Cinque Terre is a beautiful area on the West Coast of Italy. Along the rugged coastline are century-old villages. The beautiful villages have colourful houses, vineyards and harbours. The Sentiero Azzurro hiking trail connects these villages with panoramic sea views. This is how we recommend you spend your time in Cinque Terre.

Corniglia
Monterosso Beach
Framura Boat Tour
Vernazza
Manarola
Rio Maggiore
Porto Venere

Where to stay?

It was a challenging drive to our cliffside Airbnb. The roads were very precarious with massive drop-offs. I suggest that you follow the instructions given by your hotel or follow road signs. Otherwise else you’ll end up on a narrow gravel road.

We stayed at an Airbnb in Prevo for 3 nights. The place is called Emma Room. It is located halfway between Corniglia and Vernazza which was perfect. It is located at the highest point, right next to the blue path (hiking trail). There were a few other rooms in the complex and a bar next door. The property has a relaxing garden, outdoor dining and a terrace overlooking the sea. From the bed and balcony we had an unobstructed view of Corniglia and the seascape. A perfect spot to watch sunrise and sunset. All around there are olive and fruit trees, vineyards and Mediterranean plants. As we were staying on the blue path, we didn’t have to pay when we passed the entrance gate at Corniglia and Vernazza (€7.50 per day).

Corniglia

From Prevo, we walked to Corniglia along the Blue Path at sunset. It takes about 30 minutes to walk there but longer coming back because it’s uphill. We walked to the end of Via Fieschi, the main pedestrian street with many restaurants, and found an amazing sunset spot next to Bar Terza Terra.

Monterosso

On the drive to Framura, we stopped in Monterosso. After some research, we found that this was the best sand beach in Cinque Terre. We got there early so we could get a car park near the beach. Due to corona, we couldn’t lay on the beach anywhere, we had to pay for a lounge bed and umbrella. We went to Nuova Bar Eden for a cheap and quick breakfast, right next to the beach. The view from the restaurant was very photogenic with all the colourful umbrellas.

Framura Boat Tour

We booked a boat tour through Airbnb experiences. The town of Framura isn’t special but exploring the coastline by boat from Framuru to Levanto was our highlight of Cinque Terre. Our guide Carlos stopped at the most beautiful spots.

The conditions were perfect and the water was crystal clear. With the snorkel, we could see a variety of fish. From the boat we held bread on the surface of the water and all the fish swarmed trying to eat the bread. I took it to the next level and fed the fish in the water.

Carlos showed us the best place for cliff jumping. There were a few different spots to jump from and the highest was about 8 metres. It was the highest I've jumped from and it got the adrenaline pumping.

Carlos told us that there are only around 20 days a year with the weather this perfect so we were able to swim into a cave. The colours were like nothing we’ve ever seen before with sunlight coming through a small opening above. The cave was light by the sunlight coming through a small opening above and it created extraordinary colours on the rocks and in the water.

On the way back to Framura, we spotted mountain goats and watched in awe as they climbed a near-vertical cliff face.

Vernazza

We walked to Vernazza early in the morning to avoid the crowds. It took us about 30 minutes to walk there from Prevo but longer coming back because it’s uphill. However, this hike is much steeper than the hike back from Corniglia. Many of the restaurants don’t open early so we got delicious focaccia from Panificio da Gino. The best views of the town were from the paths coming into the town from Vernazza and Monterosso.

Manarola

As we were walking into the town we spotted a cool wine shop called Nessun Dorma Cantina. We bought 6 bottles of Cinque Terre white wine. It was an excellent wine and manually picked on the steep cliffs of Manarola. Nessun Dorma also has a restaurant on the coastal cliff with the best view of the colourful Manarola. We had a lovely lunch here with Aperol spritzes, burrata and tomatoes. Towering cliffs surround the harbour which entice adrenaline seekers to jump from heights into the water.

Rio Maggiore

Rio Maggiore is split into an upper and lower town. We decided to explore the upper town first. This way led us to a coastline path with stunning views along the coastline. From this path, we took a narrow brick stairway down to the harbour.

There were more brave people here jumping off high cliffs into the water. We watched in disbelief as a man took a long-running jump off a cliff about 20 metres high into the water.

The multi-story colourful buildings are beautiful and the best viewpoint is on the rocky breakwater. To get to this spot we had to climb and jump over large sharp rocks. It is an effort to get there but it’s definitely worth it.

We walked back through the main pedestrian street in the lower town and found a small restaurant called La Cantina del Macellaio. We sat outside and had a delicious meal. The service was excellent. Everything was clearly homemade and fresh. We enjoyed local red wine, pesto trofie, tiramisu and panna cotta.

Porto Venere

Porto Venere was only a short detour for us on our drive from Cinque Terre to Florence. We walked through the town searching for breakfast and finally found a modern bakery called Forno de MÄ. They had made the best Italian pastries we’ve ever tried. We enjoyed them by the water and had to go back again for more.

The historic Doria Castle remains are in multiple areas of the town and features steep walls and archways. Our favourite part was on the peninsula where the castle sits atop a rocky plateau.

We hope this blog helped you with your planning. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask!

Perfect 3 Day Itinerary For Cinque Terre