2 days – August 2020 – family trip
For these locations we were only able to spend a few days there, but we really enjoyed them and in many cases we easily could have spent more time in that spot.
Like the rest of our travel guides, this is not an all-encompassing account of everything we did. We do not want to make a list of ‘Best’ or ‘Must-do’ experiences since we know it depends on your personal preferences. These are only our personal favorites.
This “quick trip” exemplifies exactly what we love about living in Italy. We only spent one night away from home, were able to bring our dogs with us and had a world class hiking and food experience.
Similar to our strategy for visiting Venice at the very first chance after the lockdown was lifted, we thought that the Cinque Terre would be a good place to visit this summer with fewer tourists able to access the area (especially since it is super popular with American tourists!). We were a bit surprised that it was still quite busy. This was actually the second visit for Dave and I, since we also visited on our honeymoon back in 2002. It was even better with the kids and the dogs.
The Cinque Terre are a collection of 5 colorful, little fishing villages along the Ligurian coast between Genoa and Pisa. The towns are old and charming with narrow winding pedestrian areas that you can enjoy getting lost in. The main point of our trip was to do the famous hike between the villages (Sentiero Azzurro/Blue Trail). Luckily the crowds were mostly in the towns enjoying the cafes or cooling off with a swim in the rocky ports, and not on the trails.
Part of the reason the trails are not as crowded may be that a landslide in 2010 forced the Blue Trail to be closed south of Corniglia (connecting Corniglia and Manarola and on to Riomaggiore), including the busiest (and easiest) section called the Path of Love (Via dell Amore) between Manarola and Riomaggiore. It is finally expected to reopen in the spring of 2021. However, there is still a path to connect those three towns. It is challenging but you are rewarded with hikes among vineyards and beautiful panoramic views.
The Cinque Terre has actually been designated a national park, and hiking on the Blue Trail requires you to pay a fee by buying the Cinque Terre Card (it’s not required for the other trails). The card is available for purchase online (https://card.parconazionale5terre.it/en) or you can buy it at one of the checkpoints or the information offices near the train stations. It comes with extra perks, but we just used it for the access to the trail hiking. We bought it online to avoid any lines, but there weren’t any at any of the checkpoints that we saw.
Hiking
On the first day we woke up early and drove 3.5 hours from Torino to Corniglia, the middle town of the five. We parked our car just outside of town near the trailhead for the Blue Trail. We showed our Cinque Terre Card at the checkpoint and headed north to the next town of Vernazza (about 90 minutes with lots of water stops). About halfway there is a bar with beautiful views and we took a little break for a fresh juice. When we arrived in Vernaza we had a delicious lunch at Pippo (see below), and then continued on the blue trail to the northernmost town of Monterosso al Mare (it took us 2 hours). This town has the biggest beach of them all (although it is still quite small) and we definitely needed to jump in to cool off. Unfortunately the dogs weren’t allowed on the beach. We then took the train back to Corniglia. It was a little disheartening that our 3.5 hours of hiking only took 10 minutes by train to return, but the dogs were happy to get back to the cool apartment for a much needed nap.
After a nice night in Corniglia, we woke up and had a few cappuccini and fresh croissants at Pan e Vin before heading south to see the other two towns of the area. We did not need to buy a Cinque Terre Card for this day since the blue trail isn’t open in that direction, and instead we took the hike up through the shade of the trees and then through vineyards. From Corniglia to Manarola was everyone’s favorite portion of the hike, and even if the blue trail were open we would recommend taking this longer trail. As you approach Manarola there is a cute spot for a glass of wine and a variety of bruschetta among the vineyards of the Capellini winery. We soaked in the view and some wine before continuing into town. With the wine stop it took us about 90 minutes.
We had a great lunch at Nessun Dorma overlooking the port, which was packed with people swimming and jumping off of rocks. The kids went for a swim while the adults stayed for another round of pina coladas and beer. Don’t judge until you’ve had their fresh cocktails.
The final stretch was the steepest up out of Manarola and down into Riomaggiore. It was fun to scale up some of the sections and took a little less than 90 minutes. Maybe it was all the drinks, but this time we wished that the blue trail (Path of Love section) had been open (for a less grueling climb!). In Riomaggiore we had a nice gelato and strolled past many nice looking restaurants that Dave wished we had time for. Unfortunately, we had to get the train back to Corniglia so that we could drive back to Turin and be home by midnight.
Helpful resources for the trails: https://www.cinqueterrehike.com/en/blue-trail-status-with-map and the app from the National Park http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php
Food and Drinks
- Cantina da Manaan in Corniglia – This is a cozy restaurant with good seafood in the heart of town. The menu is small with fresh seafood and they have their own bottled wine. Lynn’s favorite was the dessert of biscotti and vin santo and we both loved the homemade limoncello, it’s such a perfect way to end the meal
- Nessun Dorma in Manarola – This restaurant wins for location. It is hanging off the edge of the cliff overlooking the water. It’s very un-Italian, with its large portions and beachy cocktails. But the ingredients in the simple focaccia and bruschetta are as fresh as can be and we loved it.
- Pippo – Most of the lunch spots in Vernazza were packed with people. This gem is a little off the beaten path away from the crowds and we really enjoyed our homemade pasta in a chinese takeout container and the delicious focaccia sandwiches.
- Pan e Vin in Corniglia is an easy nice spot for coffee and Italian-style breakfast of a pastry
- Azienda Agricola Luciano Capellini is a winery in Manarola, but we were super happy when we came upon their stand in the middle of the vineyards prior to reaching Manarola. It was high up with incredible views and the perfect spot for a respite, a glass of wine and some bruschetta.
- Gelato – there are two gelaterias right next to each other in Corniglia (Alberto Gelateria and Gelateria Corniglia), so of course we had to try both. They were similar with a slight preference for Gelateria Corniglia among the kids. While not as amazing as our favorites in Italy (which is a very high bar), they are very good and very refreshing, particularly the lemon granita. In Riomaggiore there is Old School Gelateria and Snack Bar with a tattoo parlor vibe for gelato and cocktails in a nice spot to sit back and relax, even if you didn’t do the hikes.
Accommodations
Normally we plan for a vacation months in advance, but since this was only a driving trip and we expected there would be lots of rooms available because of lack of American tourists we booked our accommodations only a few days before. Unfortunately, there was almost no availability on Airbnb and Booking. There are lots of individual rooms for rent in the area (called affittacamere), and you can just show up to the information office in any of the towns and see what is available. But with 3 kids and 2 dogs, it’s not the risk we want to take and it’s easier for us to spend the time in advance rather than using up precious vacation time when we get there. On the fourth try we found a room with La Torre Apartment. It was a 1 bedroom apartment in the center of Corniglia with a pullout sofa and an extra inflatable bed. It was very clean, with a simple modern interior. It had air conditioning, and they were dog friendly, so it was exactly what we needed.
Next Time
- We would definitely stay a second night and enjoy dinner in Riomaggiore. We wanted to try dinner at La Cantina del Macellaio or just enjoy a cone of fried fish from Il Pescato Cucinato.
- Enjoy the sunset from the viewpoint in Corniglia with a glass of local white wine after swimming in the pretty, little bay that is just below it.
Train Information
- Trains run regularly between the towns, tickets are 4 euro per adult and 2 euro per child (and dog). At the train stations there are self-service machines and an office where you buy the tickets. If you want to see the schedule is here: https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-timetable
- If you are going to use the trains more than once on the day you hike the Blue Trail it would make sense to buy the Cinque Terre Card with the train option to save some money (https://card.parconazionale5terre.it/en).
- The train stations are a 5-10 minute easy walk from the center of each town, except the Corniglia train station which requires a rigorous walk up the stairs or along the road (we chose the road because our legs were tired) or there is a bus making the trip up and down the hill.
The Avventura 