More Cinque Terre Questions

[novagal]

Hi Everyone,
I'm working on planning my trip to Italy in May and I have some questions about visiting Cinque Terre. I know it's a popular spot so I was planning to spend 2 full days there. I plan to leave Pisa in the late afternoon on Wednesday, arrive in Riomaggiore that evening then spend all day Thursday and all day Friday hiking the paths and just relaxing. Then I plan to leave Saturday morning for Milan where I fly out on Sunday.

Here's my question, with 3 nights and 2 full days in Cinque Terre what would you do? I expect hiking the trails and just visiting the villages will take most of the time but is there anything out of the ordinary that I should plan for? Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Eagle]

novagal, aside from hiking the trails and just relaxing, I can't think of "anything out of the ordinary" that you should plan for? I planned my visit to the C.T. as a "rest stop" after Rome, and that was definitely a good idea!

You may already be aware of this, but I wanted to mention that you'll need a permit to hike the trails. There are small booths at the beginning & end of each of the trails, and they DO check! There used to be a single pass that could be used not only for hiking but also train travel between the towns, but I believe they may have separated the two passes? Check at the train station when you arrive in the C.T. Note that the Pass has to be validated before use, much the same as a train ticket (if you arrive late at night, don't validate the pass until the next morning, just before you're going to use it).

Also, you might want to pack along a small container of cat food and extra water, as there are some Cats living out in the middle of nowhere on one of the trails (Monterosso/Vernazza, as I recall). I'm not sure why they're living there, but there was a bag of Cat chow in the vicinity so someone must be caring for them to some extent? They seemed to appreciate extra attention though.

Have you booked accomodations in Riomaggiore yet? Also, if you want information on the "two part breakfast", post another note. I found that I just enjoyed exploring each of the villages and enjoying the ambience of the area. If the seas aren't too rough, taking the boat between towns is a nice way to see a different perspective. Also, if the small Bar is open along the famed via dell'Amore (Riomaggiore/Manarola), it's a great spot to stop for a "beverage" and just enjoy the view!

Happy travels!

[madamtrashheap]

Here's a link to the 5Terre Card Eagle mentioned: www.cinqueterre.com/eng/information/card/ (couldn't find the National Parks site in English for you, only Italian www.parconazionale5terre.it ) And yes the train journeys have (inexplicably) been removed from the card so now you require a seperate train pass and a paths pass. You can purchase the passes at La Spezia train station at the 5Terre Information booth on platform 1 (or was it 2?!), at any rate, it's well signposted, or in the villages in CT.

Enjoy CT!