Italy's Cinque Terre: A Helpful Travel Guide

As a kid I remember coming across a picture of a far away place on the internet. The picture featured an idyllic coastline with orange and pink houses built into a mesmerizing cliffside. My first thought was, "Is this real?"

That image always stuck with me. As I grew up and understood the concept of travel more rationally that picture became my #1 must visit destination. In June of 2018 I finally stood on that cliffside in northern Italy's Cinque Terre.

Shockingly, Cinque Terre isn't widely known outside of dedicated travel circles; because of this information is scarce. This post is an attempt at a comprehensive guide to visiting Cinque Terre.

WHAT IS CINQUE TERRE?

There's a lot of confusion regarding what Cinque Terre actually is, which is understandable considering its unique makeup.

Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) selects landmarks or areas that are of "outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria." Some of those criteria are:

"...to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area...

...to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared...

...to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance..."

Cinque Terre, which is Italian for "Five Lands", is a large national park made up of five small villages connected by a hiking trail. Those five villages are:

Monterosso al Mare

Vernazza

Corniglia

Manarola

Riomaggiore

Cinque Terre is part of a larger coastline known as the Italian Riviera, which is located in the Liguria region. Renown for its characteristic picture perfect villages, the Italian Riviera begins at the border of France and ends near the border of Tuscany. The Italian Riviera is rich in natural beauty and history, and has managed to maintain a quaint feel despite being a travelers' cult classic of sorts.

 HOW DO I GET THERE?

Not gonna lie, getting there is a little tough. Getting there on the cheap is even harder, but soooo worth it. Part of the allure of Cinque Terre is its relative seclusion, so there aren't any airports directly into the heart of the Liguria region. Here's how I did it:

New York, New York (JFK) > Madrid (MAD)

Duration : 7 hours

Madrid (MAD) > Rome (FCO)

Duration: 2.5 hours

In Rome I took an ItaliaRail train from Roma Termini station to La Spezia Centrale

Duration: 4 hours

Including layovers, total travel time is a little over 15 hours

Total price: $606

You may have a bigger budget and choose to fly direct into Rome. Or you might find it easier to fly into other airports like Milano Linate Airport. But unless you're a celebrity it's probably at least a two-part journey.

Luckily, Italy's train system is among the most extensive in Europe so getting around is a piece of panna cotta!

WHERE DO I STAY?

This is the part of your planning that might get overwhelming. The Liguria region is full of options for lodging. If you and your significant other are looking for a romantic getaway, you've come to the right place. If you're a solo traveler or with friends there are a few spots with active nightlife, (nothing on par with Rome, though).

Staying in one of Cinque Terre's villages is also an option. Beware of a common mistake I found in my research and witnessed in person: booking accommodation in each of Cinque Terre's villages.

Staying in each village to get a feel for each of them is unnecessary because the entirety of Cinque Terre can be explored in one day. The trails linking the villages vary from slightly challenging to very challenging and you don't want to hike them carrying luggage. You can also use the train to go in between the villages whose stops are about three minutes apart from each other.

I stayed in La Spezia, a medium-sized port city with its fair share of urban amenities. There were plenty of restaurants, bars and shopping centers to choose from. The biggest selling point was the proximity to a train station. La Sepzia is a central city with train routes and boats that make all of Liguria your oyster.

THE HIKE

Now that you've planned everything let's talk about the fun part: exploring!

Cinque Terre is a hiker's playground. Unlike most hikes where the joy is in the hike itself and not so much the destination, Cinque Terre has five built-in destinations to keep you motivated. Each village has food, drinks and shopping to recharge in between hikes.

To prepare bring A LOT of water. Italy is warm and the sun will beam down upon you and you will deplete your water supply until you get to the next village. You can also stop for granita or gelato like I did- twice. But don't make the mistake I did in trying to be cute for the hike. Wear comfy shoes and clothes. If you really want to ensure Instagram-worthy pictures of yourself pack a separate outfit in a manageable bag for the hike. You won't regret it.

The trails are pretty straightforward and easy to follow. There are signs posted along the way to ensure that you're going in the right direction, (depending on which village you start your hike with). It took me a whole day to explore Cinque Terre so when I finished I treated myself to a fancy sunset dinner in Riomaggiore.

Once your day is over you'll feel a sense of accomplishment mixed with the thrill of having witnessed a rare natural beauty that's difficult to get from other experiences.

You can check out more shots from my trips to Cinque Terre on my Instagram @joeldaviddd.

You can also watch my Instagram Highlight for my top three destinations along the Italian Riviera by clicking here.