Cinque Terre is actually the name of the cluster of 5 northern sea coastal towns in Italy. In March 2018, we visited all 5 of these towns on our 2-week Italian adventure. Visiting these towns at this time of year was almost perfect, weather wise it was a little chilly but there were virtually NO tourists. I will take crappier weather over crowded streets any day!

The five towns that make up the Cinque Terre are: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore. We stayed in the smallest of the five towns which is Vernazza and did not ever regret that decision. We want to go back specifically to Vernazza in the future to the exact same place we stayed.

Our only recommendation, from us and the locals, is to go in April or September as the tourist numbers will still be lower but weather will be nicer. Also, DRINK ALL THE WHITE WINE! I am not a white wine fan, give a dry red wine any day, but Cinque Terre exclusively makes white wine and they are spectacular. You will see the vineyards if you explore the towns; it is quite fascinating how they grow and harvest the grapes.

How to get there:

First off, there is no direct way to get to these towns via car or train. The easiest way is to take the train from wherever you are to La Spezia. Then you must transfer to a smaller, regional train to any of the 5 towns (they all have their own train stop). We typically booked our train tickets at the big train stations when we got there but if that makes you nervous, you can absolutely book them ahead of time online! The regional stations I believe you had to get tickets when you arrived but those ran much more often so less likely you will have to wait long for one, especially when you are traveling between the 5 cities and La Spezia.

Where we stayed:

We chose to stay in Vernazza, mainly because of the AWESOME AirBNB we found! This place was cozy, as in for couples who really like each other or solo travelers, but gave the most beautiful views of the ocean and Vernazza. In the warmer months, you can use the outside space more and cook up fresh food you buy. I will warn you, the AirBNB also warns you with pictures, this really is a good 10 minute hike upstairs to get to from the town’s main street. So, if you decide to book this fantastic place, make sure you have backpacks to help the hike or have been hitting the gym so you can carry wheeled luggage up the stairs. We had backpacks and were just fine, just be careful coming or going at night after excessive wine drinking; the path is not well lit…😊

Hiking Trail Tips:

One of the coolest things about the Cinque Terre is the multiple hiking trails you can explore, including the hiking trail that connects all five cities. Because we went in the off season most of the hiking trails were flooded out and closed except for the main one that connected the cities. The advantage of going in the off season is that you don’t necessarily have to buy a park pass if there is no one manning the booths (not sure I should be telling you that!). Our AirBNB was right next to a ticket booth and there was no one working in it.

You may get a little muddy as it is rainier in the off season and you’ll see in the pictures below that the paths vary in how nice they are… Lastly, you can absolutely hike back and forth the entire path in one day if you are ambitious. They are not hard hikes at all but they are definitely time consuming. We opted to hike part of the path each day we were there so we had enough time to explore the towns and then took the train back from whatever town we ended up in. I highly recommend the way we hiked as we got to see all the trails which were beautiful but also had energy to fully explore the towns!

See below for some pics of of the easier parts of the trails and a peak at some of the views from the trails…

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Vernazza Favorites

I can’t say enough good things about this town. The locals here are some of the nicest I’ve ever met, the food is fabulous, nightlife is fun and the shops along the main street are just adorable!

• Blue Marlin: This was the only restaurant that was open for all three meals and had a bar that stayed open late (till around 10pm…slightly different than 2am back home). Pizza there is good and breakfast is good and the bar is good time! The staff that work there are fantastic and the locals come out at night so we got to know them all pretty well by the time we left Cinque Terre.

• Batti Batti’ Focacceria: This place is so small they don’t even have a website, but it was delicious and quick carry-out food. We especially enjoyed the pesto pizza…mmm…we got this more than once…

• Vineria Santa Marta: Oh this place was heavenly! We are so sad we didn’t discover it until our last night in Vernazza. If they have pesto lasagna, get it without even glancing at the menu. We LUCKILY got the last two pieces for the night and my mouth is drooling thinking about it. We ate it so fast, we didn’t even snap a picture! 🙁

**DO NOT RECOMMEND**: II Gambero Rosso Vernazza. This restaurant was by far the most expensive restaurant we went to probably in all of Italy, was not great food, and we had to wash our clothes immediately after because we reeked of fish. We ate at other seafood restaurants and did not have this problem and the food was spectacular.

Corniglia Favorites

To be honest, there was hardly anything open here because it was off season but from what we could tell it was a super cute town! We did go to one bar though that included appetizers if you ordered drinks. The restaurant had a seating area right on the side of the cliff with incredible views. The bar was called La Scuna Wine and Beer.

Side note: If you plan on taking the train to or from this town, be warned that there are over 300 steps from the town to the train station. We did not account for this and missed the train we wanted to take…

Manarola Favorites

We went here the same day as Riomaggiore and Corniglia, so it was rainy and not much was open. However, there is still a lot of town and nature to explore. We spent a good 10 minutes standing near the water snapping pictures and videos of the water crashing against these rocks. 😊

Riomaggiore Favorites

Bar O’netto Brasserie: This is where we hunkered down to stay out of the rain and ‘wait’ out the rain that never worked because they closed down due to the town being evacuated! BUT it was a fun local joint with soccer on tv and locals to talk to.

Monterosso all Mare Favorites

This is the only town with a beach on the oceanfront, so it is a must-see for sure! It was the busiest of the five towns with a good mix of shops, bars and restaurants. The hike to it is absolutely breathtaking; I preferred this stretch of hike versus the one from Vernazza to the other three towns. This hike kept the ocean in view a lot of the time and there were some local vineyards and waterfalls you get to walk right by.

Bar Davi:  This was a lovely little spot for wine and the best bruschetta we’ve ever had in our entire lives!

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So…we had the absolute best time visiting the Cinque Terre and actually found it incredibly relaxing. When we go back, we will go a little closer to the on-season so there are more places open but never actually during the on-season. Again, the locals recommend going in April or October. The streets in most towns with the exception of Montereosso and Riomaggiore were almost dead; during the on-season they are completely packed with seas of people!

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My husband tried to help a local out with a plumbing issue while in Vernazza (he’s very handy 😉) and was rewarded with two bottles of wine. One red and one white. The white is from a local restaurant and only 850 were made the entire year! This wine isn’t sold in stores, only in restaurants and bars. We are waiting for a very special occasion to open it and cannot wait!!

I hope you visit the Cinque Terre and let me know what your favorites are!