Hello everyone! Have you had enough of that dark winter? Because I have. I've had enough of the wind, cold and rain, so I decided to go back into my warm memories of Italy, share them with you and let’s all feel better.
Italy is an amazing country that offers so much - history, nature, romance and even fashion, but there is a part of Italy that is not that popular amongst Europeans, although it deserves to be, and that is Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre are five small villages located on the North West, and to be even more specific, they are on “Costa Ligure of Levante”. Their names, from North to South, are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore and they are part of La Spezia province. The villages and the surrounding nature are all a National Park and are protected by UNESCO.
One of the villages at night. A photo from voyagerloin.com
Enough history! It’s time to take you through the villages and give some tips on where and how to do Cinque Terre without spending a fortune. Because yes, those villages can be expensive! As I said before, Cinque Terre might not be very popular amongst Europeans, but let me tell you, it is full of Americans. That automatically makes a lot of things there a bit overpriced. A good example of that is accommodation. Before going there I thought that a night will cost around 40 euros but boy was I wrong; a single room was around 80 euros. Something that as much as I wanted to, I wasn’t able to afford. If you feel the same, don’t worry, there’s an easy solution - you can stay in La Spezia. That city is closer than you might think; located only 15km away from Riomaggiore, it takes around 7 minutes to get there with a train and it costs £1. Isn’t that a bargain?! In La Spezia you’ll be able to find more affordable accommodation and if you’re open to AirB&B you can get a double room for 30 euros.
Like the accomodation, eating in Cinque Terre can be expensive but I quickly realised that instead of sitting in those restaurants I can get a really yummy panini from local bakeries for 4 euros and still enjoy it under the sun and next to the water. If you feel like a dessert after that, you’ll find the best gelato in the world in Alberto Gelateria in Corniglia.Believe me, you won’t regret it; it’s made every morning by the family that owns the gelateria and uses only the best ingredients you can find in that part of Italy. That’s not the best part though - wine is; and because Italy has plenty of it, it’s cheap, good and it’s everywhere! Mmm.
If you are a nature person like me, Cinque Terre offers one of the best experiences in the world - you can hike between all five villages. A small tip there: all the locals say that it is better to start from Riomaggiore towards Monterroso and not the other way around; that way the route will be easier for you.There are two routes you can take: the blue one and the red one or also known as the easy one and the hard one. There is a catch though. You’ll need a pass card for the easy road, which you can buy in every village. Don’t panic though! The card costs 7.50 euros and you only need to buy it once. There is another difference as well - the blue route takes five hours for all five villages and it keep closer to the water. The red route is 12 hours and you’ll have to climb quite high as it goes from a village up on a hill and comes down again to the next village. It’s not an easy one and I do recommend sports shoes for it but it gives you an amazing view of everything surrounding. You can even see the next village from far away! If you don’t feel that adventures you can always get the train between the villages. It comes every couple of minutes and a daily pass for the train between all five is around seven euros.
On the top of a hill with Manarola in the far distance.
The beautiful Vernazza.
It gets better! There are beaches you can stop at to relax and get some sun. The two I visited were at Manarola and Monterosso. The Manarola beach is not a beach in the traditional way; it’s a rocky one, and when I say rocky I mean big rocks on which you lay and tan. You can also go in the water and luckily for me it wasn’t deep at all. You’ll need to go really in if you don’t want your toes to touch the bottom of the sea. Also, be careful where you’re stepping as some of the rocks can be sharp and slippery.
Adding some colour to my grey rock.
Another beach that is worth visiting is the one at the end of the journey. Monterosso’s beach stretches in front of the old town and is also the only sandy bitch you’ll find. It is filled with beach chairs and massive umbrellas in case you had enough of that strong Italian sun.
You’ll need to rent them but unfortunately I'm not sure of the price.
Monterosso’s sandy beach. A photo from trekearth.com
I hope that made you warmer and gave you an idea for your next break. It is an easy holiday you can do over the weekend and if you follow some of the tips you won’t need to spend a fortune on it. Most of all, it’s breathtaking!
Enjoy,
Buba
xx