Cinque Terre trails

Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions: May 2019

/ Amy Inman / Leave a comment

If you’re planning to be in the Cinque Terre this May, be sure to check out the guided tours & excursions offered by the Cinque Terre National Park.

As you look at the schedule, be sure to keep in mind the color coding for each date:

YELLOW = trekking (hiking) tour, appropriate footwear is required (either hiking boots or shoes or athletic trainers with decent tread)

GREEN = trekking tour (so the same footwear as mentioned above) along the famous coastal trail, all participants are required to have the Cinque Terre Card

BLUE = walking tour of one of the villages (comfortable walking shoes are recommended)

* = If you see an asterisk, there’s the possibility to add on an optional wine tasting (for a nominal fee), which I highly recommend!

If you’d like to join, here are all the important details:

COST: €6.50 per person or FREE if you’ve purchased the Cinque Terre Card for the day (which is €16 per person and includes unlimited Cinque Terre trains and buses + the hiking pass, read more about it here).

*If it’s a date with an asterisk in the description (which means there’s the possibility for an optional wine tasting), you’ll need to enquire about the extra cost as it varies depending on the winemaker.

HOW TO RESERVE: Advance bookings are a must as there are a limited number of spots available. If you’d like to reserve, the easiest way is to email: visiteguidate@ati5terre.it Otherwise, you can ring +39 0187 743 500 (just don’t forget that you’ll need to call during business hours here in Italy).

If you book one of the dates for a trek and/or wine tasting you just might be lucky enough to have local riomaggiorese Chiara Gasparini as your guide. Not only does Chiara have a deep-rooted love for her territory but she’s also passionate about its wine (she’s a certified sommelier).

Enjoy!

Amy

P.S. You can “like” and follow Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook (Chiara posts daily pics and updates there).

Cinque Terre guided hikes: March 2019

/ Amy Inman / Leave a comment

Spring has nearly sprung and those in the know in the Cinque Terre are gearing up to get their trek on. If you’re planning to be in our area this month, be sure to check out the following schedule:

What you need to know:

  • The guided hikes in March are free if you have the Cinque Terre Card or €6.50 if you don’t.
  • You’ll need to wear proper footwear like trainers with decent tread or trekking boots or shoes.
  • Keep in mind that the hikes will be cancelled if the weather isn’t cooperative.
  • Advance reservations are required so you’ll need to either email visiteguidate@ati5terre.it or ring +39 0187 743 500.

Enjoy!

Amy

Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions: September 2018

/ Amy Inman / 1 Comment

September is here and I couldn’t be happier! I love the cooler temps and relaxed visitors that this month usually brings with it. And did I mention it’s a perfect month for hiking? Check out this month’s schedule below for guided tours & excursions:

If you have the Cinque Terre Card you can join these tours and excursions for free. If you’d like to buy the Cinque Terre Card in advance you’ll want to check out my post on the subject here.  If you don’t plan to purchase the Cinque Terre Card you can still participate by paying €6.50 per person.  As these tours have picked up in popularity, you’ll definitely need to book in advance (details on how to do that can be found at the bottom of this post).

The calendar is color coded:

BLUE: A historical and cultural tour of one of the Cinque Terre villages (in comparison to the hikes this is a less strenuous experience)

YELLOW: A hike

GREEN: A hike which requires the purchase of the Cinque Terre Card (as you’ll be hiking on a portion of the coastal trail which requires a pass)

PINK: An e-bike tour

PURPLE: A plogging* hike

*Plogging is a movement that started in Sweden in 2016 and has since spread worldwide.  It’s an eco-friendly activity where joggers, hikers or walkers pick up litter while they are out and about.  It gets two thumbs up from me! Those joining in on the plogging days will receive a free t-shirt and a certificate of participation.

Keep an eye out for the asterisks on the calendar:

• One asterisk (*) denotes the possibility to add on a wine tasting with a local vintner. I highly recommend this! TIP: Be sure to mention it if you’re interested when you reserve your spot.

• Two asterisks (**) indicates a tour on an e-bike.  Not sure what an e-bike is?  It’s a bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for “pedal assist” (which makes climbing those steep Cinque Terre hills a breeze!).  These tours require a minimum age of 14 years and they are very limited in size (max. 8 participants).  Each participant will be provided with a helmet and a bottle of water.  And of course, proper footwear and attire is required.

• Three asterisks (***) is for the option to visit a local farm (for an additional €3 per person).

To reserve your space you’ll need to either ring (+39) 0187 743 500 or email visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

You can follow Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting photos, schedules and updating in case of cancellations (due to weather conditions).

Enjoy!

Amy

Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions: August 2018

/ Amy Inman / 5 Comments

August has arrived and boy, is it hot! Be sure to have plenty of water with you and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! If you’re visiting Italy this month I recommend on checking out my post with 8 tips on how to survive a hot Italian summer.

Below you’ll find the August 2018 schedule for the Cinque Terre National Park guided tours & excursions.

If you have the Cinque Terre Card you can join these tours and excursions for free. If you’d like to buy the Cinque Terre Card in advance you’ll want to check out my post on the subject here.  If you don’t plan to purchase the Cinque Terre Card you can still participate by paying €6.50 per person.  As these tours have picked up in popularity, you’ll definitely need to book in advance (details on how to do that can be found at the bottom of this post).

The calendar is color coded:

BLUE: A historical and cultural tour of one of the Cinque Terre villages (in comparison to the hikes this is a less strenuous experience)

YELLOW: A hike

GREEN: A hike which requires the purchase of the Cinque Terre Card (as you’ll be hiking on a portion of the coastal trail which requires a pass)

PINK: An e-bike tour

PURPLE: A plogging* hike

*Plogging is a movement that started in Sweden in 2016 and has since spread worldwide.  It’s an eco-friendly activity where joggers, hikers or walkers pick up litter while they are out and about.  It gets two thumbs up from me! Those joining in on the plogging days will receive a free t-shirt and a certificate of participation.

Keep an eye out for the asterisks on the calendar:

• One asterisk (*) denotes the possibility to add on a wine tasting with a local vintner. I highly recommend this! TIP: Be sure to mention it if you’re interested when you reserve your spot.

• Two asterisks (**) indicates a tour on an e-bike.  Not sure what an e-bike is?  It’s a bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for “pedal assist” (which makes climbing those steep Cinque Terre hills a breeze!).  These tours require a minimum age of 14 years and they are very limited in size (max. 8 participants).  Each participant will be provided with a helmet and a bottle of water.  And of course, proper footwear and attire is required.

• Three asterisks (***) is for the option to visit a local farm (for an additional €3 per person).

To reserve your space you’ll need to either ring (+39) 0187 743 500 or email visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

You can follow Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting photos, schedules and updating in case of cancellations (due to weather conditions).

Enjoy!

Amy

Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions: July 2018

/ Amy Inman / Leave a comment

Hello, July!

Below you’ll find the July 2018 schedule for the Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions.

If you have the Cinque Terre Card you can join these tours and excursions for free. If you’d like to buy the Cinque Terre Card in advance you’ll want to check out my post on the subject here.  If you don’t plan to purchase the Cinque Terre Card you can still participate by paying €6.50 per person.  As these tours have picked up in popularity, you’ll definitely need to book in advance (details on how to do that can be found at the bottom of this post).

The calendar is color coded:

BLUE: A historical and cultural tour of one of the Cinque Terre villages (in comparison to the hikes this is a less strenuous experience)

YELLOW: A hike

GREEN: A hike which requires the purchase of the Cinque Terre Card (as you’ll be hiking on a portion of the coastal trail which requires a pass)

PINK: An e-bike tour

PURPLE: A plogging* hike

*Plogging is a movement that started in Sweden in 2016 and has since spread worldwide.  It’s an eco-friendly activity where joggers, hikers or walkers pick up litter while they are out and about.  It gets two thumbs up from me!

Keep an eye out for the asterisks on the calendar:

  • One asterisk (*) denotes the possibility to add on a wine tasting with a local vintner. I highly recommend this! TIP: Be sure to mention it if you’re interested when you reserve your spot.
  • Two asterisks (**) indicates a tour on an e-bike.  Not sure what an e-bike is?  It’s a bicycle with an integrated electric motor which can be used for “pedal assist” (which makes climbing those steep Cinque Terre hills a breeze!).  These tours require a minimum age of 14 years and they are very limited in size (max. 8 participants).  Each participant will be provided with a helmet and a bottle of water.  And of course, proper footwear and attire is required. 
  • Three asterisks (***) is for the option to visit a local farm (for an additional €3 per person).

To reserve your space you’ll need to either ring (+39) 0187 743 500 or email visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

 

You can follow Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting photos, schedules and updating in case of cancellations (due to weather conditions).

Enjoy!

Amy

Cinque Terre guided tours & excursions: May 2018

/ Amy Inman / 2 Comments

Are you planning to visit the Cinque Terre and wanting a guided tour or excursion? You’re in luck! The Cinque Terre Walking Park offers daily excursions (read: hikes) or tours of the villages themselves. If you have the Cinque Terre Card you can join in for free! If you don’t have the Cinque Terre Card it is possible to participate by paying €6.50 per person.

Here’s the schedule for May 2018:

The calendar is color coded. If the date you’re interested is yellow or green, it’s considered trekking (read: a hike). If the date is green then it is *required* that you have the Cinque Terre Card (as you’ll be on a portion of the trail where you’ll need the hiking pass). If the date is blue, it’s a historical and cultural tour of one of the villages (a less strenuous experience compared to the hikes).

Keep an eye out for the asterisks. one asterisk (*) denotes the possibility to add on a wine tasting with a local vintner. I highly recommend this! TIP: Be sure to mention it if you’re interested when you reserve your spot. Three asterisks (***) is for the option to visit a local farm (for an additional €3 per person).

To reserve your space you’ll need to either ring (+39) 0187 743 500 or email visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

You can follow Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting photos, schedules and updating in case of cancellations (due to weather conditions).

Don’t forget, you’ll need proper footwear to hike the trails. No flip flops, heels or sandals on the trails (I know this seems like common sense but believe it or not we’ve seen it all!). Hiking boots or shoes aren’t required but at the very least you’ll want a pair of athletic trainers with decent tread on the soles.

Enjoy! And tell me all about it afterwards.

Ciao for now,

Amy

Cinque Terre National Park guided tours & excursions: September 2017

/ Amy Inman / Leave a comment

Aaaaaaaah! September is *finally* here. After a scorching summer I’m ready for at least a slight drop in the temperatures. If that happens, hiking will be a pleasure again!

With that in mind, here’s the September schedule for the Cinque Terre National Park guided tours & excursions:
 Keep in mind that if you’ve purchased a Cinque Terre Card then the scheduled tours and excursions are free for you! If you don’t have the Cinque Terre Card you can still participate at the price of €6.50 per person.

Many of the dates on the Cinque Terre Walking Park calendar offer the possibility to tack on a wine tasting at a local cantina (recommended!) at the end of the tour or excursion for an additional fee. The fee for the wine tasting varies (depending on which cantina will be visited and which wines will be tasted), but most are right around the €10 mark (per person). This is a great way to get to know our territory and all that it stands for while also helping to support our local winemakers.

The Cinque Terre Walking Park calendar is color coded so I’ve created a key for you. First, look at your interested date(s) on the calendar above and then take note of the color for that day.

BLUE = Walking tour. This is going to be the least strenuous of the guided options available. The tours are of the five main villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza & Monterosso (just one village per day).

YELLOW = Hiking excursion. The days highlighted in this color will get you off the beaten path (as they are secondary trails rather than the popular coastal trail).

GREEN = Hiking excursion with mandatory purchase of either the hiking pass or Cinque Terre Card. This requirement is due to the fact that the excursion will take place on the coastal trail (Sentiero Azzurro), which is the only trail within the national park that requires a pass.

PINK = E-bike tour. This option is brand new for 2017! While traditional cycling of the Cinque Terre sounds like (and is!) hard work, these new bikes have power assisted pedaling when the going gets tough. I’m seriously going to try this out myself this year! Keep in mind that there are only eight (yes, EIGHT) spaces available per E-bike tour so you’ll want to act quickly and book your spots ASAP. IMPORTANT: The minimum age for this tour is 14 years.

RED = Expert hikers, only. For Septembe, there are currently no red dates on the schedule.

Be prepared

  • For the village tours, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
  • For the hiking excursions, either hiking boots or trainers with decent tread are required. Trust me, you’ll want all the grip you can get!
  • For the E-bike tours, you’ll need to wear comfortable athletic shoes.
  • All of the aforementioned tours & excursions take place in good weather. In case of rain or wet conditions, the tours & excursions will be cancelled.

BOOK IN ADVANCE. Don’t expect to show up and find a spot available. Reserve your spot in advance by ringing (+39) 0187 743 500 or emailing visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

Keep up with Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook by liking and following their page! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting updates, schedules, photos and more.

While you’re at it, have a look at my post on the 8 things you need to hike the Cinque Terre.

Enjoy!

Amy

Cinque Terre National Park guided tours & excursions: August 2017

/ Amy Inman / 2 Comments

For those heading to the Cinque Terre and seeking a guided experience, look no further. The Cinque Terre National Park offers a different guided option for each day of August. If you’ve purchased a Cinque Terre Card then the scheduled tours and excursions are free for you! If you don’t have the Cinque Terre Card you can still participate at the price of €6.50 per person.

Many of the dates on the Cinque Terre Walking Park calendar offer the possibility to tack on a wine tasting at a local cantina (recommended!) at the end of the tour or excursion for an additional fee. The fee for the wine tasting varies (depending on which cantina will be visited and which wines will be tasted), but most are right around the €10 mark (per person). This is a great way to get to know our territory and all that it stands for while also helping to support our local winemakers.

The Cinque Terre Walking Park calendar is color coded so I’ve created a key for you. First, look at your interested date(s) and then take note of the color for that day.

BLUE = Walking tour. This is going to be the least strenuous of the guided options available. The tours are of the five main villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza & Monterosso (just one village per day).

YELLOW = Hiking excursion. The days highlighted in this color will get you off the beaten path (as they are secondary trails rather than the popular coastal trail).

GREEN = Hiking excursion with mandatory purchase of either the hiking pass or Cinque Terre Card. This requirement is due to the fact that the excursion will take place on the coastal trail (Sentiero Azzurro), which is the only trail within the national park that requires a pass.

PINK = E-bike tour. This option is brand new for 2017! While traditional cycling of the Cinque Terre sounds like (and is!) hard work, these new bikes have power assisted pedaling when the going gets tough. I’m seriously going to try this out myself this year! Keep in mind that there are only eight (yes, EIGHT) spaces available per E-bike tour so you’ll want to act quickly and book your spots ASAP. IMPORTANT: The minimum age for this tour is 14 years.

RED = Expert hikers, only. For August, there’s currently no red dates on the schedule.

Be prepared

  • For the village tours, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
  • For the hiking excursions, either hiking boots or trainers with decent tread are required. Trust me, you’ll want all the grip you can get!
  • For the E-bike tours, you’ll need to wear comfortable athletic shoes.

All of the aforementioned tours & excursions take place in good weather. In case of rain or wet conditions, the tours & excursions will be cancelled.

BOOK IN ADVANCE. Don’t expect to show up and find a spot available. Reserve your spot in advance by ringing (+39) 0187 743 500 or emailing visiteguidate@ati5terre.it

Keep up with Cinque Terre Walking Park on Facebook by liking and following their page! Chiara (one of the local guides) does a great job of posting updates, schedules, photos and more.

While you’re at it, have a look at my post on the 8 things you need to hike the Cinque Terre.

Enjoy!
Amy

Crowds in the Cinque Terre

/ Amy Inman / 6 Comments

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The Cinque Terre are by no means a hidden secret like they were yesteryear.  Thanks in part to the Internet, social media and Rick Steves, the Cinque Terre are now a fixed destination on the itinerary of most international travelers coming to Italy.  There’s every reason to visit our area.  It’s just that beautiful.

Riomaggiore's marina, Cinque Terre

But if you’re traveling in peak-season (think: Easter week through the end of October) and you think you’re going to find five sleepy fishing villages, you’re wrong.  You’ll find five lovely and picturesque but highly visited villages.  If you’re planning to be here on a weekend during peak-season or a national holiday period (see my post on holidays in Italy for more details) you should by all means expect to find the streets and the trains connecting the villages teeming with visitors.  The good news is that the majority of these people will not actually be staying here (as there’s just not enough lodging to accommodate them) so things go back to their normal, slow place in the early evening when all of the day-trippers head out.

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Part of the reason for the crowds…

The Cinque Terre villages are popular in their own right and attract thousands of visitors each year.  But just a few years ago La Spezia (the nearest city to the Cinque Terre, just 8 minutes by train from Riomaggiore) rolled out the red carpet for a new port facility for the large cruise ships which now regularly dock there overnight.  As La Spezia is a working city (and by no means touristic) the city and its residents were beyond ecstatic about this development as it promised the creation of new jobs and tourism to an otherwise off the map city.  Taking advantage of the close proximity to the Cinque Terre, the different cruise lines offer their passengers the possibility to take a day tour of the five villages.  These guided groups are large and can overwhelm and congest the narrow streets and tiny villages of the Cinque Terre.  This is not what we consider “sustainable tourism” and the topic is currently a tasto dolente (sore spot) with locals.  The five villages of the Cinque Terre are a national park and as such it is believed that the park should take responsibility and action in controlling the influx of these large groups rather than leaving the flood gates open.

My tips on how to avoid the crowds

  • Visit during the off-season.  It’s amazing the difference between peak and off-season.  Even if you come on the cusp of the peak-season you’ll notice the difference (March/April and October).  See my previous post on the different seasons in the Cinque Terre here.

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  • Hike trails other than the Sentiero Azzurro.   Did you know that the Cinque Terre are crisscrossed with a plethora of trails besides the famous coastal trail (Sentiero Azzurro)?  And that all of these trails are FREE to hike?  Some of these trails are just as beautiful (if not more so!) than the coastal trail but they are simply not as well-known.

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  • Try to avoid the main drags during peak hours.  I know this isn’t an easy feat, but if you can avoid the main streets midday you’ll miss out on most of the day tripping crowds.

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The Cinque Terre villages are as gorgeous and fascinating as ever.  Despite the potential crowds, it doesn’t take much to get off the beaten path to get a glimpse of  real life in a small Italian village.  However, it’s my hope that the Cinque Terre National Park will take action to protect the natural beauty and delicate nature of these villages and spare them from being overwhelmed with rampant, unsustainable tourism.

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