to the different climate in Europe but thankfully, Munich decided to bring the rain and cold temperatures in August to make us feel like we’re back in the pacific northwest. So, naturally, we jetted off in search of sun, wine, water and pasta, and landed in The Cinque Terre.

Highlights

We knew that heading into one of the world’s most photographed places in the middle of summer would mean lots of tourists. So, we found creative ways to escape the crowds from different vantage points — high in the hilltops and by the sea. We set off early in the morning to walk from Corgnilia to Monterosso (more in the itinerary) where we definitely earned all the lemon slushies, gelato and pasta we consumed that day. Despite the beauty of the landscape, we spent much of our hike learning and chatting about the impact tourists are having on the city both economically and physically. We were hoping to hike through all five cities, but because of rockslides combined with the volume of tourists the trails host every year, the path between Corgnilia and Riomaggiore is no longer open. We ended our day with a sunset boat tour where we sailed to all five villages. Taking in that mid-summer sunset in the quiet, calm sea made for a pretty surreal moment where we both felt immense gratitude for this whole experience.

Lowlights

We all love scrolling through the beautiful photos on Instagram. But we all know that reality is rarely reflected in the highly photoshoped and staged images on Instagram. That was definitely the case for the Cinque Terre. Don’t get us wrong — the villages are beautiful, especially against the backdrop of the gorgeous, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean. But the bright, vibrant buildings you see nestled in the rocks are, in reality, run-down, faded homes surrounded by tourists during the peak season. While the uniqueness of the villages are still a visual feast, it was one of those harsh reminders that what you see on Instagram is typically curated content elevated by an assortment of filters.

What we’ll do different

The Cinque Terre is expected to eventually collapse into the sea so we’re grateful to have seen it in our lifetime. Next time, we’ll plan to visit popular tourists destinations during off-peak season since we have the added advantage of being a quick flight away. As always, see below for our itinerary.

With love,

Affy and Ippy

Itinerary

  • Friday night
    • Arrived in Genoa
    • Took a cab to Hotel Genoa Liberty — simple and lovely. We found the hotel on Booking.com and it came with a delicious breakfast with chocolate croissants. Enough said.
  • Saturday:
    • Had breakfast at the hotel. If you don’t have time to get breakfast, grab a snack before you head to the train since the ride is about an hour and a half.
    • Walked to train station for La Speiza. You can get tickets in advance at https://www.trenitalia.com/
      • [Pro tip] Purchase the Cinque Terre train pass in advance. You save some bucks (16e) and time, and the pass gets you unlimited train rides between the towns as well as access to the hiking trails.
    • Got off the train in Corgnilia, walk up the 382 steps (uh huh) to the town.
    • Purchased a bottle of wine at the corner store and some snacks before heading to the Airbnb. We had the most gorgeous view and balcony at our Airbnb so we sat outside, cooled off and enjoyed some wine before heading out to the see the town.
    • Took the train all the way to Riomaggiore and explored.
      • [Pro tip] Depending on the time of year you’re visiting, the towns get super busy in the afternoon. We hiked up out of the central part of town to soak in the views and get away from the crowds.
    • Then, took the train to Manarola. If it is super hot out, we highly recommend stopping for a lemon slushy. hell, get two of them.
    • If you’re hungry, and it is before 5:30pm, head to Nessun Doma. The place gets insane around dinner/sunset time so if you want to catch the sunset, be prepared to wait in line. The views are totally worth the type and the food isn’t bad! Get the foccacia and an aperol spritz.
    • We were super overwhelmed by the crowds in Cinque Terre by the late afternoon so we headed back to the Airbnb to enjoy another bottle of wine on the balcony before heading to dinner.
    • We went to dinner at one of the hotels in Corgnilia where we found mostly locals dining. We loved the local trofie with pesto. The ravioli with stuffed lobster was also amazing. We walked to get gelato after dinner before heading back to the hotel.
  • Sunday:
    • Had some breakfast at the Airbnb, filled up water bottles and loaded up on the sunscreen.
    • Set out on the hiking trail from Corgnilia to Monterosso del Mare.
    • This hike isn’t easy. Especially in the heat. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, hat/sunglasses. We found the path from Corgnilia to Monterosso to be slightly easier than the other way around.
      • [Pro Tip] There is an awesome little bar in between Corgnilia and Vernazza. They open at about 11am so if you get a late start, this is a perfect stop to stop by for some refreshments, like a lemon slushy.
    • Stopped in Vernazza for some breakfast. We just stopped in a little random spot.
      • We did look up a couple of other spots in Vernazza in case we landed there in the afternoon. Belforte and La Torre also came highly recommended for delicious spots and stunning views. The Vernazza Winexperience also came highly rated for wine, cheese and views.
    • Continued on the hike and made it to Monterosso for some lunch and beach time before the sunset tour.
    • Monterosso is the largest of the towns with two parts to the island. It also has the most places to stay if you’re looking for a hotel versus an Airbnb.
    • We stumbled upon L’Osteria and it was incredible. We later found out this was a chain but honestly, it did NOT taste like chain-restaurant food. We got the clam linguine and the seafood ravioli. Highly recommend either, or both.
    • We closed out the meal with some gelato from a nearby stand. Italy is famous for its lemons so what better place than to have fresh limone gelato — it was everything.
    • We headed towards the beach for a little sunbathing before our sunset boat tour. The prices for a beach chair weren’t terrible — 40 EUR or so for a chair for the full day. But, because we were only going to be there for an hour or so, we opted for some towels we purchased from a nearby store and sat in the public area. The beaches are quite rocky and hot. If you have swim shoes, bring them. If not, just mentally prepare yourself for the rocks and you’ll survive. The water was amazing after the hot and sweaty hike.
    • We closed out the night with a sunset boat tour. Everyone we talked to in advance said the tour would be 100% worth the money, and we would agree. It was about 100 euro per person. We shared the boat with two other couples. We enjoy champagne, appetizers on the boat before we had dinner in Manarola and even had a mid-tour swim in the Mediterranean. The sunset was fantastic and it was really a surreal way to take in the islands, especially because we did not fare well with the crowds. We learned a ton of local history from our tour guides, and highly recommend this sweet couple.
    • We closed the night by training back to our hotel and walking up those dreaded 382 steps so we wouldn’t feel guilty about drinking another bottle of wine. The views made it quite worth it.
      • [Pro tip] In the evenings, there are far fewer trains since most of the tourists leave the islands in the evening. Look carefully to make sure the train you’re getting on doesn’t bypass all the islands in between Monterosso and Riomaggiore. We totally did and ended up hanging at the train station for an unnecessary 20 minutes.