Cinque Terre: 1 day itinerary

5 small very colourful villages perched on dramatic cliffs with narrow and steep streets with beautiful hiking trails along the coast. With rocky harbours and some small sand beaches with crystal clear waters which are nice to swim if weather is good. It is the perfect romantic getaway with a nostalgic vibe especially during sunset and night, but it is also a really nice place to enjoy with the family whether you are into hiking, relax on the beach or walk around to experience these picturesque villages legacy. Food is always amazing, a lot of Focaccias, fried seafood, pizzas, pasta and gelatos!! Riomaggiore, Manarola and Vernazza are the most Instagrammable villages and were also our favourite ones.

WHEN TO GO:

From April to October. Best months to go to avoid crowds and still enjoy some nice weather: April, May, September and October. We were there in October to celebrate our wedding anniversary and the weather was amazing, sunny and not too cold perfect for walking. From June to August, it can be really crowded so plan ahead and wake up early to enjoy it.

HOW TO GET THERE:

We rented a car from Milan Bergamo airport since this was part of a bigger road trip in Italy but if you are going only to visit Cinque Terre these are the nearest airports with train connections to La Spezia:

Pisa (PSA)- 84 km (55 min. drive), 1H16 min. by train (direct trains from Pisa centrale)

Check all direct flights to PISA here (there a a lot of low cost airlines like EasyJet, Raynair and others flying to PISA)

Genoa (GOA) - 112 km (1H22 drive), 2H by train

Florence (FLR) - 165 km (2H drive), 2H by train (direct trains from Firenze Campo Marte)

Bologna (BLQ) - 220 km (2H40 drive), 3H15 by train (Parma can be a very nice stopover).

Milan (MXP) - 280 km (3H drive), 4H30 by train.

Milan (BGY) - 265 km (2H45 drive), 4H30 by train.

Regional train tickets and schedules available here.

From La Spezia it is just 10 min on the express train to the first cinque terre village (Riomaggiore).

WHERE TO STAY:

We decided to make La Spezia our base to visit Cinque Terre and use public transportation. Driving to and between the villages takes a very long time and parking is a nightmare, besides that, there are less and more expensive places to stay compared to what is available in La Spezia (or even Levanto which is also a good option to use as a base specially for families with small babies since there is a nearby beach and playground). We stayed in an apartment near the train station (Affittacamere Superior del Golfo e delle 5 Terre) and parked the car nearby on a public space in the street (free on Sundays). It was 5 minutes walk to the train station and 5 minutes walk to La Spezia city centre, which is also nice to walk around and has a lot of eating options.

WHAT TO DO AND SEE:

Based on our experience and search this would be our recommendation to spend a full day in Cinque Terre and still enjoy different perspectives from the Cinque Terre National park.

1 DAY ITINERARY:

08:30 - Take the train from La Spezia to the most northern of the 5 villages - MONTEROSSO AL MARE (20 min). We bought the one day Cinque Terre Treno MS Card at the train station that gives you unlimited train rides on the Cinque Terre Express train (Levanto-Cinque Terre-La Spezia line) and access to the hiking trails (The card in 2023 was €18.20 per adult and it is valid only for the day until midnight - be aware that it is not a 24 hour card, so use it the earliest in the morning possible to make the most of it). See updated card prices here and updated train schedules here. Do not forget to validate your train ticket or card before entering the train! Trains start at 05:00 and end at 23:30, so plenty of time to enjoy the villages.

When arriving to the train station you will have on one side the “new town” where the best beaches of the cinque terre are located and where we ate our breakfast, some delicious Focaccias😊 at Focacceria Antonio Di Liberatore V. & C.  And on the opposite side there is a hill with a tunnel where you will find the “old town” which is 8 minutes walking. We decided to skip the tunnel and instead climb the path to the top of the hill to see the views of the village from above. Walking downhill we reached the little harbour and crossed under the bridge to start exploring the village. Very rustic with narrow streets, colourful houses, typical Tuscany striped churches and several nice restaurants and shops.

10:30 - Take a boat to RIOMAGGIORE (45 minutes, one way adult ticket €15) which will allow you to have amazing views from all the villages. You just need to buy one way ticket that you can buy at harbour, the boat will stop on all the villages and while passengers leave the boat you have time to enjoy the view from the sea (this was the cheapest combination to be able to have both sea and shore views of the villages, totally worth it!). See boat schedules and prices here. Climb the path to the hill to have the best views of the village and come down to start exploring the village centre. There are some nice restaurants in the little harbour itself but it is normally too busy and reservations are recommended, the further away from the port the better to find a quieter and more affordable restaurant.

13:00 - Take the train to VERNAZZA (10 minutes). This was my favourite village! We even took a swim on the beach, so good! There is even a sweet water shower below the church on the path to the rocky side of the harbour. It is also a nice place to eat dessert! Gelatos are everywhere.

14:30 - Since we had to leave at 16:00 to Milan we skipped CORNIGLIA but we recommend doing the walking trail from Vernazza to to Corniglia (90 minutes walking, 3,5 km) and enjoy the views while walking. This village is the least visited since you can only reach it by train, bus or walking. With the extra challenge of having to climb 400 stairs from the train station to get there (there is a bus that connects the village to the train station included in the day pass).

16:30 - Take the train to the last village MANAROLA (5 minutes). Walk around the village and enjoy the sunset in punta Bonfiglio’s viewpoint and have some appetizers at bar Nessun Dorma. You can always go back again to Riomaggiore which is on the way to La Spezia to see this beautiful village by night.

We spent €33.2 on transportation per adult with a lot of flexibility to move around.

Good to know: You can also buy a ferry day ticket which will allow you to hop on and hop off on every village except Corniglia. But we would not recommend it if you only have a day and at the end it would be more expensive since there is the need to still buy the train ticket to get to Corniglia. One-day roundtrip boat ticket Cinque Terre €40. See updated timetables and prices here.

The ferry stops on these villages are: Lerici – La Spezia – Portovenere – Riomaggiore – Manarola – Vernazza – Monterosso – Levanato  (from La Spezia to the last village Monterosso it takes 2H).

TRAVELING WITH KIDS

If you are traveling with small kids maybe it is best to make it a 2 day or more itinerary and enjoy some of the beaches in Monterosso if the weather is good.

Moving around with a stroller it is challenging since streets are very steep and there are a lot of steps, the most kids’ friendly village is by far Monterosso al mare, the new town and the old town are connected with a tunnel and terrain is flat even within the village. Besides Monterosso is where the beaches are (see details on tips 4 beach lovers) and where you can find nice playgrounds. The least kids and adult friendly is Corniglia because it is more difficult to reach, but doable if you use the train and the bus to get to it. The other 3 villages have train station and also harbours, so you can get to them with a stroller and ideally stay near the harbour to avoid climbing the streets and steps involved.

MS card (train + hiking) : 0-3 years FREE. 4-11 years reduced rate €11.14

Family (2 adults + 2 children) €40

Ferry fares: 0-5 years FREE. 6-11 years reduced rate.

One-day roundtrip boat ticket Cinque Terre €15

Playgrounds: You can find 2 playgrounds in Monterosso one in the new town and one in the old town. Manarola is the other village that also has a nice playground with an amazing view near Nessun Dorma restaurant.

Good to know: Scheduling time on your itinerary for kids to play and leave extra time for any unforeseen delay like changing diaper on weird places ((do not forget your portable changing matt) or feeding them anywhere is always a good way to manage your travelling expectations with kids and still make sure you do something that was on your buck list to do, so everybody is happy!

Other kid’s Activities: For kids more than 10 years old you also have kayaking (see details in Tips 4 adventure lovers).For kids more than 5  years old there is a popular pesto-making class at Nessun Dorma restaurant in Manarola village.   

TIPS 4 BEACH LOVERS:

Good to know: Beaches in Italy are mainly private and a fee is required, the few public beaches that are free are normally very crowded specially in high season. (just for reference an umbrella and 2 chairs would be 20 Euros for 1 day). Some beaches are pebbly so maybe it is best to bring water shoes.

Monterosso New Town: Fegina Beach, the largest and sandiest beach in Cinque Terre. There is also a free part of the beach. And Spiaggia del Gigante small pebbly beach right next to Fegina. It has a gigant statue carved in stone at the end of the beach.

Monterosso old Town: Spiaggia Tragagia, the second largest sandy beach.

Vernazza Beach is a small beach that is perfect for dipping your feet in the water. The beach is in the harbour area.

TIPS 4 HIKING LOVERS:

Hiking trails are well-marked. The blue trail connects all 5 villages (11 km, 5H) with stunning views of the coast and surrounding hillsides with olive trees and vineyards. You can select which part of the trail better fits your needs, see details below.

Lover’s lane trail (1.5 km, 30 min) Riomaggiore to Manarola, paved trail, EASY and FREE. All ages.

Manarola to Corniglia trail (3 km, 1H), EASY and FREE. All ages.

Corniglia to Vernazza trail (4 km, 1H30) and Vernazza to Monterosso trail (3.5 km, 1H30) are both Moderate with steep climbs and are paid trails covered by MS card and are not suitable for kids younger than 8 years old.

Check if trails are open here

Hiking trails are not suitable for strollers you will need to use a backpack carriers or a marsupial for your baby. Bring a lot of water, sun hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes.

TIPS 4 ADVENTURE LOVERS:

You can find Kayak rentals and tours in all 4 villages that have a harbour:

Riomaggiore: 5 Terre Dive Center – kayak rentals and group kayak tours.

Manarola: Enjoy Cinque Terre - single and double kayaks rentals.

Vernazza: Nordest Vernazza

Monterosso: Samba Kayak – kayak, paddle boats, snorkel equipment rentals.