If you’re physically capable, hiking the trails of Cinque Terre is simply one of the most important things you can do during your trip. The views are simply stunning. With terraced wine vineyards hugging the cliffs on one side, crystal clear green/blue seas lapping at the cliffs below, flowers everywhere you look and quaint, seemingly stuck in a lost time, fishing villages dotting the coastline, the photos you get will be some of the best from your entire trip to Italy. Don’t leave Cinque Terre without at least doing one of the many hikes.
First, some practical advice: the majority of the hikes are not too difficult. The easiest of the bunch could probably be done in flip flops although this is 1) not advised and 2) technically illegal. Cinque Terre, in fact, has laws that state you must wear sneakers or hiking shoes in order to do the hike. In years past, it was not uncommon to see Italian women attempting these hikes with stiletto hills. After years of rescuing people with twisted ankles the authorities finally decided to simply outlaw doing the hike in inappropriate footwear. So make sure you bring a pair of athletic sneakers with you for the hike.
The hikes can be pretty tiring in the beginning as there are a number of steep steps to start out, as well as the ends of the hike where you must walk down the steep set of steps as you enter the next village. Hikers will be walking in both directions, so be prepared to have to side step other hikers along narrow pathways, some of which are very close to cliffs edges. Be aware that Eurpoeans in general seem to lack an American sense of personal space and in general do not seem to have much concern for lines, waiting for others to pass and things of that nature. Stand your ground and don’t let them bully you as it was not uncommon for us to be walking along a narrow cliff-adjacent section of path and have a couple of hikers coming the other way that could easily stop at the open landing they were standing at and wait for us to complete the narrow portion we were on, but instead decided to just walk right into us and try to push past us. Multiple times we had to literally tell a couple, “No. You need to go back and wait and then we can pass each other.” It’s frustrating, but hardly enough to ruin some of the most amazing hiking you’ll ever get to do.
It costs around 7-8 Euros to hike the trails. If you buy the 3 day pass for the trains this will be included in the fare. There are also separate deals for families of four, etc. For more information on the Cinque Terre Card which allows you to use buses, trains and hiking trails in the area visit here: https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-card
Bring a water bottle with you for the hike as you will work up quite a sweat on hotter days. You can refill your water bottles at the public water fountains in each town. The water is completely safe as Italy has very clean tap water. As long as the water source does not say “non-pottable” you are safe to drink it.
There are multiple different hikes you can do in Cinque Terre. The easiest and most famous of the hikes is the Blue Trail (also called Trail #2 or Sentiero Azzurro). We will cover this trail in detail below as it is the trail most travelers to Cinque Terre will do during their trip. There are other more adventurous trails called the Mountain Trails, which consist of trail #1, 4, 6, 9, and 10, and the Sanctuary Trails, consisting of trail #3, 6, 7, 8
The Blue Trail is broken up into small individual trails between each of the 5 fishing villages. The trail tracks fairly closely along the coast and offers some of the most iconic aerial views of the towns. The entire trail is about 11km long. You can do the full hike in 5-6 hours or you can simply do a small portion if you don’t feel like doing the entire thing.
The individual hikes as well as their distances, time it takes an average hiker to complete and their relative difficulty are listed below:
Riomaggiore to Manarola (also called Lovers Lane): 1.5km, 30 min, Easy
Manarola to Corniglia: 3km, 1 hour, Easy
Corniglia to Vernazza: 4km, 1.5 hours, Moderate
Vernazza to Monterosso: 3.5km, 1.5 hours, Moderate
The starting spots for the hikes are extremely well marked and easy to find. If you are in any of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre you will be able to easily find the start of the hike to the next town and once you’re on the trail it is impossible to get lost as the trails are well marked. Just follow them straight until you reach the next town. Some of the trails at the beginning of the hike between Riomaggiore and Manarola had been washed out with mud due to rain and mud slides from previous years and were in the process of being renovated, and thus closed when we went. Check to make sure your desired hike is open before you get your hopes up.
The Blue Trail, can be started either from Riomaggiore or Monterosso or really anywhere in between if you like. The section from Riomaggiore to Manarola, also known as Via dell’Amore or Lovers Lane, is wide, flat, paved and very easy to navigate. It is famous for its kissing statue as well as it’s tunnel on which lovers have written numerous declarations of the their love to one another over the years.
From Manarola to Corniglia is slightly more difficult, but is still relatively easy. It boasts spectacular gardens and sea views along the majority of the walk.
Corniglia to Vernazza: This is where things get difficult as this part of the trek reaches the highest points along the hike. The views are phenomenal, but expect a lot of climbing.
Vernazza to Monterosso: This is the most difficult of the hikes with many steps and narrow pathways, but it is by far the most spectacular as far as views are concerned. The view of Vernazza’s port at the start of this hike (or end of the hike if you’re coming from Monterosso is a can’t miss part of any journey to Cinque Terre.
We started the hike from Monterosso and made our way up the hillside vineyard terraces and past a farmer who had set up a little limoncello shop along the way. After our limoncello we continued along the seaside cliffs until we reached Vernazza, stopping to take a ton of excellent photos. We then continued on after a short break in Vernazza to Corniglia. Overall, the trip took us 3 hours and we were properly exhausted by the end of it.
If you are a history buff, don’t miss Cinque Terre’s Sanctuary Trail. Follow paths #3, 6, 7, and 8 and stop at Cinque Terre’s famous sanctuaries: Nostra Signora della Salute, Nostra Signora delle Grazie, Nostra Signora di Montenero, Nostra Signora di Reggio and Nostra Signora di Soviore.
If you are an avid hiker and want to hike high into the mountains surrounding Cinque Terre and look down from high above over the terraced vineyards, don’t miss the Mountain trails (paths #1, 4, 6, 9, 10). The views are unbelievable, but these are rugged, difficult trails and for experienced hikers only. Make sure to bring plenty of provisions such as water and food for along the way.
