The Cinque Terre region is full of hiking trails that criss cross its mountains and coast lines. Our first day in the region would have us hiking along one of Cinque Terre’s most famous trails; the al Mare coastal trail that runs along the coastal region between Cinque Terre’s five cities. We would end up tackling one of the most popular sections of the al Mare trail between Monterosso and Vernazza. On the trail, we would be treated to some spectacular coastal views, along with a beautiful descent into Vernazza.

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Cinque Terre Day Trekking: Monterosso – Vernazza al Mare Trail, Italy

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The area of Cinque Terre, Italy consists of five wonderful towns located in Northwestern Italy. The aim on this trip was to visit all of the five wonderful villages, along with a few hikes throughout the region.

About Trekking in Cinque Terre, Italy:

The Cinque Terre region has five wonderful towns consisting of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

There are several great walks between each of these towns, with a multitude of walks between each area.

One of the most popular trails in the region is the Al Mare trail that runs long the coast between Monterosso and Riomaggoire. Our first walk of the region was going to be from Cinque Terre’s most northern town, of Monterosso down to Vernazza on the Monterosso – Vernazza al Mare trail.

If walking is your thing, you might also be interested in the Cinque Terre Manarola/Volastra – Cornigilia Vineyard hike that we did on this trip.

About the Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza Al Mare Coastal Trail:

The Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza al Mare coastal trail is one of the few that require a ticket and payment in order to proceed through the trail. There is a manned ticket checker booth just outside of Monterosso. We accessed the trail through the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card, which allows for access to the trails and a full day of trains. At the time of our visit, it was priced at 19.50€ per person. We were able to purchase this ticket on the day of travel at the Tren Italia Manarola Train station.

We ended up completing the Monterosso – Vernazza trail travelling north to south. I would recommend travelling the trail in the same southerly direction that we did. Trekkers will be treated to excellent views of Vernazza at the end of the trail. If you travel the trail in a northerly direction, you’ll have most of the Vernazza views behind you, along with distant (and less exciting) Monterosso approach views on arrival at the north end of the trail.

In terms of difficulty, while the trek wasn’t hard to do as adults in our fifties, we certainly weren’t the oldest on the trail. We regularly saw couples in their sixties tackling this route, along with other walking groups consisting of much older people. Living the the North American Pacific Coastal Mountains, I didn’t find the elevation changes on this trail to be too dramatic. As long as you’re in reasonable shape, this shouldn’t be an impossible trail to complete.

It goes without staying that hikers should make sure they have sufficient water for the journey, along with reasonable hiking / running shoes and a cell phone for self rescue. There are no vendors on the trail, so all water needs to be carried “in and out”.

Day Trekking Monterosso – Vernazza:

Length of Trail: 3.86 kilometres

Trail Number: SVA

Time: About 2 hours & 15 minutes (one way)

Elevation Change: 210 m (sea level to sea level)

Cinque Terre Trail Rating: Expert Hike

WT73 Difficultly Rating: Moderate

We set off from our accommodations at La Toretta Lodge in Manarola. After a short TrenItalia train ride that lasted about 11 minutes, we found ourselves in Monterosso, the farthest Northern most villages of the Cinque Terre cities.

Monterosso is a lovely sea side down that runs along the coast of the Ligurian Sea. It was a warm October day during our visit. With a little cloud cover, it made our visit comfortable but not overly hot.

Using Google Maps off line, we headed towards the south part of town, following the natural route towards the Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza trail. While the trail itself was not well marked or sign posted through town, it would be difficult to get lost trying to locate the trail head.

Locating the Vernazza Trail Head:

Eventually, we wandered our way south of Monterosso far enough that we were able to locate the trail head. It’s located just below Hotel Porto Roca, which is among the southern most hotels in Montrosso.

Right below the hotel entrance is the trail head for the Monterosso – Vernazza trail head. It’s subtly marked but it is easy to find if you are looking for it.

The first part of the Monterosso – Vernazza trail was well maintained. It consisted of level concrete paved walkways that were suitable for “out and back” walks. There areas were also posted with sing posts that described distance signs, and emergency contact numbers.

Shortly after climbing out of town, we were required to show our Cinque Terre Treno MS Card in order to gain admission to the trail. This was at a manned ticket checker booth at the start of the trail.

Climbing Up the Vernazza Trail:

The Monterosso – Vernazza trail left the concrete walkways and started to head inland. At this point, the trail started a moderate elevation gain. The pathway started leading up from sea level to about 170 meter elevations.

The ground on the climb was unpaved and not level. While I walked this in Nike Running Shoes, depending on the strength of your ankles, it would be helpful to have a proper hiking shoe with some support.

The good news is that most of the elevation gain is at the very start of the trail leaving Monterosso. While the climb itself is not shaded from sun, you may wish to bring along a hat or other cover to protect your head from the elements. Once at the top, we were treated to great views looking back at Monterosso. We also passed through lemon groves and other ancient vineyards terraced around the landscapes.

Crossing the Coastline:

After the climb, we were pretty much at level for the rest of the hike. There were occasional up and downs throughout the rest of the hike. However, there weren’t any major elevation changes after the initial climb.

Instead, we were treated to clear and “peek – a – boo” views of the Cinque Terre Coastline between Monterosso and Vernazza. The coast line here is pretty sharp with elevation changes that are dramatic and cascade downwards into the ocean.

Occasionally, there were times when the trail led inwards. Instead of seeing continuous water views, we would find ancient farmer houses that were intended to maintain ancient vineyard lands built into the terraced hillside.

After passing by the farmer’s house, we ended up mostly curving the mountainside. We were treated to ocean views that most come to Cinque Terre to experience. We had wide open views of the ocean, along with scenic panoramas for most the rest of the hike.

We also had a look back at Monterosso, and could appreciate how far we had walked on this particular trek. It also showed the amount of elevation gain we had, having started at sea level on the beach at Monterosso.

Descent into Vernazza:

After about an hour and forty minutes of walking, we started on the descent into Vernazza. When walking in a south bound direction, the descent from 170 meters elevation to sea level is gradual.

Eventually, the trail leads around a rocky out crop. The seaside town of Vernazza springs into view as a welcoming end to this particular hike. We also had an opportunity to walk through some of the ancient monorail systems that were set up and designed to off load produce from the region.

Our descent led us towards a great first impression of Vernazza as we clambered down through tiered farm lands, great views and a picturesque town that is unlike many in this world.

The descent also took us across some of the TrenItalia train infrastructure that ran between Monterosso and Riomaggiore.

Arriving to Vernazza:

The trail dumped us off into Vernazza’s bedroom community. The trailhead landed us in the middle of town. We wandered our way to the harbour for some snacks and refreshments.

We were able to locate some awfully tasty Gin and Tonics, along with a snack fries for the end of the hike. In addition to the greasy goodness after all that exercise, the view was pretty outstanding as well.

After our long hike, we returned to the La Toretta Lodge, Manarola for the night.

My Thoughts on the Monterosso – Vernazza Al Mare Trek:

The Monterosso – Vernazza Al Mare trek is a wonderful day hike that shouldn’t be missing if you are visiting the region.

If you are tackling this trail, I would recommend taking along some water, and approaching the trail in a north to south direction. The views on the trail are exactly what you came to Cinque Terre to see. Approaching the city of Vernazza from the trail makes for a great first impression and a memorable way to mark your stay.

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If you’ve visited Vernazza – Cinque Terre, Italy, did you arrive by hiking trail ?

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