Our original plan in Cinque Terre was 3 hiking days plus 1 day in Portofino, which is just a short train ride from Cinque Terre. Needless to say, we didn't get to do everything we had planned since we lost a day travelling. We scrapped Portofino from the plan because we felt we should dedicate our entire time to Cinque Terra since we had worked so hard to get there. Our new plan was to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza to Corniglia in one day, and tackle Manarola and Riomaggiore another day. We were told that the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza was less than 2 hours, and from Vernazza to Corniglia was 1.5 hours. Yes it can be done in one day. But the trails from Corniglia to Manarola and Riomaggiore were closed due to landslides. Apparently, those trails are often closed. The only way to access those two towns was by train. That was what we did.
Hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza was more like a walk. The terrain was pretty easy although there were quite ups and downs, but nothing was too technical. The view was breathtaking at the beginning of the trailhead.
Here are a couple of things we learnt.
To hike the trail, the Cinque Terre card is required, and can be purchased here or at the train station. We purchased the card for a family of 5 at the train station before we started the hike. Our airbnb host suggested that we get the card on the day of our hike. Sometimes they close the trails due to weather or landslide and if you had purchased the card for the day when the trails were closed, you would not get any refund.
At the train station, you can also purchase a train pass that gives you unlimited train rides between the five towns in Cinque Terre. We opted to purchase each train ride instead. It turned out that we made a wise decision. The unlimited train travels sounded tempting, but they were not realistic for us, and the math didn't add up. To make the pass worth a while, you would have to take 3 trains in one day. That's a lot of train rides. Even though the train rides are short between each station, but with delays, you just never know how much time it takes you to get to your destination. So we purchased individual train tickets, which were 5 Euro for adults, and 2.50 Euro for children.
We never made it to Riomaggiore. It was totally ok. We didn't want to spread ourselves too thin. Being present was the most important for us. There will always be next time.
From November to March, it's low season. It's free to walk the trails. Maybe that's something to think about when planning the next trip haha...
Out of all five towns, Monterosso is the one with the most accommodations, and proper beaches. It is also very expensive to stay. But it's worth every penny. We enjoyed our run early in the morning when the majority of day tourists haven't arrived yet or our evening strolls along the beach. It was such an enjoyment to get to know the town at its best.
