This one-day hiking tour offers the true off-the-tourist-track experience of the Cinque Terre, bringing you into contact with some of the hidden locales and ancient ways of the Cinque Terre.
Starting in Vernazza, where we will visit the town and gird ourselves for the walk ahead of us, we head uphill (and we do mean UP) to the small village of San Bernardino. At the National Park refreshment point you will be able to buy sandwiches or other things to carry along for our picnic lunch later in the day. After catching our breath — from the views as much as from the hike — we will continue up to Cigoletta, high above the Mediterranean, where we will have our picnic. From Cigoletta, we continue our hike, now downhill, to Corniglia, where we will visit the town and take a break. Your guide will then accompany you to the train station in Corniglia, where he or she will send you off in the direction you need to get home or continue your day.
As with all our tours, you will learn all about the history, traditions, and culture of the Cinque Terre during the day.
This entire tour lasts about 6- 7 hours, with about 4 – 5 hours of hiking, depending on your hiking speed. While there is nothing more technical than having to place your feet surely on some rocky surfaces, the hike is not easy. The total length of the trail is approximately 5.6 km (3.5 miles), but the total elevation gain is 620 meters (2,000 feet) up, and then of course 620 meters (2,000 feet) down, and the steepness of the grade is significant. (If you consider that you do 620 meters vertical in 2,800 meters horizontal, that’s a 23% average grade.) You want to be in good shape before attempting this hike. This tour is not made available for children under the age of 12, due to some stretches where the trail has no barrier.
The tour can also be done in the opposite direction, from Corniglia to Vernazza, if that works out better for your schedule.
Up to the challenge? Send us an email and we’ll get it organized.