Cinque Terre is known as Italian Riviera - coastline filled with colourful houses along the Mediterranean Sea.
Here is how you can see Portifino, Cinque Terre and Pisa in just less than 3 days. We flew into Milan so this itinerary is based on starting in Milan, however much closer airports would be Pisa or Genoa. Genoa is only an hour away from Portofino, so it would be the best option to start this trip from and depart from Pisa.
DAY 1 - ARRIVAL IN MILAN AND PORTOFINO
First day started by arriving in Milan mid-day and picking up car from the airport. We used Budget and oped for a small car. The drive to Portofino took 3 hours with a quick lunch stop. The drive gets very scenic about an hour from reaching Portofino. We parked car in one of very few car parks located in the city (3 hours cost EUR 25) - yes, parking is very expensive in Italian Riviera and most people would opt for using trains instead, which is a good idea, especially if you are travelling by yourself. As it was a group of 4 of us and we had to drive from Milan, car made sense and worked out cheaper even with heavy parking and tool fees. Portofino is a luxury and quiet town about an hour away from Genoa and Cinque Terre. It was one of my favourite as it felt less crowded, had beautiful architecture, castle and an amazing swimming spot. After spending 3 hours including dinner we then drove for an hour into mountains and stayed overnight in a house from 1750 - ‘'Antiche Atmosfere’'. It can be found on 'booking' and I do highly recommend this place if you want to experience an authentic stay. Alternatively, you can stay by the coast, however it will be much more expensive.
DAY 2 - CINQUE TERRE
Second day started with setting off at 9am and driving for an hour to Monterosso al Mare, which is the first of five towns in Cinque Terre. It is the only one with sand beach and is the most different one from all. We parked at the car park by the beach for EUR 25 per day. After grabbing a bite to eat on the go in one of the beach cafes we started our hike to Vernazza. The hike takes around 1.5-2 hours and is moderately challenging. For about an hour you will be going up the stairs and then it is a descend to Vernazza. The views are the most scenic in this part of the hike. You will need to pay the entrance fee of EUR 7.50 which allows you to hike until Corniglia. One thing to note is that proper hiking shoes are required as you can get fined, if you want to hike in flip flops or sandals. There are also Cinque Terre passes that combine train + hiking passes. You can buy tickets online or there will be a ticket office at the beginning of hiking trail.
Vernazza was probably our favourite - it felt quieter than others, had more swimming spots and we also enjoyed our lunch there at one of the beach restaurants. Pesto is very traditional in the area as it originates from the nearby Genoa and it was seriously best one I have tried.
Then we continued our hike to Corniglia which took around 1.5 hours but was less challenging terrain wise. In Corniglia we spent the less time, just grabbing an icecream from the famous ‘'Alberto Gelateria’’. Gelato 'Basil and Lime' is a flavour unique to Cinque Terre region and it was seriously delicious even though it may sound weird. Highly recommend this place. We then found train station and visited other 2 towns by train. Ticket between Corniglia and Riomaggiore cost EUR 8, same between Riomaggiore and Manarola and then back to Monterosso. I believe Cinque Terre card costs around EUR 28 for hiking and train use, so it would have worked out cheaper.
We chose to visit Riomaggiore before Manarola as it is known to be the most beautiful, however if I have to rate them from my favourite beauty wise, they would go:
Riomaggiore
Corniglia
Vernazzola
Corniglia/Monterosso
Riomaggiore has a very beautiful spot up the hill on the whole town but there were less swim spots.
Manarola is beautifully built on the cliff and had the cutest streets. We also tried the traditional Farinata - Italian chickpea flat bread with pesto.
Then we headed back to Monterosso which only takes 15min on the train. Our stay for the night was again in the mountains about 40min drive away closer to Pisa for the next day.
Something I recommend is to probably only complete the first hike from Monterosso until Vernazzola to save some energy to enjoy Riomaggiore and Manarola. By the time we got to those cities we were pretty tired and it was an evening, so I feel like we did not enjoy last two cities as much.
DAY 3 - PISA
On third and last day we headed to Pisa which is only an hour away from Cinque Terre. We wanted to see the leaning tower before heading back to Milan for our flight in the evening.
Pisa has river flowing through it and at first reminded me of Florence. I had no expectations of the city but it surprised me with the tranquility, beautiful and colourful streets and I would definitely recommend visiting it. It was also significantly cheaper than Cinque Terre. Leaning Tower of Pisa also surprised me with how ‘leaning’ it is. I expected that I will be disappointed because pictures will probably not be justified in real life, but I was pleasantly wrong.
HERE ARE THE COSTS (Based on 2 sharing) £450
Flights from London £100
Car hire £60 + insurance
Petrol £120
Toll fees £60
Parking fees £60
Accommodation £150
Trains £30
Hiking permit £5
Food £70-100 per person
Comments