World Traveller 73

The Cinque Terre region is full of hiking trails that criss cross its mountains and coast lines. Our second day in the region would have us traversing the vineyards of Cinque Terre and descending to Corniglia. On this trail, we would be treated to some more spectacular coastal views, interspersed with vineyards clinging to the sides of mountains amid pristine landscapes.

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.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

Cinque Terre Day Trekking: Manarola Volastra – Corniglia Trail, Italy

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.

This particular trail followed our adventures on the Montresso – Vernazza al Mare trail. This trail was recommended for it’s wonderful views, along with the ability to possibly taste some wine along the way (seasonally).

We ended up completing this trail travelling south (Volstra) to north (Corniglia). I would recommend travelling the trail in the same northernly direction that we did. Trekkers will be treated to excellent vineyard along the first half of the trail. If you travel the trail in a southernly direction, you’ll have a tremendous obstructed view hike climb at the very beginning, along with a non view descent into Manarola.

In terms of difficulty, we cheated a little bit to make life easier by taking a bus from Manarola up to the top of the trail head at Volastra. This was among the best decisions I had made on the trip, since this saved a lot of unneeded effort. While we didn’t see as many 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.

As with all hikes, 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 Manarola (Volastra) – Corniglia:

Length of Trail: 3 kilometres +/-

Trail Number 586 + Lower 587

Time: About 1 hour and 30 mins (one way)

Elevation Change: 340 m (elevation 340m to sea level)

Cinque Terre Trail Rating: Easy Hike

WT73 Difficultly Rating: Easy – Intermediate

We set off from our accommodations at La Toretta Lodge in Manarola. We walked down from the hotel to take the bus up from Manarola to the hillside town of Volastara.

I was able to capture the bus schedule from the TrenItalia Manarola train station. There appear to be different schedules for weekedays and weekends, so it’s important to make sure you capture the correct schedule.

It’s only about 2.50€ for the bus, per person. This was an excellent investment in order to save 340m of elevation climb, and a good investment in the family relationship, and I was really happy that I didn’t attempt the physical climb from Manarola all the way up to Volastra.

It’s worth mentioning that the bus is limited to about twelve seats. As a result, I’d recommend getting to the bus stop earlier than the departure time. It’s not the end of the world to wait 30 – 60 minutes for the next bus, but when you’re keen to get out walking, it’s always good to be fully prepared.

Locating the Volastra Trail Head:

After getting off the short bus, we wandered around looking for the 586 trail head. As a result of the bus, we had ascended quite a bit and had great views back down towards Manarola.

We had clambered We ended up wandering down the trail, eventually finding the trail maker. The 586 trail would lead us towards lower 587. The trail would mark distance to the intersection of 586 / 587 as 1.45 kilometres at an elevation of 330m.

Traversing the 586 trail:

The Volastra to Corniglia trail is known for it’s outstanding vineyard views. After starting off on the trail, we were immediately treated to wonderful mountain top vineyard views. The vineyard terraces were stepped into the hills making for a very picturesque mountain traverse through the vines.

We had inspiring views of Manarola behind us, with the unmarred pristine Cinque Terre landscape surrounding each of the five cities.

We had distant “peek a boo” views towards Corniglia, our final destination on this hike.

Wandering through Vineyards:

Our traverse on trail 586 took us along through high vineyards. The pathway was clay and mostly level. Being that we had a terrific sunny day, it made the views exceptionally pleasant. Much like our earlier trek, there was not a lot of shade on this trail. If you’re passing through in the summer months, made sure you bring some shade protection.

The terracing of vineyards within Cinque Terre isn’t something that I’ve ever seen in vineyards around the world. It made the area interesting and unique in terms of how farmers were able to use the lands available to them.

About fifteen to twenty minutes into the trail, we came across the wine bar that is seasonally open during the summer months. It offers an opportunity to sample some Cantina Capellini wine that is grown locally. Unfortunately, wine tasting had concluded during our sunny October visit. I’ll be sure to check it out the next time I pass through town.

We also had an opportunity to check out the monorail system that farmers relied upon to move produce off the mountain. It was an environmentally friendly intricate rail system set up over hills, slopes and valleys.

Continuing on the trek, we eventually came across some farm houses in the middle of nowhere. It certainly made for exotic rural living.

Bending Inland:

After wandering through the houses, we started to meander inland. The vineyard trails disappeared and we ended up in a scrubby valley. We started to get a little vegetation shade, along with decidedly less exciting views.

We still had occasional great views of Cornigilia as we started the descent.

Descending into Corniglia:

Connecting to the 587

After passing through the shaded valley, we ended up at the intersection of 587 and the 586 trails. We had just come from Volastra on the 586 an it was time to descend down to sea level.

Since the lower 587 forms part of the longer 587, it is difficult to get the additional distance down on the 587. Having said that, it is a fairly steep descent of about 350m of elevation to almost sea level from this intersection. This is all the more reason to travel the trail in a northernly direction from Volastra to Cornilgia.

We had a fairly steep descent down towards sea level across loose and packed rock. I was really glad I was descending instead of ascending upwards. I didn’t see many trekkers ascending the trail through this route. Those that I did see looked like they had incredibly painful faces.

Arriving to Corniglia:

We eventually arrived to “almost sea level” Corniglia. Corniglia is one of the only Cinque Terre cities that is not directly on the sea. It occupies a spot on top of a rocky out crop.

The trail head dumped us off just on the edge of town. With a short walk, we found ourselves in town. The town itself was a smaller format and charming little space, with many patios and thin alley way streets.

Descending towards TrenItalia Corniglia:

When it came time to leave town, we climbed down the last stairs to the train station. Since Corniglia isn’t directly at sea level, we climbed down 382 stairs to get down to the train station.

It was a fun zig zag to get back down towards the TrenItalia train station. Once again, I was really happy I was descending the stairs as opposed to ascending them.

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

My Thoughts on the Manarola Volastra – Corniglia Trek:

The Manarola Volastra – Corniglia trek was a great second trek that allowed us to get another great feel of the area.

The trek allowed us to get in some vineyard views, along with probably among the most picturesque trek of our time in Cinque Terre.

If you are tackling this trail, I would recommend taking along some water, and approaching the trail in a south to north direction. If are able to take the bus up from Manarola to Volastra, you’ll be able to avoid a large ascent from taking this trail in the reverse direction.

If you’ve visited the vineyards of Volastra, were you impressed with the views ?

World Traveller 73

The Cinque Terre region offered separate and distinct villages, each with a unique personality to discover. We spent our time in this area by discovering each region and area. Through hiking trails, exploring sunsets at each location, or by enjoying the local restaurants, we aimed to get the most out of our Cinque Terre experience. Join us on our travels through each of the Cinque Terre’s villages.

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.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

Exploring Cinque Terre’s 5 Villages, Italy

During our stay in Cinque Terre – Italy, we ended up staying for five days and four nights. We pretty much captured everything that we wanted to see during this time period, including day treks on the Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza Coastal Trail, and the Cinque Terre Manarola / Volstara – Corniglia Vineyard trail and even a day trip to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.

About Cinque Terre, Italy:

The Cinque Terre region consists of five towns located in North Western Italy. The towns are known for their unique car free charm, along with an attractive sea side location. Most of the towns have the Cinque Terre villages sloping upwards towards hills that contain local apartments.

It’s easiest to navigate between the villages on the Tren-Italia train which runs through each of the villages.

Starting at Monterosso, Italy:

We departed from our accommodation at La Toretta Lodge Manarola. Starting at the top and most norternly of the five cities was the city of Monterosso.

Monterosso had a large sea side orientation, with the largest number of sea side beach chairs among the five Cinque Terre towns.

Monterosso also had a number of restaurants and cafés that were oriented off the ocean side. Monterosso took a little time to explore, as each portion of the waterfront had it’s own and distinct shopping areas.

Monterosso was also the start of the hiking trail Monterosso – Vernazza Coastal Trail, which stretched along the coast line.

The Harbour of Vernazza, Italy:

The Cinque Terre Town of Vernazza, Italy has one of the most picturesque harbours of the five Cinque Terre cities.

We initially approached the town of Vernazza from the Monterosso – Vernazza Coastal Trail. It is truly a spectacular view from the trail

After completing the trail, we descended to the water front. The water looked appealing enough that I wished I’d had my bathing suit in order to take advantage of the attractive waters.

The town of Vernazza has views from the top of it’s Citadelle. After paying an admission fee, you can take in some coastal views of the harbour and the coastline.

We enjoyed Vernazza so much that we ended up staying for a sunset. The sunset from here was pretty pleasant for a non island destination.

There certainly isn’t anything wrong with enjoying this type of view.

Corniglia and it’s Steps:

The Cinque Terre town of Corniglia, Italy is the only town that is not completely set on the water. Instead, it finds itself a top of a small bluff. The town’s walkways are oriented in an east – west configuration, with a thin water view at the end.

Given it’s elevated position, Corniglia also has a number of steps up from the Tren – Italia train station. If you arrive by train, you can expect to be treated to the joy of climbing (or descending) 382 steps or the equivalent of 33 stories.

We arrived on the Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza Coastal Trail. As a result, we had the opportunity to descend down to the train station. There is a local paid shuttle that is available from the train station, in the event climbing is not your thing.

Making Manarola, Italy a home:

During our five day visit, we made Manarola our home. We based ourselves out of the La Toretta Lodge, Manarola during our stay, which was a very enjoyable experience.

On the day of our arrival, we had the sun setting from our hotel. We ended up wandering down to the waterfront, where we were able to take in some harbour views.

During our stay, we had the opportunity to walk a few of Manarola’s hiking trails. The trail heads were found on the hill out of town. The trails were cut into the terraced hillsides that meandered around the slopes of Manarola. The trails offered excellent views of the town

I was really happy to have selected Manarola as the Cinque Terre town to stay in. It’s small town charm, coupled with excellent hiking trails and a smaller feel than the other Cinque Terre villages.

Sunsets at Riomaggiore, Italy:

Lastly, we spent several sunsets at Riomaggiore, Italy. The town of Riomaggiore was the last and mostly southerly town in the Cinque Terre group. Riomagiorre would end up being my second most favourite Cinque Terre down behind Manarola, Italy.

We climbed the slopes at the waterfront end of the Riomaggiore town towards a spectacular viewpoint.

The sunsets in Riomaggiore offered a great view of Cinque Terre’s traditional apartment homes, set atop of Cinque Terre coastline.

The five villages of Cinque Terre offered something for everyone. With a multitude of areas to explore, there was enough in Cinque Terre to keep us entertained for days.

My Thoughts on Visiting Cinque Terre’s Villages:

The five villages of Cinque Terre were an area that had eluded us for quite some time. Despite this, I was happy to get the opportunity to further explore each of the five villages.

Each of the five Cinque Terre villages offers a unique sort of charm. From it’s walking trails, to their sea side orientation, there is something to be discovered amongst each distinct village.

Make Cinque Terre, Italy a destination to visit on your next trip through the region.

If you’ve visited Cinque Terre, Italy, did you have a favourite village ?

World Traveller 73

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.

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.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

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

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.

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