We spend a lot of time promoting boat tours of the Cinque Terre, but the truth is that we personally don’t do any of them. (Would you really trust the guy on the left to drive your boat?) We are neither mariners, nor navigators, nor nostromo.
But we have a great team of people to go to when we have clients interested in doing a boat trip in this area, which we often do. And we believe everyone should try it at least once. The Cinque Terre are simply different from the sea. More magical, more breathtaking, more awe-inspiring. And less crowded. This latter fact is not to sneeze at in July and August, when the towns and the connecting trains bring to mind certain Police lyrics. (Remember the one about lemmings and metal boxes?)
Boat trips are wonderful because it gets you out in the sea breeze, some snacks and wines at hand. You can choose to leap into the azure waters for swimming or snorkeling, you can sunbathe on the deck like a goddess, you can troll lazily for fish, you can nap to the lull of the waves. Even if you aren’t the sailing type, a couple of hours bobbing about the Mediterranean within sight of land can be just what you need on your vacation.
We have three people we rely upon for boat trips. Marco, the incurable idealist and dreamer. Angelo, the latest in a line of generations of anchovy fishermen. Davide, whose passion for navigating the seas surpasses his passion for navigating the web (his day job). They’ll take you out for a spin that you’ll not soon forget.
Or if you’re really adventuresome, you can rent a boat of your own. While the guys in the picture above may not look like hardtack seadogs, we still got back to shore safely and happily. And tan.
