Here’s our 4-day itinerary to travel the entire coast from Portovenere to Monterosso, the last of the Cinque Terre!
The Ligurian coastline is one of the most beautiful in Italy, and it’s home to the Cinque Terre National Park, a magical place where ancient villages of colorful cottages overlook the cliffs overhanging the sea.
In this article, we’re sharing our 4-day itinerary to explore the Cinque Terre, starting from Portovenere along the Ligurian coast, and stopping in Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Manarola, and Vernazza before ending in Monterosso.
Liguria is the smallest region in Italy, but it’s extraordinary. It’s narrow and elongated, and it winds for about 350 km along the Ligurian Sea. There are small, colorful villages climbing the cliffs.
For us, the Ligurian coast has deep emotional significance, so we devoted four days to exploring the coast from Portovenere to Monterosso.
They’re called Cinque Terre because they cover an area that spans five towns. The Cinque Terre villages are located along the coast from east to west: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and finally, Monterosso.
The Cinque Terre is a national park that’s almost 4,000 hectares big, and it’s one of the smallest national parks in Italy.
The villages of Cinque Terre have developed thanks to growing vines for making top-notch Italian wines. Actually, given the terrain, it’s basically a bunch of earth supported by stone walls where they planted vineyards.
That’s why the Cinque Terre National Park is so special — it’s been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, nature and man come together to create a wild and natural landscape, but with a strong human presence.
Portovenere is not part of the Cinque Terre but it was a great starting point for our itinerary, as well as being a special and enchanting place. What’s more, from Portovenere it is possible to visit the Cinque Terre by boat, so you can avoid the crush of tourists and admire all the villages from the sea!
Here is our itinerary to discover the Cinque Terre in 4 days, hoping that it will be useful for you to plan your vacation to discover this extraordinary area of Italy!
We visited the Cinue Terre in March, a time of low season but one that allowed us to visit all the villages with relative ease, without difficulty getting around by car. In general, the Cinque Terre have their greatest tourist influx from April until late September.
If you can, we recommend that you avoid peak season periods and even weekends or holidays. This is because the Cinque Terre National Park is a super popular destination, the villages are very small and you may find yourself in the midst of a lot of people, failing to enjoy your trip in peace.
In order to visit Cinque Terre you will need the Cinque Terre Card, which comes in 2 types:
To follow this 4-day Cinque Terre itinerary, we slept in two different places: first in Portovenere and then in Monterosso. Alternatively, it might be a good solution to stay overnight in one place, such as Corniglia or Vernazza, which is more or less in the center of your itinerary.
In general, our advice is to choose a structure in the center of the towns, close to the main pedestrian paths or the station, so as not to have to move the car.
🦀 Portovenere: La Casa Rotonda ⭐Trip To Try Choice
🐠 Riomaggiore: Umbre de Muri
🐬 Manarola: Casa La Marina
🦪 Corniglia: La Terrazza sul Blu
🐙 Vernazza: La Polena Camere
🪼Monterosso: Affittacamere Irene ⭐Trip To Try Choice
On the first day of our four-day itinerary to visit Portovenere and the Cinque Terre, we left early in the morning and arrived in Portovenere at lunchtime.
We spent the whole afternoon checking out the sights, starting from the gorgeous waterfront on Calata Doria street, which has an amazing view of Palmaria Island, which is also part of the Cinque Terre Natural Park.
After walking along the waterfront, we headed toward the promontory of Arpaia and Byron’s Caves, one of the most evocative places (in our opinion) in Liguria. We tried to savor some of the romantic atmosphere that must have inspired the poet. We walked down through the ruins leading to the church of San Pietro and then along the path to the sea, and that’s how we ended up at Byron’s Caves. You can stop on the nearby rocks to take in the view and watch the waves crash on the rocks and cliffs (watch out for splashes!).
After exploring this very romantic area, we started our ascent to the ruins of the Doria Castle. This castle is actually on top of a hill, and you can see the Ligurian Sea from there. It’s a pretty impressive view.
The evening ended with dinner at a restaurant with a gorgeous view of the sea and an incredible plate of orecchiette with Ligurian pesto!!!
Night in the alleys of Portovenere
Sea view from the ruins of the promontory of Arpaia
Byron's Caves
On the second day of our itinerary to visit the Cinque Terre in 4 days, we woke up early to tackle the impressive (and challenging) Sentiero dell’Infinito (Infinity Trail) on foot. It connects Portovenere to the first of the Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore. This path is about 13 km long and goes along the cliffs, through forests and vineyards. You’ll get some amazing views of the coast.
The trail takes about half a day, with plenty of time to stop and take in the views and snap some pics. The elevation gain is about 500 meters, and since the terrain is not paved, we suggest wearing sports shoes or hiking boots and carrying plenty of water.
The trail goes through the famous vineyards built on ciàn, which are terraces of earth supported by stone walls, and they make excellent Vermentino wine! If you’re a wine lover or just want to try the local wines, we suggest booking a tour of the vineyards and wineries with wine tasting right from Riomaggiore.
When we got to Riomaggiore around lunchtime, we grabbed a great lunch before checking out the town. We walked through the alleys, passing the cute little colorful houses, and then we got to the Castle, where there’s an awesome view of the sea.
For the return to our base, we opted for the train, which took us back to Portovenere fairly quickly. In the evening, we took the car and headed to the fantastic restaurant “O chi o a cà toa” in Fezzano, known for its fixed fish menu with traditional dishes. We really recommend dinner at this restaurant, where the evening is enlivened not only by great food but also by music!
View of the promontory of Arpaia from the Infinity Trail
The Infinity Trail
View of Riomaggiore and the Ligurian coastline
On the third day of our trip to Cinque Terre, we drove to Manarola, which is definitely the most picturesque spot (it’s even been chosen as the default wallpaper for Windows computers!).
The village’s vibrant little houses, perched on the cliff above the cove where fishermen’s boats are anchored, are a hit with photographers, racking up millions of clicks a year!
We suggest that you stop for lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the bay. The views of the village and its colorful little houses are incredible.
After our lunch break, we hopped back in the car and headed toward Corniglia. This village is different from the last two towns because it’s all on high ground and you can see the sea from it. To get to the beaches on the east and west sides of the village from the center, you’ve got to go down a long stone staircase (with a ton of steps!), but it’ll give you a gorgeous view of the Ligurian coast.
Corniglia
View of Manarola from Corniglia
On the fourth day of our itinerary to explore the Cinque Terre in 4 days, we started the day by driving early to Vernazza. This gorgeous village is built on high ground and gradually goes down to the sea through stairways and characteristic alleys surrounded by colorful little houses.
In Vernazza, we had the chance to climb the spiral staircase to the top of the Doria Castle tower. From there, we had an amazing view of the Ligurian coast, all the way to Corniglia.
Then, we went to Monterosso, where we decided to spend the night. Monterosso is flatter than the other towns, but it’s still a very beautiful and quaint place, with a road that runs along the sea, flanked by various bars and stores.
We suggest you walk up the Salita dei Cappuccini, which leads to the beach located west of Monterosso, creeping between the cliff rocks, and continue to the next cove dominated by the Statue of the Giant.
Our evening in Monterosso ended with a delicious dinner and a nice walk through the charming stone alleys, lit up by the warm light of the street lamps.
Vernazza
Monterosso al Mare
The Cinque Terre are little jewels of our country, unique in the world and above all still remaining as “still in time.” A voyage of discovery of this part of the Ligurian coast is an experience you will never forget, thinking back to the places you have visited along truly beautiful trails.
There are many paths that will allow you to visit the Cinque Terre and in fact, if you have more time available, we recommend that you follow an “extended” version of our itinerary and walk this route!
We hope that this article has enticed you to visit the Cinque Terre and also that it will provide inspiration for you to plan your own itinerary to discover this beautiful part of Italy. These exceptional and unique places undoubtedly deserve to be explored thoroughly! Keep following us through our newsletter and also through our social channels, and most importantly… trip to try!
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