Cinque Terre Itinerary And How To Plan A Weekend Visit

UPDATED MAR 2020. I’ll be honest, visiting Cinque Terre was not high on my list of places to see. I thought it would be too crowded and probably lost whatever magic it once had due to overtourism, much like Venice and Milan. But, I had to find out for myself, so I planned a weekend away to see what it had to offer. With my low expectations, and the way I planned the trip, it actually surprised me and I had a fun weekend. Here’s my Cinque Terre itinerary full of tips and recommendations to help you plan your visit.

Cinque Terre Itinerary And How To Plan A Weekend Visit

Disclaimer

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Where to stay in Cinque Terre

I stayed at Casa Di Mezzo in Manarola.

It was a cute apartment right in the center and had an amazing sunset view from the small balcony. The apartment had a comfortable bed as well as a lounge area, kitchen, and laundry facilities.

The only thing you need to know about staying here is that there was no soap at all provided in the room. Make sure to bring your own or there is a Coop on the main street where you can buy some.

If you’d prefer to stay in a different town, I recommend searching on Booking.com. That’s what I used to book this trip and is the site I use for most of my accommodation bookings when I travel because I can always find a good deal on there.

Balcony view from Casa Di Mezzo

Where to park in Manarola

I’ve added a map below to point out where to park if you are driving and plan to stay at Casa Di Mezzo, or anywhere in Manarola. Parking in one of the lots was €20 per day.

For other towns, just look on Google Maps and you will see parking areas outside of the town.

Map of where to park in Manarola

Best time to visit

September/October and April/May would be ideal for visiting Cinque Terre. I wouldn’t want to be there in the peak of summer (July and August) because of the crowds.

How to get around

For this weekend Cinque Terre itinerary, I recommend getting the day pass train ticket. It is €16 and you need to visit the counter to buy it, as it is not available through the self serve kiosks.

If you plan to stay over a longer period and visit the towns at a slower pace, it might be worth buying tickets for the train trip individually from a self-serve kiosk. That would be cheaper than buying a day pass if you were just going to one town for the day.

You can check the prices for how many towns you plan to visit each day to see what will be the cheapest option for you. For more information on train prices check out the TrenItalia website.

If you only have a short time in Cinque Terre, it’s probably worth getting the day pass train ticket

Hiking in Cinque Terre

Another option is to hike from town to town in Cinque Terre instead of using the train.

If you only have 2 nights, so one full day of exploring, I think it would be better to use the train and spend more of the time roaming the cities.

However, if you really love hiking and the outdoors, then it might be a good option for you.

There is a fee to hike on the trails. You can get the Cinque Terre Trekking Card for €7.50 per day for each adult at the information booths in any of the towns or online here.

How long do you need to visit?

This Cinque Terre itinerary is best as a 2-night stay as part of a longer Italy vacation. It’s most suited for people who are interested in seeing the towns but not necessarily go in-depth and experience the most of each town.

For example, I wanted to visit because it seemed crazy to live in Italy and not visit Cinque Terre. But I wasn’t overly interested in how old the churches were or anything like that.

It was more to have a relaxing weekend away being by the water and eating delicious Italian food.

You could easily slow this down and spend a day in each town if you wanted to go deeper and experience more of each town.

Weekend Cinque Terre itinerary

• First day: Arrive, check in, slow dinner, gelato, and walk around town
• Second day: Town hopping (details below)
• Third day: Slow breakfast, check out, leave

Manarola

Things to do

Basically, my plan was to use the full day to visit all the towns. I took the train, walked around, got a drink and a snack, then moved on to the next town.

My itinerary for the town-hopping day skipped Manarola until last since I was staying there, but depending on where you are staying, your order of towns might be different.

Monterosso Al Mare

Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso is a relaxed, beachy town that felt like the Waikiki or Miami of Cinque Terre. If you had enough time, it would be easy to spend a whole day here swimming and chilling on one of the beach chairs with a steady stream of cold drinks.

I exited the train station and turned right. First I walked up towards the Gigante Statue and stopped at Bathing Resort Il Gigante Monterosso Al Mare for a Ginger Mojito and bruschetta.

Then I walked back towards the train station but followed it all the way to the beginning of the paid hiking trail.

There are a lot of seafood restaurants along the street and all the food that I was eyeing up while walking looked delicious. If you like seafood, it would be a good place to have lunch or dinner.

Make sure Monterosso Al Mare is on your Cinque Terre itinerary

Stopping for a snack in Monterosso

Vernazza

The next stop was Vernazza which had narrow streets lined with lots of bars, restaurants, and souvenir stores.

I stopped in at La Bottega del Fritto for some takeaway calamari and ate it on the nearby Vernazza Beach. It was delicious!

I would’ve loved to stop at Ananasso Bar for a lemon spritz, but it was full. Instead, I had a fresh lemonade from the Blue Marlin bar.

Fried calamari in Vernazza

Fresh squeezed lemonade in Vernazza

Corniglia

The Corniglia train station is a bit of a walk away from the center of town on an uphill path with lots of switchbacks. It’s easy to find your way, just follow the signs to ‘Centro’ or you could also get a taxi if you prefer not to walk.

[EDIT] Thank you to Laura for mentioning that if you purchase the day pass train ticket, you can take a bus from the train station to the town for free to avoid the uphill walk.

Once you get to the town, you’ll find lots of narrow streets with lots of character.

I visited a cool outdoor bar complete with hammocks for a cocktail but I didn’t get the name of it. I’ve added a little map below on how to get there. The drinks were delicious and it was a cool find away from the crowded streets.

I also stopped for a pistachio gelato at Gelateria Artigianale Corniglia. It wasn’t as good as the one in Manarola but still nice on a hot day.

Map to a cool outdoor bar in Corniglia

Narrow streets in Corniglia

Gelato in Corniglia

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore was the final stop for the town-hopping day before heading back to Manarola where I was staying. It was a little quieter than the others, though that could have just been the time of day, and had a classier feel to it.

The stop in Riomaggiore was Caffe Bistrot Nonna Vittoria for a cocktail. They made great cocktails, but also had some cool music playing and it had a chill ambiance to it.

Riomaggiore (bit too buzzed to get any decent photos)

Manarola

Manarola is the ‘Insta-town’ because it has a popular spot with the pastel buildings crowded on the cliff.

For dinner on the town-hopping day, I went to Trattoria La Scogliera which was a cozy restaurant and delicious meal.

Some of the other places I went to during my stay were Gelateria 5terre which had the best pistachio gelato. The other flavors were creamy and delicious too but I was really digging the pistachio flavor on this trip.

I went for a morning coffee at Da Aristide both mornings and had mixed experiences. The first time was great. However, the second time, the guy served all the people before and after me in the line (who conveniently enough were all Italian), then told me to find a table for someone to take an order (there wasn’t table service the day before), and no one came.

Since I had a good experience the day before, I wouldn’t rule them out, but I personally wouldn’t go there again.

As a foreigner living in Italy, I’ve experienced a fair amount of this kind of scenario and refusal of service – I’ve even been refused my own mail before because of the prejudice here. So I refuse to give my money to places like that, but if you’re just on holidays maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Iconic spot in Manarola

Bar La Plancia was slightly more expensive but another good option for a cafe. I stopped for a coffee before leaving and it was nice to be sipping a cappucino by the water.

The other night I went to Ristorante Marina Piccola for some delicious pasta by the water and I also had a great experience there.

Other places to visit in Italy

• A dreamy agriturismo in Tuscany – good base for seeing Florence and Pisa
• Stay in Milan with an epic view of the Duomo
• How to make the most of visiting the Colosseum
• For the outdoor lovers, hiking guide to the Dolomites

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