Are you staying 4 nights in Cinque Terre ? We are happy to help you and organize your time in the most efficient way in order to discover, enjoy, relax and appreciate this unique part of the world.
Staying 3 full days in this area will give you the chance to discover all the 5 villages: if you are fond of hiking, you will be rewarded for the large possibility of paths you will find in Cinque Terre. Besides the “Blue Path”, which is open from Monterosso to Corniglia (pay part), there are gorgeous hiking trails to get in Manarola, Riomaggiore and also Levanto which is a pretty village before Cinque Terre and even reach Portovenere, the pearl of “Golfo dei poeti”. There are also higher paths connecting all the Sanctuaries of Cinque Terre: “Santuario di Soviore” above Monterosso, “Santuario di Recco” above Vernazza, “San Bernardino” above Corniglia, “Della Salute” above Manarola and “Montenero” above Riomaggiore. On top, you won’t feel “rushed” and you will be able to enjoy the beach with your family or friends as well and take your time to sit in nice corners of Monterosso which you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise 🙂
According to the timing of arrival on the first day and your degree of tireness of shape, we advise you to check out the places where you will be able to buy food, get a coffee or an apertif, receive additional informations about the Cinque Terre Card and choose a place to have dinner, may be reaching the older part of the village and have a look at the historical center of Monterosso.
Itinerary for 4 nights (= 3 full days):
FIRST DAY
If you are not afraid to climb lots of stairs, you can start your day by hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza: be aware that you will need a Cinque Terre Card, which includes also all the trains through the day; you can purchase it at the railway station in the Cinque Terre Point.
Since the walk starts in the older part of the village, if your are fond of Italian pastries, stop first at “Bar Pasticceria Laura” in Via Vittorio Emanuele and try some of their goodies: all artinasal prepared in the laboratory just across the street of the shop: they have the best “bomboloni” ( = light fries pastry filled with yellow cream) of Italy !!! They are very famous for “Torta Monterossina” (see here below) and “chocolate bignole”.
The effort to climb the stairs will be rewarded by beautiful views and sights all the way long (see the page of hiking in Cinque Terre http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-in-cinque-terre/).
click here to open the hiking trail map cartasentieriRED 
Once in Vernazza, enjoy the pictoresque square with the little bay and have a look at the nice church (Santa Maria di Antiochia) at the edge of the water. Earlier you are in Vernazza, less crowed it will be…
With this itinerary, you can possibly skip Corniglia and take a train to Manarola, which is for me, together with Vernazza, the most attractive village of Cinque Terre. In Manarola you can reach “La Marina” (the tiny harbor) and walk up to “Nessun dorma” (http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/03/26/nessun-dorma-in-manarola/ ),
a fantastic bar located in a perfect way to appreciate Manarola in all its colors and beauty. There, you can eat and drink some local and well prepared and presented food (no warm meal though !) enjoying the famous picture of this village which you have certainly seen in many books, postcards, reviews and magazines around the world !!
From Manarola to Riomaggiore, the train takes just one minute and this is (or the ferry) the only way to reach the last village of the 5, until the very known “Via dell’Amore” will be repaired and everybody will be able to walk in 30 min from Manarola to Riomaggiore again.
The small bay of Riomaggiore is very beautiful and also all the narrow streets that connect the colorful houses which seem to make part of a painting….
I advise you my favorite restaurant of Cinque Terre which is situated right in front of tha bay, “Rio Bistrot”: have a look at this page and you will quickly understand why….http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/06/24/rio-bistrot-in-r…e-dont-miss-it-3/
Take a train back to Monterosso, scroll on the sea front, may be sit on a terrasse for an aperitif, relax on the beach or just have a drink on the balcony of the property where you are staying 🙂
On this blog you find a page where many restaurants in Monterosso are well described with pictures of the dishes etc…Don’t hesitate to contact me in order to get a table organized in one of your wishes…http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/restaurants/
NB: in case the hike between Monterosso and Vernazza would look too hard for you, there are some other possbilities and I will be happy to help you further !!
SECOND DAY:
Plan a boat tour ahead of time or take a ferry to discover the 5 villages from the sea: http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2019/08/03/cinque-terre-ferry-takes-you-until-portovenere-%f0%9f%9b%a5%f0%9f%9b%b3/
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-boatservices/
In the second case we advise you to have a look at our page http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-boatservices/ and particularly to http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/new-entry-sea-breeze-boat-tours/ and http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/boat-food-experi…hellocinqueterre/
If you like to enjoy the sun and the warmest part of the day (of course according to the period of the year you will be in Cinque Terre), a “Day tour” would be perfect to visit the boroughes, dive, swim, snorkel and ten on the boat…..Are you a romantic person or/and you love the changing of colors at the end of the day, a “Sunset tour” will suit you better 🙂 Most of the companies offer an aperitif on board, bring you to taste local food in one of the villages, oragnize for you a lunch on or off the boat at a restaurant they suggest.
According to the choice of your possibly boat tour, you will be also able to relax on the beach: in Monterosso there are free and private beaches and the price varies from 18-28€ according to the period of the year. The price is always for one sun umbrella and two lay chairs. ” Bagni Il Gigante” (http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/04/27/breakfast-lunch-…-is-open-for-you/) and “Stella Marina” beaches have also nice dehors where you can have breakfast, lunches and aperitifs without having the need to go to far….
Time to have a shower and prepare yourself a meal buying some local food and using the fully equipped kitchens at your disposal or spend an evening at a table in Monterosso or in another village which you can easily reach by train still using the Cinque Terre Card and knowing that many trains are running until late at night 🙂
In Monterosso I warmly advise you to have dinner once at “Torre Aurora”: ask me to reserve a table in this unique place where the location, the details, the food and the service will accompany you into a beautiful moment for your eyes and your palate.
Have already a look to this page and some pictures here below….http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2019/08/25/sunset-time-dinner-at-torre-aurora/
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/08/07/torre-aurora-stu…a-special-dinner/
THIRD DAY:
Take your time and have a good breakfast: you will need it since the hiking between Manarola and Corniglia is beautiful but a little longer than the other one… Arriving in Manarola, follow the direction on my blog http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-in-cinque-terre/ to start the climbing which brings you until the small village of Volastra before flanking the vignards above Manarola with stunning views of the coast and descending then to Corniglia.
After visiting this village, you can train back home or still hike to Vernazza: this one it is absolutely not a very heavy/long walk…According to your planning may be you will be in Vernazza around sunset time which would be very nice to enjoy overthere: have dinner or an aperitif on the square of the village or just grab a beer and sit on the rocks to appreciate the changing of the colors: it can be a fantastic end of your day 🙂
Hints for dinner in Vernazza ? Gianni Franzi is excellent restaurant on the square and they also have a beautiful terrasse overlookig the sea where they serve aperitif and wine tasting during the afternoon and towards the evening.
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/where-to-eat-in-vernazza/
Cinque Terre are also known for their amber wine called “Sciacchetrà”: there are several vinery producing it together with other white wines an some red ones as well. Here the link to my blog page where you find their website and details: don’t hesitate to ask for more help, if you wish to have a wine degustation organized ahead of time: http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/wine-testing-in-cinque-terre/
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/wine-experience-in-manarola-
click here to open the pdf winetasting
We hope to have helped you a little bit for your stay in Cinque Terre: especially avoiding waste of time for searching what to do and give you some quick, practical and fun ideas in order to make your “Cinque Terre stop” unforgettable 🙂
In case you are so lucky to stay longer than 4 nights, don’t forget that in the neighborhood of Cinque Terre there are many another beautiful places and cities to discover: here below a short list of our hints ?
– Levanto – Framura – Bonassola (all quickly reachable by train): between these villages there is a very nice bicycle lane and you can easily rent bikes in Levanto).
If you happen to be in Levanto and you wish to have one of the best pizza I ever ate, stop by “La Picea”: they are world champion for something ?
You can also hike to Levanto from the newer part of Monterosso, passing above Punta Mesco with a breathtaking views: link to the page and pictures here below….http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2017/01/28/hiking-in-cinqueterre-have-a-look-at-the-new-page-in-the-menu/
– Portovenere is the pearl of Golfo dei poeti and it is reachable by ferry from Monterosso or of course by private tour which would make your trip even more unique ? Hiking to Portovenere from Riomaggiore takes less than 4 hours: of course unbelievable sights to remember for ever !! Click here for the link of the hiking trails:
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– Lerici – Fiascherino are also reachable by ferry from Monterosso harbor and they are situated in a beautiful bay !!
– La Spezia is the main city of the province and it’s a very alive city full of any type of shops, bars, restaurants, a beautiful daily market with fresh products (incredible vegetables and fishes !!), a very big and modern harbor where you can walk around and have a rest on one of the many terraces.
– Being Tuscany very close to Liguria, I suggest you to visit once Lucca: by train very easy to reach, you will be there in less than 2 hours time.
You will be enchanted to walk inside the ancient walls of this gorgeous man size city full of beautiful squares, churches, streets and shops or on the walls self taking a tour around the center town by foot or by bicycle. Lots of green, peace and historical value in this gem of little city ?
– Of course, we won’t forget the chief town of Liguria: Genova, a huge city with a very big harbor and many splendid buildings, palaces and museums.
There are a lot of trains getting to Genova from Monterosso and if you are also able to stop in Portofino, of course, you will complete your stay not loosing any stop ?
Have fun !!! ??