10 essential tips for traveling to Cinque Terre

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With this guide of tips for traveling to Cinque Terre We look forward to helping you organize your trip to one of the most beautiful and currently famous areas of Italy. Located on the coast between La Spezia and Genoa are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, the five villages that form Cinque Terre that with their charming colorful facades and their incredible location on the edge of the cliffs, have become in recent years in one of the most visited places in the country and in Europe.

Based on the experience of our trip to Cinque Terre in 5 days we leave you what are for us 10 essential tips for traveling to Cinque Terre. We start!

1. What is the best time?

Although you can visit Cinque Terre at any time of the year if you want to enjoy the good weather and get away from the tourist crowds, it is worth having clear what are the ideal months to visit these beautiful five villages.

  • High season (June to August): these are the busiest months of the year, so for us it would not be the best time, considering that the villages are very small and receive thousands of tourists.
  • Mid season (April and May / September and October): considering that the weather at this time is usually very benign, spring and autumn would be the best time to travel to Cinque Terre to ensure good weather and escape the overcrowding that usually exists in the summer months.
  • Low season (from November to March): during these months the weather is usually more unstable and the majority of places focused on tourism close, so it would not be the most appropriate time to make this trip.

Remember that if you are going to make your trip to Cinque Terre in high season it is highly recommended to book the accommodation in advance to avoid high prices and have more options to choose from.


2. Entry requirements

If you are a Spanish citizen, from the European Union (EU) you will only need your ID or passport to enter Cinque Terre (Italy). In case of having another nationality to travel to Cinque Terre We recommend you carefully review the website of the Embassy to know all the requirements for entering the country.

In addition to this documentation, it is very important to travel with the European Health Card so that if necessary you are treated at any of the public medical centers in Italy. In addition to this, it is also highly advisable to hire the best travel insurance to Europe to have, in addition to the repatriation included, medical care in the best health centers.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

Traveling to Cinque Terre is totally safe although as in the rest of Italy, it is important to travel with common sense, especially when leaving valuables in sight in crowded places or going out at night for places you don't know. In the latter case it is highly recommended to ask in the accommodation if there is any area not recommended to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Likewise, we always recommend that you carry a copy of all personal documentation such as ID, passport, insurance policy ... etc in the cloud so that in case of theft or loss it is much easier to carry out any procedure.

Manarola

4. How to start the trip to Cinque Terre?

The first thing you should think about when traveling to Cinque Terre are the days needed to get to know this beautiful area of ​​Italy. If you only want to know these towns with 3 days you can know the area perfectly and according to the flight schedule, even include them these days.
Our recommendation is that you fly to Pisa, the nearest airport, where many low cost companies fly including the well-known Ryanair.
If you fly to Florence we recommend you read this post on how to get to Cinque Terre from Florence. You can check the best options at the best prices in this flight search engine.
The next point is to look for accommodation in Cinque Terre. For this we recommend using this hotel search engine where you will find the best options.

To move between the villages and from Pisa to La Spezia, where the route through Cinque Terre will begin, it is best to move by train, since by car you will not be able to enter the villages and you should leave it in a parking lot outside. You can check the train schedules and prices in Cinque Terre here.

Another option, in case you do not want to go by public transport and want to know Cinque Terre with a guide in Spanish is to book one of the following options:

Corniglia in Cinque Terre

5. Where to sleep?

One of the queries we receive most is about where to sleep in Cinque Terre. Although there are several options depending on the budget, whenever possible, we recommend you choose one of the 5 villages, since spending the night in this area is a unique experience, if you take into account that most travelers arrive here to spend the day and in the evening they leave the area or go to La Spezia to sleep.

  • La Spezia: this is the most demanded option for stay in Cinque Terre since it is only 20 minutes away by train and has much tighter prices. Search here for your accommodation in La Spezia.
  • Cinque Terre (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore): any of the five villages would be a great option although we would opt for Vernazza, Manarola or Riomaggiore after the experience. Search here for your accommodation in Cinque Terre.

In our case we stayed in Monterosso, because it is the town that has more accommodation and catering options at the Hotel Souvenir, an accommodation with an excellent location and an ideal value for this area of ​​Italy.

Vernazza, one of the villages that you cannot miss when traveling to Cinque Terre

6. Route through Cinque Terre

If your trip to Cinque Terre includes only the towns of this area of ​​Italy, our recommendation is that you fly to Pisa and from there take a train to La Spezia, with a duration of 1 hour or so and a price of 10 euros per person .
Once there, you must take another train that will take you to the villages of Cinque Terre in less than 20 minutes for about 5 euros per person. To move between villages you must also use the train, with which you can go from one to another on journeys between 5 and 10 minutes.
You can check the train schedules and even make reservations here.

Among the places you can not miss when traveling to Cinque Terre include:

  • Monterroso: Located in a natural gulf, this is the largest town in Cinque Terre and the one with the largest hotel and restaurant infrastructure. For us it is not the most beautiful, but if you have more accommodation options, it becomes an excellent option to stay.
    In addition to having the largest beaches of Cinque Terre, in Monterosso you can enjoy a charming historic center where you can not miss the Aurora Tower, the Church of San Juan Bautista and the statue "Il Gigante", symbol of the city.
  • Vernazza: This is a charming town of colorful houses, located on a small cliff, where you can not miss its historic center and visits to the tower of the Castle of the Doria and the church of Santa Margarita de Antioquia, located in a beautiful square from the port, the most beautiful of the 5 villages.
    Although you can go to Vernazza from Monterosso by train, we recommend you to go ahead and take this walking tour, to enjoy unique views of the coast, especially at the end of the trail, when you can see Vernazza from the heights.
  • Corniglia: This is the smallest town of Cinque Terre and also the only one that is not connected to the sea since it is located on a cliff over 100 meters high.
    If you arrive enter, to access it you must go up La Landarina, a staircase of 382 steps, which will leave you in the center of town. If you arrive by car, the road will leave you in the upper part of the town.
    In addition to its historic center, you cannot miss a visit to the Plaza de Largo Taragio, where two important churches are located.
  • Manarola: this is probably the most famous village of Cinque Terre and one of the most photographed. Located in the high area of ​​a hill, this colorful town seems to rush into the sea giving away one of the most typical images of Cinque Terre.
    Here we recommend you to stroll through its charming port, tour the Via di Mezzo, the main artery of the town, where most restaurants and shops are located, see the Church of San Lorenzo and at the end of the day take a walk to the surrounding viewpoint the cliff that leads to Corniglia, from where you get the best photos of the town.
    And if you have some extra hours, nothing better than enjoying a bath in the famous Marina di Manarola.
  • Riomaggiore: For us this is our favorite town of Cinque Terre, not only for being one of the most beautiful, but also for having a unique location, on a hill, which practically splashes the colorful houses that extend to its port.
    Here we recommend walking through the streets of the historic center, visiting the Church of San Juan Bautista, the Castle and the church of the Confraternita dell'Assunta.
    At the end of the visit, nothing better than going to the port and from there go through a small stone boardwalk, from which you will have as a gift the best views of the town.

Riomaggiore

In case you have some extra time, another visit that can also be very interesting is Porto Venere, small town located near La Spezia, which belongs to the Gulf of Poets, which highlights the port area with colorful houses, the historic area, Doria Castle, the Fortress and the beautiful church of San Pedro.

7. Boat along the coast of Cinque Terre

In addition to touring the villages by train, another of the tips for traveling to Cinque Terre is that you take a boat trip along the coast.
In this way you can have a unique perspective of this beautiful area of ​​Italy that we are sure, will become part of your unforgettable moments of trip to Cinque Terre.

Our recommendation is that you take the boat after knowing the villages and use it to go to your place of accommodation or simply make the full tour, from Monterosso to Riomaggiore for later, if necessary, you move to the town where you train accommodations
Another option is to take the boat in La Spezia or Portovenere, localities located at both ends of Cinque Terre.

These boats have stops in all the villages, except in Corniglia that does not have access by sea and they operate from April to October and you can check the schedules here.

Take a boat, one of the best tips for traveling to Cinque Terre

8. Recommended beaches

Another of the things to do when traveling to Cinque Terre It is to enjoy some of its beaches. Although on many occasions these do not represent the image we have of postcard beaches, if you travel during the hottest months of the year, it is not bad to spend a few hours of the day to enjoy a dip in one of the sea beaches of Liguria.

Between the best beaches of Cinque Terre stand out ::

  • Guvano: located in Corniglia this is one of the Cinque Terre's most famous beaches It is the one that highlights its transparent waters and its wild appearance.
  • Vernazza: in Vernazza this pebble beach stands out for its location behind a cave.
  • Fegina: this is the only sandy beach in Cinque Terre and the largest. It also has catering services.

Cinque Terre Beaches

9. Gastronomy in Cinque Terre

Although we know that it is impossible to reduce to some lines what it is and represents the gastronomy in Cinque TerreWe want to leave you with a selection of some of the dishes we tried during our stay and that we are sure will be the perfect complement to make traveling to Cinque Terre an unforgettable moment.

  • Seafood: this delicacy is without a doubt the great star of Cinque Terre.
  • Anchovies of Monterosso: one of the most exquisite and known dishes in the area.
  • Antipasti: In Cinque Terre the entrees usually include anchovies, artichoke cake and sea delicacies.
  • Pasta a la marinara: although you can find pasta accompanied by any ingredient, being in Cinque Terre, there is nothing better than combining it with seafood or fish.
  • Mesciua: soup of wheat and legumes.

Gastronomy, one of the things you can't miss when traveling to Cinque Terre

Some of the most recommended restaurants in Cinque Terre are:

  • Il Pescato Cucinato (Riomaggiore): popular place where you can taste delicious fish and seafood fritters.
  • Nessun Dorma (Manarola): In addition to being an impressive viewpoint, with unique views of the town, this place serves delicious tables of sausages, cheeses and bruschettas.
  • Piadiamo Vernazza (Vernazza): the perfect place to ask for the famous piadinas.
  • Gastronomia San Martino (Monterosso): specialized in pasta.
  • Enoteca da Eliseo (Monterosso): perfect place to stop and enjoy a snack.
  • Gelateria Vernazza (Vernazza): the best Cinque Terre ice cream.

10. More tips for traveling to Cinque Terre

Other of the best tips for traveling to Cinque Terre They are:

  • If you are going to travel Cinque Terre by train, we recommend you check the schedules and even make the reservation here.
  • Remember that you have to validate train tickets on machines equipped for this, which are located inside the stations or in some cases on the train tracks. If you don't do it and a reviewer passes, the fine is 40 euros per person.
  • Do not forget that access to the 5 villages of Cinque Terre by car is an odyssey, since access to 90% of the town is not allowed by car and you will have to leave it in a parking lot on the outskirts, with the corresponding payment of services both parking as after taxi to reach the town.
  • As we mentioned before, whenever you can, it is highly recommended to sleep in one of the Cinque Terre villages to be able to live these villages when the majority of tourists leave them.
  • Currently some of the trails that run through Cinque Terre are closed. Despite this, do not be discouraged. If what you are looking for are postcard views you can have them from the viewpoints of the different villages, except the views of Vernazza, for which you will have to climb to the box office area where the path that leads to Monterosso begins and which is currently The only one that remains open.
  • Although in Italy the currency is the euro, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
  • You can find much more information on this topic in the post The best cards to travel without commissions
  • In Italy the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are of the type F / L.

Do you want to organize a trip to Cinque Terre?
Get it here:

The best offers of Flights to Pisa here

The best hotels at the best prices in Cinque Terre here

Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here

Rent your car in Italy at the best price here

Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here

If you want to help us complete the list of 10 tips for traveling to Cinque Terre, add yours in the comments.

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Video: CINQUE TERRE TRAVEL GUIDE 2019: Monterosso, Manarola, Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Corniglia (March 2024).