Along the Ligurian Coast

The holiday as a whole was fantastic. In these thought conditions (with COVID-19) we still managed to have one of the best holidays of our lives. I will definitely recommend using Intravel and will do so in the future.

This was a really well constructed holiday, thank you to all at Inntravel who helped us with suggestions, working around flight cancellations and alterations. It became a fantastic two week holiday. 

We would recommend extra days in Montorossa and Portovenere to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. We also had two days in Pisa, using one of them to visit Florence. The add on at Camogli was also really enjoyable. 

The Ligurian Coast is beautiful, having never visited before we were amazed at how generations have developed this hilly area. We ate at many excellent restaurants. Travelling by train is easy and lets you enjoy the coastal scenery. 

We particularly enjoyed Cafe del Mar in Levanto - the meals were excellent, two of the best we have had in years! 

Tratorria da Iseo in Portovenere was really good for seafood.

As usual Inntravel did all the hard work for us and we just had to turn up and walk!

Thanks for making a holiday possible in the lottery of Covid regulations. At short notice you organised our trip, for a small premium organised our flights and rail travel, and we had the security that everything was covered by ATOL should lockdown or restrictions be imposed. You also showed flexibility when we wanted to extend either side of the walking holiday, and we booked our own apartments so we could cook rather than eat out every night. You made it happen for us, and it was wonderful.

We loved this holiday, the walking, scenery and accomodation. Apart rom 3 days in Portovenere, which we found too long, the stops were about right. We were fortunate that the crowds were less due to Covid. I am not sure how we would feel in 'normal' times - it is certainly very popular.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking holiday to the Cinque Terre. The organised walks were excellent and we would never have seen as much as we did if it hadn't been for the professional and easy daily guided notes we had from Inntravel.  The hotels were clean and staff friendly. Portovenere was certainly our favourite with a spectacular view from our room especially waking up to that sunrise every morning. Don't hesitate to book this holiday. If you enjoy walking and don't mind a few hills here and there it was certainly worth the climb , the views are breathtaking!

personal highlight was walk from Monterosso to Vernazza and the sea swims. Sorry I hadn’t taken 2 swimsuits!

A hugely enjoyable holiday. Lovely countryside, good walks and comfortable accommodation.

Too many personal highlights to single one out! It was all very good and really enjoyable. In fact our third Inntravel holiday has more than met our expectations yet again!

All the walks had highlights of their own.  We did not do the last walk in Portovenere as it looked difficult.  With hindsight we should have bought some walking shoes.  Not much occupational health and safety on these walks, but I think that is just Italy.  Australia is a bit of a nanny state, so there was quite a marked difference!

We loved this holiday - one of the best we have had with Inntravel.  The scenery is spectacular and the villages, although touristy and crowded, are pure picture-book material.  We were pleased we chose to do the add-on in Camogli, from which we had a lovely walk over to Portofino.  The various options of walking or using trains or ferries to get back to base offered a nice variety - you can get great photos from the ferries.

In Levanto we can confirm that La Loggia is extremely good, and would advise getting there early if you want a table outside.

For really good aperitivi, we can recommend Controventro in Levanto.

In Monterosso, L'Ancora della Tortuga is excellent, but you must book ahead, probably before you arrive in the town.

In Portovenere, we would recommend La Marina, and also Trattoria Tre Torre which is excellent and where we enjoyed the best meal of the holiday.

In contrast, Pizzeria Il Timone in Portovenere was very disappointing, but this was the exception - generally the food throughout the week was really good.

Incredibly well organised and enjoyable holiday. Walks slightly steeper than we imagined. Think amount of climbing and descent could be emphasised. We thought the description of parts of the walk between Monterosso and Portovenere as “vertiginous “ was excessive. It was less vertiginous than the path through the vines between Valestra and Corniglia, and caused unnecessary anxiety. The paths is more difficult, but that is due to the fact that it’s very uneven in places and required some scrambling. It is not vertiginous!

We particularly enjoyed restaurants Ely, Osteria and Le Marina in Monterosso. Restaurant Oasis in Levanto was superb. More expensive, but the best in town according to hotel owner. In Portovenere, Le Bocche, at the entrance to the harbour was perhaps the best restaurant of our trip. Couldn’t fault it. Ristauranti Galileo in Pisa [city add-on] was recommended by hotel. A must. Totally authentic, no tourists other than us. Immaculate surroundings, great food & wine.

I would grade the walks as 2/3, but we have come to realise that age is catching up with us and that we are not as capable of arduous treks as we once were, and note that some of the coastal paths are still closed with little prospect of reopening. Travel by boat is very easy but, just as the towns, very crowded even this early in the season.

Whilst the walking was neither too difficult nor outside our expectations, it can be slightly vertiginous in places. Additionally the weather was ideal for walking but wet at times. This meant that some of the descents were slippery and tricky. We were definitely glad to have our walking poles with us.

All the hotels were super, with crisp white bed linen and modern bathrooms. All staff were very friendly and helpful. The locations of the hotels were perfect as they were in lively and pretty towns, but not in the overcrowded main tourist areas. Hotel La Colonnina in Monterosso exceeded our expectations for a three star hotel. The roof terrace was delightful where we really enjoyed drinks with lovely views at the end of each day.

The high routes along the coast were really interesting, often through terraced vineyards and quiet lanes, with fantastic views. The Palmaria island ferry service between mid Sep and mid June is very limited (approx every 3 hours).

This is a wonderful trip. Not a much of it involves walking along the Cinque Terre coastal routes and this is good for two reasons. Firstly, they are very busy, even in early May, and secondly, parts are closed. In the first week of May, only the path between Monterosso and Venazza could be walked, but this can change regularly. However, the whole trip is based on varied and interesting paths, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

This was a fabulous holiday and I was very impressed with the quality, organisation and overall management by Inntravel, so much so I would be very happy to recommend and use again.

My sister and I loved the fact it was self-guided as we hate group walking and it really is very private and can be done at your own pace, which is a real bonus. There is no fixed time to have bags ready for onward transport to the next hotel and we were able to have a leisurely start to each morning with breakfast which was much needed after the walking efforts of the day before.

Having the freedom to plan our own dinners too and explore the little villages where we stayed was also very special (and the few restaurant recommendations were also much appreciated).

Full credit to Inntravel for the choice of hotels and the plan for the week's walking which gave us the challenge of the Cinque Terre terrain, aspects both in land and coastal, some breathtaking views, the beautiful villages viewed from different perspectives and only one day of rain!

I will not forget the first glimpse of the Cinque Terre coast as we walked from Levanto to Monterosso. It was breathtaking looking at these 5 colourful villages dotted along the edge of the vivid blue ocean. We enjoyed walking along tracks as suggested in the notes that took us away from the main pedestrian tracks through each village. This region is heavily overrun with tourists...even in April.The day we walked through the terraced vineyards was a stand out. Clambering up and down rocks along the sometimes narrow path between Riomaggiore and Portovenere was worth the effort. Again,we were rewarded with magnificent views of the coastline, plus a sense of achievement having negotiated successfully this pathway. Rather than rushing through each walk, we took our time to also relax at various points along the way. The walking notes were very detailed, and enabled us to plan each day to suit us. The food in this region is very tasty, and we appreciated the information in our notes about the local cuisine and suggested restaurants. We had an extra night in Monterosso, which enabled us to have an additional day to enjoy this area. As it turned out, we had one day while here where it was raining, and the extra night meant that we didn't miss any of the suggested walks. Levanto was a lovely village too. If we had time, we felt an extra night here would have been worth it as well.

In Levanto, we had excellent dinners in Trattoria Cavour and Le Clarisse, both located in the square behind the Hotel Nazionale.

In Bonassola, we had a lovely lunch at Antico Guetta, in an ideal spot overlooking the sea.

We arrived at Monterosso at luchtime and found Barabba on the seafront. There are plenty of restaurants for dinner in Monterosso, the highlight for us was Ancora della Tortuga, built into the cliff-face.

At Portovenere we found the restaurant 'Portivene un mare si sapori' which had a different and more unusual menu, but the food for dinner lived up to the descriptions and was excellent (and reasonably priced).

We loved the holiday; it was tough walking, but the scenery was spectacular and most rewarding.

Great holiday with welcoming and friendly hotels. The walking was well planned and easy to follow.

Levanto was far nicer than we expected. The walks from Levanto and to Portovenere were the best - aside from high routes we found for ourselves. Breakfast in Paradiso could be improved. We found the service in Il Timone in Portovenere dreadful the night we went and would reccommend Tre Torre in Piazza Basteri instead for quality seafood, service and ambience. Cinque Terre towns (Monterosso aside) are too busy to be enjoyable even in October ... though it was unseasonably brilliant weather. Pisa and Lucca both make for excellent nearby short city breaks.

Loved the hotels in Levanto, Monterosso and Portovenere.  All had character which we liked.  We pushed for rooms on the upper floor to give better view of the sea and Monterosso (Porto Roca)

A stunningly beautiful area with a great variety of both walking and accommodation. 

The walks are quite challenging first thing in the morning, but the climbing eases off eventually! 

Restaurant recommendations: Osteria Tumelin in Levanto, Miky in Monterosso, Trattoria Billy in Manarola and La Bocche in Portovenere. Better local maps. A more personalised information pack. 

This was our first time with Inntravel and to the Italian Cinque Terre. We are experienced walkers (and leaders) in our mid-70s and fit for our age.

Pluses:
In early October we were blessed with gorgeous weather. The scenery is amazing; the towns and villages – and the food! - are delightful. We met many lovely people, locals and visitors alike. Camogli and Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi were perfect for rounding off a great holiday.

Comments/ tips for others:
Being self-led, at first there is quite a bit to familiarise with on this type of holiday (eg buying railway tickets from a slow machine, with people queuing behind and time running out!). But we quickly gained confidence: we didn't get lost, people were very helpful and we found the walking instructions clear and reliable.

The map you provide (Geo4, scale 1:25,000) is good, but some features mentioned in our early walks descriptions don't appear. (Our Day 1 walk is lovely but Salto della Lepre and Carpeneggio are not shown: didn't help our confidence). We also used the free map app, OsmAnd, which does show these places as well as one's location; the detailed OsmAnd maps can be downloaded in advance for use outdoors without a data signal: strongly recommended. Also, the freely available Trekking Nelle Cinque Terre diagrammatic map (in TICS and to download) is worth including in the pack as a good reference.

Minuses:
We read your brochure carefully, but were still surprised by the roughness of the terrain underfoot, the steepness of the paths and the length of ascents. These walks are definitely at the high end of your rating.

Within the Cinque Terre itself, even in October, some of the paths and towns were very busy and overcrowded with large groups: but just outside the Cinque Terre, paths and places of equal attractiveness were deserted.

Over £300/night for B&B for a couple sharing feels expensive (including local travel and baggage transfers, excluding flights & insurance). The premium for the Porta Roca Hotel, Monterosso is excessive – and it is separated from the attractions of the town itself.

Details:
In our itinerary it would be appropriate to note that we needed to start the transfer from Monterosso to Portovenere by rail.

Reading our Day 1 Route Description (p19, Levanto/Bonassola) in advance, 'X-railway line' had us puzzled. Your list of abbreviations gives 'X-' as 'cross'; 'ex-railway line' is what you mean here and much clearer! Also Day 1 description at 6 km (p21), second bullet point needs updating for a new vineyard.

Minimising baggage weight is important: we would have appreciated the offer of an e-copy of the information pack as well as the hard copy.

Absolutely loved Monterosso and Eden Roc hotel. Levanto was fun also and we did walk the tunnels to next village. Cinque Terre over rated in general we think, does not compare to hill towns, Umbria etc. The cinque terre villages all rather the same and walks not to our taste. However we love Inntravel and will be back. This is the first time a walk has not exceeded our expectations and it is made clear it is a busy area.  

Highlights:

Breakfast at La Colonnina was a joy. The lady in charge was passionate about her organic food and home baked cakes. Fantastic.

We highly recommend the Trattoria Ciak La Lampara in Monterosso. Resist the urge to sit outside and take a table indoors. There you will not only enjoy great food but fantastic theatre as the chef creates dishes in front of you eyes. Half way through the evening, he came into the restarant to receive enthusiastic applause from his customers. Unforgettable evening!

Watching the 'harbour theatre' while enjoying an aperitivo on the waterfront at Portovenere.

Our tip: Monterosso was the mid point of the holiday. One of the things that would have been helpful to know beforehand was that there is a laundry in town which will take a basket full of washing in the morning, launder, dry it and then deliver it to your hotel by that evening. Same price whether you you leave 3 items or twenty - can't remember the exact amount but it wasn't much and cut out the droopy wet washing cluttering up the bedroom and shower.

Overall a fantastic holiday in two very picturesque and totally different regions of Northern Italy. The contrast of the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre and the vineyards and hazelnut groves of the Piedmont area is amazing. Certainly Piedmont is the region for fantastic gastronomic food!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walks Along The Ligurian Coast and Piedmont’s Hills & Vineyards

It was a very busy time of year to visit the Cinque Terre but that didn’t detract from the beauty of the area. Our first walk around Bonassola was a treat as we hardly met another soul. 

Restaurants: Levanto - La Loggia - potentially excellent but spoilt by overbooking with staff struggling - we arrived at opening time and our grilled fish took 1 1/2 hours to arrive!

Monterosso: Al Pozzo - opens at 18.30 friendly staff good fish & pasta.

Pizzeria L’Arrembaggio (via Molinelli 39) closed - now La Taverna.

Vernazza - Il  Baretto - delicious Spaghetti ai frutti di mare 

Portovenere: Il Timone - very well run pizzeria on seafront for light meal before standard 1900 hrs opening. L’Antica Osteria del Carugio, via Capellini 66 - lovely old traditional restaurant recently reopened under same management as Timone. Excellent Colli di Luni Vermentino Branco.

Another wonderful Inntravel walking holiday and the Cinque Terre is amongst one of the most beautiful areas. We really enjoyed the walking challenges each day and one of the best highlights were the views on day 5 looking down along the spectacular coastline towards Potovenere.

We can recommend the following restaurants:

In Levanto:

Da Tapulin - can’t book but easy to get in, seafood skewers were amazing

Osteria Tumelin - excellent food and service, for classy meal

(took published recommendations in Monterossa, Ca du Sciensa, Da Ely & Ristorante al Pozza, and enjoyed all)

In Portovenere:

Enjoyed restaurant food in the hotel Paradiso then had excellent final dinner at Trattoria Tre Torri - seafood was fantastic and service very friendly & efficient. Very well run & great team working. 

We also enjoyed the local wines and tended to stick to the local CinqueTerre white wines with favourite Buranco