The via dell amore and the lower #2 trail is completely closed and will not be open till spring. Due

We love the Cinque Terre—even in the winter! Before you go to this grouping of five small towns on the Ligurian coast, famous for their seaside views, spectacular beauty, and gorgeous hiking trails, there are a few things you should know.
What to expect in the off season:  In the summer, this group of five tiny, seaside towns gets overwhelmed by foreign visitors. Hotels and B Bs book up far in advance, the narrow streets are filled with English speakers, and the hiking spanish heritage tours paths, for which the Cinque Terre is so famous, become practically shoulder-to-shoulder. So getting to visit these towns outside of the high season can be a real treat! ( Note: Although much of the damage from the devastating floods of October 2011 has been repaired, it s not completely. Two of the trails remain closed, because of rock and mud slides, and will be open in the spring. Vernazza is also still in disrepair; we d suggest staying spanish heritage tours in Riomaggiore or Corniglia).
However, it s worth keeping in mind that these villages are usually best appreciated in non-rainy weather. This isn t just because of the spectacular, natural scenery, but also because the hiking paths—usually an activity that s on the top of visitors lists—are closed if the weather is inclement. Even if it s not raining by the time you arrive, if it rained recently, sections of paths might have washed away, forcing the entire route to be closed down until the path is repaired (something that can take one day, or several). When we visited the Cinque Terre last March, for example, the weather was clear and beautiful; because of recent rains, however, only two of the paths were open during our four-day stay.
On the plus side, while rain (or even snow) is more likely in the winter months, it s by no means guaranteed; there are plenty of cold, sunny days this time of year, too! And we, at least, would prefer going for a hike on a deserted trail in the cold, than on a packed trail in the (sometimes very uncomfortable) August heat.
Even with all of the tourists summer is fantastic. You can swim at the beach, spanish heritage tours enjoy the walks and enjoy lazy meals into the evening. spanish heritage tours We walked all the way from Vernazza to Riomaggiore spanish heritage tours and had a wonderful day.
Winter is different I visited 20 years ago by myself and arrived in Corniglia on a Wednesday. The local shop was shut, the restaurants were all closed. I managed to find somewhere to stay, and they opened the shop just for me!
It felt pretty empty, and I walked to Vernazza in the fog and light rain the next day all by myself. I had one of those moments where I felt totally alone and if something happened to me no-one would ever know
The via dell amore and the lower #2 trail is completely closed and will not be open till spring. Due to rock slides on the via dell amore and mud slides on the vernazza monterosso trails. spanish heritage tours Please spanish heritage tours be advised of this problem and do not cross on to the closed trails. You can follow me on Facebook for up dates on all happenings in Cinque Terre.
Yes, the boats will still run. You can see the September timetable here , and this site also gives you the full schedules for ferries from Portofino and other nearby harbors. Let us know if we can help with anything else!
Unfortunately, we don t offer any day-long tours of the CT, and we re not very familiar with any other operators that do, so we d recommend looking on Tripadvisor for recommendations. In reality, though, you don t necessarily need a tour of the CT; it s fairly easy to get to on your own, and there isn t much in the way of sights in the towns themselves —it spanish heritage tours s just about soaking in the atmosphere.
Hello! I am a 21 year old student studying abroad in Barcelona and am looking to make a trip with my girlfriend from Rome to Florence, then Florence to CT, and back to Rome to fly out. Due to school we will only have about 5 days to do all the above. Any tips?
We re happy to help! Doing all of that in 5 days will be a squeeze, but it s possible. We d recommend giving the most time to Rome, as you ll probably find that s where there is the most to see and do. Still, trying to see Rome in anything spanish heritage tours less than 3 days or Florence in less than 2 is difficult; also, keep in mind that it s a bit of a haul from Florence to the Cinque Terre. spanish heritage tours For these reasons, we d urge you to consider skipping the CT for this trip, and save it for a future one—particularly if you re planning on coming in November or after, as the weather can be quite rainy and wet, and many of the hiking paths closed.
We are planning a trip to Cinque Terra next September 2014. Is the route well marked? I am planning to walk without spanish heritage tours a guide. Does any one know of a tourist office I can get information about this hike. Thank you so much for your help.Laurette
Yes, the main routes are very well marked, so you don t need a guide for them. For more information, see our post on hiking the Cinque Terre , which also has links to the main website for the hiking paths in the area.
Our mid-November spanish heritage tours cruise includes a 1-day stop at the La Spezia port. I am trying to decide spanish heritage tours if I should risk inclement weather at this time of year to visit Cinque Terre, or just go with a Pisa/Florence spanish heritage tours day tour. If I understand correctly, the ferry will not be running at that time of year, so access will be by train. Any input will be appreciated for traveling there in mid-November. Thanks!
We re happy to help! Yes, rainy weather is always spanish heritage tours a possibility in mid-November. If going to the Cinque Terre means you d miss out on Florence and Pisa altogether, we d recommend going with Florence and Pisa. However, do be careful of signing up for a cruise ship excursion; these tend to have huge groups and, in our experience, spanish heritage tours not-great guides. We re biased, of course, but since we hand-pick our guides, find the most interesting sights in each city, and always have a maximum group size of 12, we d suggest checking out our site before you book anything; our Florence in a Day experience spanish heritage tours is especially perfect for cruise passengers.
My husband and I are planning spanish heritage tours a trip to Italy in early February 2014. We would like to stay in one of the Cinque Terre towns (probably Vernazza) or Portovenere. Would the hotels be open during that time of the year? If we do decide to stay in Portovenere, will the ferries still operate to bring us to the CT towns? Any suggestion is welcome as our plans are still indefinite as to where exactly spanish heritage tours we will stay during those 3 nights in the area.
The ferry schedules will be limited in February, and may not be running at all, depending on weather. Some hotels, however, should be open. We d recommend staying somewhere where you don t need a ferry to get elsewhere (any of the CT towns is fine, for example, because you can always take the local train in between them).
hi .I am planning a trip to CT in April 2014, somewhere along good friday and easter, say about 18 April 2014 to 20 April 2014. Would like to find out if the ferries spanish heritage tours will be in operation during such period. Thanking you in advance for your advise.
Ferries generally start running more regularly around Easter, but it depends on the weather. However, the train functions frequently year-round, so you won t be stranded no matter what! Let us know if we can help with anything else!
The trails will likely be closed in late January due to weather, aside from the very easy Via dell Amore . At this time of year, if you re tight on time anyway, we d recommend spending your time in another area of the countryside or in a town rather than in the CT, at least if you re hoping to hike.
My husband and I, along with 3 of our children ages 19-22, are planning to come to cinque terre on January 15 for 2 nights, any recommendations on best village to stay at this time of year or best places to see?
Any of the villages will be lovely—but very quiet! Keep in mind that, as it s not peak season, some restaurants, shops and hotels will be closed, and also that the hiking trails will likely be closed (they can only open for safety reasons in optimal conditions). However, spanish heritage tours it should be a lovely time to see the towns when only the locals are around.
It will remain busy throughout September, but the later in September, the less busy it will be. Average temperature for the area for September is between 15 and 25 Celsius (59 and 77 Fahrenheit). Let us know if we can help with anything else!
I will be in CT for just one day in early March, staying for the night in La Spezia. I only have a few hours (from 2pm) to visit the CT, so I would like to ask you which towns you think I should visit, and if it would be a good idea to try to have dinner in any of them or I should go back to La Spezia to eat. Any extra advice is welcome!
It s very much up to you! Vernazza is generally considered one of the finest gems of the area, but each of the five towns is charming. We d recommend planning on going to just two of the towns, but see how you feel when you get there and if you have extra time, fit in a third (it s very easy to get between towns on the train, even last-minute). For the full experience, you might want to eat in the CT.
There s no way to guarantee which towns will have trails open, since that will depend on the weather right before you arrive (and if rain washed out any trails!). But all of the towns should have their accommodation and restaurants open by March. Monterosso al Mare usually seems to have the most options for accommodation. Safe travels!
By that point, most restaurants and shops will indeed be open. We especially like Vernazza, which is often considered spanish heritage tours the gem of the area, but Monterosso al Mare probably has the most accommodation options. Let us know if we can help with anything else!
I will be traveling with my fiancé to Cinque Terre the weekend spanish heritage tours of February 15th. We would hoping to hike while we are there between villages, but are realizing most of the trails are currently closed. Should we expect that they will still be closed come middle of February?
You ll have to play it by ear, we re afraid. Some trai