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The Cinque Terre

Liguria - the Cinque Terre & Portovenere
 
Explore the spectacular high paths and beautiful coastline of the Cinque Terre, visiting all five villages after which the coast is named, and savouring delicious seafood. All in all, this self-guided, hotel-to-hotel walking break, with luggage transfers, is the perfect introduction to Liguria.
The Cinque Terre. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
The Cinque Terre. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A walking break in Liguria

The Ligurian Riviera, which stretches from the French border all the way to Tuscany, is marked by its drama: wooded slopes plunge towards the Mediterranean, where fishing ports and small resorts of tall, brightly painted houses huddle in small bays and sandy coves. Naturally, fish and seafood dominate the local cuisine, as does pesto and unusual white wines such as Sciacchetrà.
This delightful break focuses on the famed Cinque Terre (the ‘Five Lands’), where we suggest some superb walks along the quieter high paths, and romantic Portovenere. Endlessly changing scenery makes for some of Europe’s finest coastal walks, and ancient paths – often following long flights of stone steps built over the centuries to tame the steep terrain – make this holiday as enchanting as it is challenging. Please book well in advance (or travel in spring and autumn, which are quieter) to avoid disappointment.
 

Book with confidence

What we’re doing so you can book and travel with confidence >
Our flexible booking policies >
Check the destination entry requirements >
 
Gallery
 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 11 11 15 17 22 25 28 28 24 20 15 11
    mm 104 69 85 118 88 55 63 32 77 135 170 107
  • Arrival in Monterosso
    Night 1: at La Colonnina (the first of three nights here).
    As your first night’s accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of walking.
  • Choice of walks from Monterosso: 5.5km to 9.5km
    From your base in Monterosso you can explore the Cinque Terre by following our recommended and rewarding routes both alongside and above the coast.

    Monterosso to Vernazza: 9.5km, 4hrs; ascent/descent 590m
    This challenging but thrilling walk leads inland from Monterosso to two chapels which boast astonishing views across the terraced slopes to the sea. The route then takes you across several small valleys, through woodland and vineyards, before zigzagging steeply down to the very traditional village of Vernazza from where you can either take the train back to Monterosso or return on foot via the main coastal path (add 3km).

    Manarola to Corniglia: 5.5km, 2.5hrs; ascent 460m/descent 420m
    Take the train (pay locally) to Manarola, from where you ascend stone stairways through olive groves to the hill-top village of Volastra to pick up a path that leads across steeply terraced vineyards towards the smallest Cinque Terre village, Corniglia. The views throughout the walk stretch for miles – you can even see Corsica on a clear day. Return by train or, for a longer walk, on foot via the coastal path (add 7km).

    Please note: some sections of the main, and very popular, lower coastal path may sometimes be closed, especially following heavy rain or a bad winter. However, our recommended routes incorporate only some segments of these; we use the lesser-used paths higher above the coast as far as possible, rewarding you with satisfying walking and superb views.
    Around Monterosso - Manarola to Corniglia
    Monterosso to Vernazza: 9.5km
    Manarola to Corniglia: 5.5km
  • Choice of walks from Monterosso to Portovenere: 10.5km or 13km
    Whichever route you choose, today starts with a short train journey (pay locally) to Riomaggiore, from where there's a steady ascent to the panoramic Sanctuary of Madonna di Montenero. Your path then continues to rise and fall through attractive woodland, before descending to the medieval village of Campiglia...

    Longer option: 13km, 6hrs; ascent 880m/descent 905m
    From Campiglia, our longer route continues through woodland to emerge onto the red rocks that give this part of the coastline its name (Costa Rossa). As you approach your destination, and the stylish Hotel Paradiso, the challenging coastal path rewards you with sweeping views of Portovenere and the islands that lie just off the coast.

    Shorter option: 10.5km, 5hrs; ascent 685m/descent 710m
    Alternatively, this shorter option descends along an ancient way through the woods on a stone staircase to Acquasanta, from where you take a bus (pay locally) to Portovenere.
    Monterosso to Portovenere, longer route: 13km
    The approach to Portovenere coming from Monterosso
 

Accommodation

You stay in two excellent and stylish hotels.
 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
Currency converter

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  • 4 nights: 01 April 2022 - 14 July 2022 & 24 August 2022 - 20 October 2022

    Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 30 Apr 2022 £710 £240
    1 - 21 May 2022 £760 £255
    22 May - 29 Jun 2022 £785 £260
    30 Jun - 10 Jul 2022 £795 £260
    24 Aug - 27 Sep 2022 £795 £260
    28 - 30 Sep 2022 £760 £255
    1 - 16 Oct 2022 £710 £240
    3rd & 4th person discount -£75
    Single traveller supplement £75

    Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.

    Included travel: rail from Pisa/Genoa to Monterosso al Mare on outward journey; taxi and rail from La Spezia to Pisa/Genoa on homeward journey

    Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.

  • Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    La Colonnina, Monterosso (B&B) Double room Single room
    01 Apr - 30 Apr 2022 £104 £154
    01 May - 30 Jun 2022 £118 £172
    01 Jul - 14 Jul 2022 £124 £178
    24 Aug - 30 Sep 2022 £124 £178
    01 Oct - 20 Oct 2022 £104 £154
    Hotel Paradiso, Portovenere (B&B) Double room Single room
    01 Apr - 14 Jul 2022 £122 £184
    24 Aug - 30 Sep 2022 £122 £184
    01 Oct - 20 Oct 2022 £98 £146
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Pisa or Genoa
    As an alternative to flying, we can arrange rail travel from London

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Milan or Rome.  To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Aberdeen - Pisa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Genoa (via Munich) Lufthansa 
    Birmingham - Pisa jet2 
    Birmingham - Pisa (via Munich) Lufthansa 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Genoa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Bristol - Pisa easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Nottingham East Midlands - Pisa Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Genoa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Edinburgh - Genoa (via Paris) Air France 
    Edinburgh - Pisa Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Glasgow Prestwick - Pisa Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Humberside - Pisa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Leeds Bradford - Pisa Ryanair 
    Leeds Bradford - Pisa jet2 
    Leeds Bradford - Pisa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Liverpool - Pisa Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Genoa British Airways,  Vueling 
    Gatwick - Pisa British Airways,  easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Genoa (via Rome Fiumicino) Alitalia 
    Heathrow - Pisa British Airways 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Pisa easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Stansted - Genoa Ryanair 
    Stansted - Pisa Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Genoa (via Paris) Air France 
    Manchester - Pisa easyJet,  jet2,  Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Pisa jet2 
    Outward route Airline
    Southampton - Genoa (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Teesside International - Pisa (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Milan or Rome.  To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you for any of the options listed above except those operated by Ryanair. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service. Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

  • Prices below are based on 2 people travelling together. If you are travelling solo or as a party of 3 or more and our arrangements include a taxi, please contact us for prices; additional passengers often pay less.

    Unless otherwise stated, connecting travel by rail or bus tends to be from the city centre station, rather than from its airport, and connections between the two should be paid for locally.

    Connecting travel options - flying via Genoa

    Outward route Price per person Latest flight
    arrival time
    rail Genoa to Monterosso al Mare (1h30), walk Monterosso al Mare to hotel (0h10) included 1800
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest flight
    departure time
    transfer hotel to La Spezia (0h20), rail La Spezia to Genoa (1h15-1h40) included 1100

    Connecting travel options - flying via Pisa

    Outward route Price per person Latest flight
    arrival time
    rail Pisa Centrale to Monterosso al Mare (1h40), walk Monterosso al Mare to hotel (0h10) included 1600
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest flight
    departure time
    transfer hotel to La Spezia (0h20), rail La Spezia to Pisa Centrale (0h40-1h20) included 1300
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 4 breakfasts
  • luggage transported
  • route notes and maps
  • GPS navigation
  • return rail from Pisa or Genoa
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 9 reviews
  • Anon
    12 June 2022

    HIGHLIGHTS: Portovenere and the hotel Paradiso and the beauty of the town itself - fantastic.

  • Dr J Russell
    King's Lynn
    06 May 2022

    INNTRAVEL NOTE: A holiday combining our Secret Lake Iseo and The Cinque Terre holidays.

    Our favourite walk was from Manarola to Corniglia, quiet and off the beaten track. We met people who had done a different walk from Monterosso to Venazza, on a lower route who said it was much busier than the one we did, and was a little lower so thank you for directing us to a less popular route.

    The views were spectacular around Lake Iseo and it was lovely to progress along the lake and see it from different angles.

  • Eileen Dublin
    26 April 2022

    From the moment we engaged with Robert from Inntravel throughout our complete holiday experience every aspect was so professionally handled. My sister had recommended Inntravel and is shortly going on her 9th holiday with you. We wanted a mixture of walking holiday with some luxury at the beginning and end, we couldn't have planned it better ourselves .

    Inntravel took all the hassle out of trying to plan a holiday from booking tickets for air and train and hotels to bag transfers and great walking notes for city walks and countryside treks .

    This was a first for us and we will definitely be booking lots more. I will be spreading the word in Ireland about the fabulous experience we had with Inntravel.

  • Andy B
    15 April 2022

    Portovenere seems to cater for daytrippers more than locals and this appears to be reflected in the predominance of average restaurants. However, there is a wonderful option of booking at Locanda Lorena on the island of Palmaria just across the harbour. They provided a personal boat taxi for the 5 minute crossing. Food and ambience really good, creating a genuine sense of a special occasion.

  • Mrs Sandra Barnes
    Cleckheaton
    05 September 2020

    This was a fantastic walking holiday. We did the alternative routes rather than the coastal paths. It was hard walking in places but it was worth it to avoid the crowds.  Perfect in every way.

  • Anon
    04 September 2020

    We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour of Cinque Terre. The hotels had a friendly, local vibe and were good and the walks beautiful. We liked the way the walks were presented so we had options depending on how we felt on the day. This is the second time we've booked through Inntravel and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. We will definitely use them again.

  • Mrs H Effingham
    Retford
    05 October 2019

    Great walks, lovely villages - a wonderful holiday!

  • Anon
    02 October 2019

    An excellent trip. We particularly enjoyed Hotel La Colonnina, the service, the breakfast, the facilities. Very satisfied with Hotel Paradiso. 

  • Gal Avtalion
    25 August 2019

    The holiday was more then we expected. The hotel was amazing, the walking routes were wonderful and the luggage transfer was comfortable. Also the Inntravel service was the best service I ever had, and the holiday was very fun for all the family. 
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • If your holiday plans go awry because of Coronavirus, rest assured that we’ll do right by you. Since the start of the pandemic, our flexible booking policy and prompt issuing of refunds to customers who prefer not to defer their holiday have earned us high praise in the national press.
  • We sincerely hope that your holiday experience will be as enjoyable as it would have been before the pandemic – walking holidays are ideal in these times of social distancing, and we’re not operating holidays if the key highlights can no longer be delivered – but, naturally, there will be some changes to ensure your and other people’s safety, not least proving your vaccination status or taking a test in order to travel.
    Your holiday experience: what to expect >
    Safety measures being taken by hoteliers & others >
    Entry requirements for non-UK destinations & for re-entering the UK >
  • We’ll send you route notes and maps 2-3 weeks before your holiday. The route notes not only contain directions to get from A to B, but also include practical information about places of interest and eateries along each route, plus cultural information about the area. If/when you are moving between hotels, you leave your luggage in reception as you leave, and it will be transferred ahead to your next accommodation, meaning that all you need to take with you are a camera, sun cream, drinks, food and waterproofs.

    For more detailed information, see our walking holidays in Europe page.
  • Yes, prior to going on holiday you will be able to download GPX tracks so that you can follow your route on your smartphone or dedicated GPS device if you wish. It’s entirely up to you whether or not you use them – our detailed, step-by-step route notes remain the principal means of guiding you from A to B – but we provide them as a secondary means of navigation for additional reassurance when walking.
  • We can book a wide range of routes from the UK with a variety of airlines (but not, currently, with Ryanair). As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. The fee for this service is £35 per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). More information on flights >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted to book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

    You don’t have to take out a policy with our recommended provider (if you live outside the UK you’ll definitely need to make your own arrangements, as the policy is only for UK residents), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    We'll ask you for the details of your policy (insurer, policy number and medical emergency phone number) so that we can help out if the worst happens while you are on holiday. It's up to you, though, to check that your policy covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs; we don't check alternative policies.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Italy, but not a visa. If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • The principal official language is Italian, though some regions have a second official language, such as South Tyrol, where German is widely spoken. The currency is the Euro. Italian time is GMT/UTC + 1. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 1.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein.

    At Inntravel we work in close partnership with our hoteliers, taxi drivers and other local suppliers to provide our self-guided holidays directly to you. We are entirely confident that you will continue to receive the usual warm welcome from them, regardless of what is happening in the European political sphere.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.

    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
  • You are the best judge of your child’s/children’s capabilities. We are happy to take bookings for families of older children/teenagers if they walk regularly, love the outdoors and are comfortable with the distances and ascent/descent involved. Please note that the bedrooms at most of the accommodation we use will normally only sleep a maximum of 3 people, and sometimes only 2.
Last fetch time is : 6/26/2022 7:12:05 PM