Cinque Terre Best Travel Guide

Best time to visit Cinque Terre according to the top travel guide

If you really want to enjoy the best of Cinque Terre you should visit it in May, September, and October. Especially when it is not so hot but also not so many tourists around. As well as that with lower temperatures and fewer people, hiking is more satisfying. Summer is really hot and crowded. Winter is cold and some amenities are closed. Continue reading to find more secrets about Cinque Terre in Italy, with the best travel guide! 

How to get to Cinque Terre?

Well, it’s pretty easy, but it really depends on your starting point. You can have a flight to Pisa and drive around 1,5 hours to Cinque Terre. Besides, you can fly to Genoa or Florence and get to the area from there.
If you are using a car then you just drive directly to Cinque Terre. There are 2 options: using tolls that are a faster way of moving around, or avoiding tolls that can slow you down a lot but you can pass by a lot of nice towns on your way.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to use a car, just hop on a train from Pisa or Genoa and it will bring you straight to Cinque Terre.

How to move around Cinque Terre? We can be your best travel guide!

The best thing you can do is to buy an unlimited day pass to hop on off the trains between the towns. It costs around 12 euros for the whole day.
Even though you might arrive there by car, just leave it in one of the towns and forget about it. The worst thing you can do is to spend an hour going from one town to another driving by extremely narrow roads with all those cliff edges and being scared of every turn. The train will get you to another town in 5 minutes. So, hop on the first train and be stress-free forever.

Tip: if you get a pass, you need to validate it at the start of the day using the green machines before you get on the train. It is easy to do but saves you from getting a fine if you don’t do this.

Cinque Terre Express Train

Cinque Terre Express is a regular TrenItalia train but it should be noted with some ticket conditions applied to the rides from Levanto to La Spezia. It is a convenient way to explore all five towns and costs 4 euros for any journey within its area. If you will hop on and off the train the price sums up and it will end up costing a lot of money especially taking into account how short the trips from one town to another is:

Monterosso to Vernazza – 4 minutes
Vernazza to Corniglia – 4 minutes
Corniglia to Manarola – 4 minutes
Manarola to Riomaggiore – 3 minutes
Riomaggiore to La Spezia – 8 minutes

About the Prices

If you know you will use this train several times in a single day we recommend buying a Cinque Terre Card that will allow you to travel unlimited times. 1 day – 16 euros, 2 days – 29 euros, 3 days – 41 euro.

You can buy your Cinque Terre Card in advance online here. It is also possible to buy a card in the Tourist information offices located inside or outside of each train station.

Where to stay?

Ufff, this one is tricky. Of course, everyone wants to be in the middle of the universe and try to stay in the center of one of the towns. However, since Cinque Terre is really small, there are not too many hotels/accommodations to choose from, also even if something is available, it might cost a fortune. Moreover, if it’s a high season – forget it, no way to do it on a tight budget.

So one of the options is to stay in La Spezia and hop on the train to Riomaggiore (it takes around 7 minutes to get there) and then you start exploring the Cinque Terre.

Where to eat in Cinque Terre? Your Best Travel Guide

Sometimes I think that we are the gastro-tourists, we really love to eat, especially trying new things and in different countries. Additionally Italy is one of the best places to become a gourmet.

Cinque Terre offers a high variety of foods, but seafood is the key industry here. Along with every menu will offer various seafood meals, and the king of all of them is the anchovies (acciughe). If you want something more “casual” just go for the calamari. At this time, don’t be shy to add more lemon and salt, and it will be a dream come true. There are a lot of places, but the most popular and highly-rated one is Tutti Fritti in Riomaggiore, managed by a local fisherman.

Another thing you can try is a light authentic Italian lunch that includes bruschettas, meats, and hams.

Ah, we almost forgot about the Trophie al Pesto (is a short, thin, twisted pasta from Liguria, Northern Italy) and Pesto a la Genovesa.

Above all, and since we are talking about food, then we should definitely mention how incredible the Italian Gelato is.

There are quite a few spots for gelato in Cinque Terre. We really loved gelato from Alberto’s in Corniglia and the Gelateria Vernazza in Vernazza. It was sooo creamy and flavourful. We are still dreaming about it.

A great travel guide: What to do in Cinque Terre?

There are so many things to do and a lot of them are even free or low-budget. Let’s be honest, it is a lovely place. Everyone should have it as a must-see place on his/her bucket list (and it’s been but it can be an expensive experience. There are only a few hotels and restaurants and they are expensive.

Find a bonus track guide at the end (the best Cinque Terre travel guide in only one page)

1. Hiking 

The Cinque Terre area is so small that you can walk from one village to another and enjoy the views. One of the most popular and spectacular hiking trails “Sentiero Azzurro” connects the five villages of the Cinque Terre and is about 12 kilometers long with a maximum altitude of 200 meters. It takes an estimated 5 hours to walk. You will see diverse landscapes, vineyards, picturesque villages, and olive groves. You need to know that this route is subject to the payment, so expect to pay around 5-7 euros to hike there.

Tip 1: we recommend you wear special hiking shoes because this is still a path, and sometimes you will find narrowing of the track, slippery stretches, and cliffs. Another thing to bring is water and some snacks.

Tip 2: some of the trails can be closed for refurbishment, so we recommend checking if it’s the case once you arrive at the place and plan the hiking route accordingly.

2. A day at Monterosso beach

One of the most iconic things of the Cinque Terre is orange and green parasols at the beach in Monterosso al Mare. You have probably seen it somewhere on Pinterest or Instagram. If you are visiting Cinque Terre in summer, you need to plan ahead and try to catch a prime spot from which you can swim, eat, drink some cocktails and just chill for a day. Worth mentioning, that Monterosso al Mare beach is the only “real” beach in Cinque Terre.

3. … Or take a dip at Manarola

Monterosso is more like a traditional beach, while Manarola isn’t a typical one. Especially It has a harbor area, where you can jump in the sea and enjoy refreshing water especially during hot summer days.

4. Taste Cinque Terre wine

Does anyone go to Italy and not try its regional wine? A glass or even two? Absolutely no! 🙂

All vineyards in Cinque Terre are unique because they are cultivated on super steep and rocky terrain.  Along with it is hard to maintain and take care of them, and everything should be harvested by hand. Most of the wines are wines of white grapes.

There are a lot of wine bars (enotecas) that offer local wines: the Cinque Terre DOC (a dry white wine) and the Sciacchetrà DOC (a sweet dessert wine).

5. Watch a sunset

Obviously let me tell you, that sunsets are breathtaking here. You can watch them from the rocks of Riomaggiore, the viewpoint of Vernazza or Manarola.

6. Go on a boat trip (Cinque Terre recommened by the finest travel guide!)

If you think you saw everything and you know everything about those towns then hop on a boat and have views from a different perspective. You will have a whole new experience and it will be amazing.

There is a daily Cinque Terre ferry that passes by Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarole, Riomaggiore as well as La Spezia, Portovenere and Levanto. Worth noting, that this ferry won’t stop in clifftop Corniglia.

Now let’s talk prices: a one-day ticket costs 35 euro per adult, 20 euro per child. If you need a one-way ticket it will cost somewhere from 7 to 20 euros depending on the start/endpoint. Unfortunately, you can’t buy tickets online, only directly in the respective harbors.

Tip 1: the tickets are sold by the “first in first out” method, so make sure you come earlier to buy them before others do.

Tip 2: make sure to take a seat on that side of the ferry that faces the coastline and the towns of interest.

Now if you want to have a more enjoyable experience, you can book this sunset boat tour in advance (link). It will include a typical Italian aperitif, have fun swimming, diving, and snorkeling, drinks throughout the cruise, and of course, the sunset.

If you want to be really independent you can rent your own boat or make it even funnier to take a kayak. This is a highly-rated guided kayak tour.
This is such an amazing way to explore the area.

Have a Guided Tour

We absolutely loved exploring this city. Clearly, there are so many things to do that you can easily spend days and even weeks here. However, if you have only one or two days to spare we really encourage you, to have a guided tour.

Our Google Maps Lists!

As you might now, we always travel using the Google Maps mobile application. It means that we always create lists with all the things to do and the places to visit.

• You can find our profile here (better in mobile)
• This is the list for Cinque Terre!  

What to carry to Cinque Terre?

Definitely, every city has something different, but in general you will need the same things to carry with you. It will only change depending on the season. Clearly, you will carry more clothes during winter than summer. Above all, we really encorage you to check the things that we found in Amazon. They’re pretty cool and “weird” but useful for your trip. Click here to know them.

Amazing spots for your photos!

Without a doubt, we love sharing photos, videos and information of the places we go. Clearly, that’s why we are using Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok for this! Check these platforms because you will learn a lot.

At this time, do you have something else to add to the post? If you have any additional tips or info for our readers or questions please leave them in the comments below. Thanks a lot!

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. It helps us create more content.

Want more travel inspiration? Read our newest travel guides here. Enjoyed this guide? Pin it for later! and follow us on Pinterest for more guides!