Cinque Terre day hike: Vernazza to Monterosso Al Mare

May 19, 2022

The plan this morning was to hike a section of the Cinque Terre Coastal Trail and that’s what we did. Friends had warned us that it would be incredibly busy, full of walkers who were slow but prevented others from passing by blocking the trail with their hiking poles, but that wasn’t our experience at all.

We started early, on the trail by 0815. On our way up from Vernazza, we passed one person going north like us and saw nobody else going our direction. We saw occasional hikers coming south in ones and twos, but the trail was quiet. Until, that is, we started the descent to Monterosso. First a few and then some really huge groups. The groups might have started as groups (and many of the people didn’t look like they did much hiking) or they might have just compressed into groups as the trail was very narrow and it was steeply uphill from Monterosso for them. Strangely enough, they were always happy to step to the side where that was possible to let us by. An excuse for a break, I suspect. The large proportion of obvious nonhikers might be due to the flatter sections of trail south of Corniglia, to Manarola and Riomaggiore, being closed, as they have been since a landslide some years ago.

Walking through the village on our way to the train station to get our trail passes, we passed all the early morning deliveries. The TI was closed as was the booth on the trail, so we bought our tickets online (and paid 0.90€ extra for each).

Litttle boats in the harbour seen from the trail.

Looking back at Vernazza in the morning light.

Image not found :( — Monterosso in the distance

Just before we came to this vineyard, there was a busker with an accordion on the trail. Al gave him his small coins, more to get rid of them and acknowledge his effort of carrying his instrument and chair up there than in appreciation of his playing. It was soon after this point that we started encountering the crowds coming up.

The trail is wide coming in to Monterosso.

The old town and its beach. The trail goes around the headland or you can walk through a tunnel…

…and come to the new town and its beach (and the train station). We had our coffee on the terrasse centre right and then visited the free beach below.

In Monterosso, we had coffee at a café on a terrasse over the beach. Very pleasant. Then, when we moved on to the beach for a swim, we spread the towel we’d brought in the shade under that same terrasse. We weren’t the only ones seeking shade!

The water was nice once I managed to get in (Al will tell you I’m a wimp if water might be cold) but a bit challenging to swim in due to the swell. When it was Al’s turn to swim, he did much better as he’d brought goggles and wasn’t trying to do a head-up breaststroke. He swam from one end of the beach to the other, though he said it was “bouncy”.

After our swim, we walked the length of the seaside walkway and then found lunch in the old town area. Al had a burger again, which from the outside looked a lot like my vegetarian panini. It was reported to be excellent, as all 3 burgers he’s had in Italy have been, while being unlike the usual North American versions.

One of the pay beaches. As a Canadian, this idea of free and pay beaches is completely foreign.

Today we joined the crowd on the ferry. We sat outside on the top and enjoyed our cruise. Everyone embarks and then debarks via a narrow gangway; the shore end of the ramp is on rollers on the pier and moves a the ferry moves in the swell. Crew members are stationed at each end to assist passengers who might lose their balance. All part of the Cinque Terre experience.

I liked this little boat we saw from the ferry. Many of the boats offfering tours (private or group) are this style, though usually larger.

I took this photo yesterday when we were checking out the options for leaving Vernazza. We didn’t think we’d get our bikes on or off without difficulty (even if they’d take them and there was a convenient sailing, which there wasn’t).

We escaped the throngs in our apartment until it was time to check train schedules (yes, we’ve decided to take the train to Levanto instead of pushing our bikes up to the SR 370 only to coast back down to Levanto) and get supplies for dinner. By this time, most of the day trippers had departed so we did our errands and then went for another swim. Our apartment is steps from the beach so we changed out of our swimsuits and went for an aperitif at a beach bar (finally tried an Aperol spritz!) before cooking our own pasta and finishing the bottle of wine provided by our host.

Another photo from yesterday that I forgot. The entrance to our apartment in just behind me.

Those little boats in the harbour again.

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Eva WaltersSuch a good idea that you made time for some hiking in Cinque Terre! We were there years ago (before cycle touring), and enjoyed walking through all the scenic villages.
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2 years ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Eva WaltersA bit of hiking was the reason we came. We only stayed two nights because accommodation here is twice as much as elsewhere. And having experienced it now, it's too hot and crowded compared to cycling.
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2 years ago