Cinque Terre, Italy (5)Cinque Terre (free translation: Five Lands) is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List and stands for five amazing villages which offer breathtaking views.

Some of the things we like about it:

  • it is is quite tourist-free, comparing to other similar looking places (Santorini in Greece, for example);
  • there are no cars allowed in the region, except on Tuesdays;
  • unique flora and vegetation;
  • the five villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso are reachable by foot (the maximum hiking time-that’s right, you have to go up and down wonderful slopes to get from one to another- is 90 minutes between villages);
  • there are hostels there which charge 17$ a night- this is what we got off the net, who knows, perhaps local people charge even less;
  • there are also camping spaces– a small recommendation: Camping Aqua Dolce Levanto, situated at the beginning of the itinerary, secluded and with access to the beach;
  • everything can be explored by foot, but when you get tired, you can start exploring things on water, by renting a cheap water-something (many to pick from);fora is magnificent;

Cinque Terre, Italy (7)Cinque Terre, Italy (8)Cinque Terre, Italy (1)cinque8 cinque10Cinque Terre, Italy (6)

Getting there

La Spezia should be your first target. It is located between Genoa and Pisa and can be reached by train from any of these major Italian cities. There are trains traveling frequently from La Spezia to any of the five villages (they all have a train station).

cinque-inside

When to visit?

We heard it’s pretty foggy in Northern Italy from November ’till May, so try to make it a summer holiday- the temperatures here are not as high as in Venice, don’t worry!

cinque-terre-map