Cinque Terre: self guided hiking 7 nights – Between Portofino and Portovenere

Owing to the great demand for a hike with the characteristics of a long distance hike we have created this hiking package for individual travelers starting from Sestri Levante and ending after 5 days of hiking in Portovenere/La Spezia crossing the most beautiful landscapes of the Unesco sites Cinque Terre and the Ligurian coast. It includes the accommodations in selected small hotels or boutique guesthouses with breakfast and typical dinner, a roadbook with maps and descriptions of the itinerary and the daily luggage transport from one accommodation to the next.

Pls take note that all the hiking details are mentioned in km, maximum height (every hike starts and ends at sea level) and hiking time. The hiking means the average time a person needs to hike the trail in an average hiking pace not considering breaks.

1st day

Arrival by train in Santa Margherita Liguria. Hotel Jolanda*** or similar for 2 nights with breakfast. At the arrival in the hotel, at 5.00 pm the guests will receive at their arrival the package with all the vouchers for the hotels and boats to take, a hiking map, train timetables, the roadbook with descriptions etc. All necessary train tickets however will be bought directly by the clients.
Dinner free in Santa Margherita.

2nd day

Train ride to Camogli (tickets not included). Boat ride to San Fruttuoso. Hike to Portofino. Boat ride to Santa Margherita. Hiking time total 1.5 hrs. Maximum height 225 m. 6,5 km.
Dinner free in Santa Margherita.

3rd day

Check out. Guests prepare their luggage for the transfer to the next hotel. It will be picked up during the day.
Train or bus ride to Rapallo (tickets not included). From Rapallo climb up to the sanctuary Madonna di Montallegro (or take the famous cable railway). From there hike to Chiavari, overlooking the sea on one side and the high mountains of the Appenin on the other.
Hiking time with climb from Rapallo about 5 hrs, without the climb about 3 hrs. maximum height 600 m (at Santuario Montallegro), 18 km.
From Chiavari train ride to Moneglia (tickets not included).
Check in for 2 nights in hotel Villa Argentina or similar with half board (breakfast and 3 course dinner included, no drinks).

4th day

Train ride to Bonassola and hike back in direction Moneglia. First from Bonassola crossing the wonderful viewpoint Salto della Lepre, to Framura, which is the most panoramic part of the hike. Later, other beautiful hikes through the little hamlets of Framura reaching Deiva Marina and, if not tired, the last part tp Moneglia. Total hiking time about 7 hrs. The complete hike of this day is made of 3 parts: Bonassola-Framura (2,5 hrs, maximum height 250 m, 5,5 km), Framura – Deiva Marina (2,20 hrs, maximum height 330 m, 5 km), Deiva Marina-Moneglia (2 hrs, maximum height 320 m, 6,5 km).

5th day

check out. Guests prepare their luggage for the transfer to the next hotel. It will be picked up during the day.
Train ride to Levanto (tickets not included). Hike to Monterosso, passing the Punta Mesco overlooking the whole Gulf of the Cinque Terre). Total hiking time 3,5 hrs. maximum height 320 m, 8 km.
In Monterosso check in for 3 nights with bed & breakfast at the hotel 5 Terre *** or similar.
In the afternoon, after the check in in the hotel, in Monterosso we offer a winetasting of wines of the Cinque Terre. You will taste a conventionally made Cinque Terre DOC white wine, a naturally and traditionally made local white wine and a Sciacchetrà. Through this tasting we want to show you how in a limited area like the Cinque Terre completely different wines and philosophies of winemaking can develop. You will learn more about the new generation of Cinque Terre wine makers and the renaissance of traditional wine making. The tasting will be accompanied by some little crostini and some cantucci with the Sciacchetrà.

6th day

Europe, Italy, Liguria. Monterosso statue of Saint Francis overlooking the sea.

Hiking to explore the Cinque Terre mostly moving on the lesser beaten treks. Monterosso – Soviore, the old pilgrimage route. From the sanctuary Soviore to the sanctuary of Reggio above Vernazza enjoying great views. From Vernazza to Corniglia on the main footpath. From Corniglia to Manarola passing through Volastra and the ancient vineyards.
Total hiking time at least 7 hrs. The hike can be divided and guests do, basing on their fitness, on the weather and their motivation, only the parts they are most interested in. Instead of the first part, for which we choose the higher, most scenic and less beaten trek, they are also free to take the lower and shorter one. From every village of the Cinque Terre there are frequently trains running to all the others. Monterosso-Soviore-Reggio-Vernazza: 3,5 hrs hiking time, maximum height 535 m, 8,5 km. Vernazza – Corniglia: 1,5 hrs hiking time, maximum height 150 m, 4 km. Corniglia – Volastra – Manarola: 2 hrs hiking time, maximum height 370 m, 6 km).
At the end of the day return by train to Monterosso.

7th day

Early train to Riomaggiore. Hike to Portovenere. Hiking time 5,5 hrs. maximum height 550 m. 14 km.
In the afternoon boat ride back to Monterosso.

8th day

Check out, end of our services

Prices per person

low season (1st October to 29th March except holidays) Euro 878,00
high season (30th March to 30th September) Euro 1.035,00
Single room with a group (low season) Euro 1.168,00  – (high season) Euro 1.395,00
Single room travelling alone (low season) Euro 1.335,00  – (high season) Euro 1.556,00
For the months of July and August there is a supplement of Euro 110,00 per person to be added to the high season price.

Included services

Accommodations for a total of 7 nights in 3* hotels as by description or similar in dbl room with own bathroom and breakfast every day
Dinner at 2 evenings in Moneglia
Luggage transfer from one accommodation to the next
Boat rides: Camogli-San Fruttuoso, Portofino-Santa Margherita, Portovenere-Monterosso
Wine tasting of 3 Cinque Terre wines in Monterosso
Maps, roadbook and description of the hikes
Local emergency assistance 24 hrs (phone number to call)

Not included

Lunches, tips, entrance fees, train tickets, all services not mentioned under “included services”.

City tax

In some of the places there is a city tax to pay. This tax is local and subject of frequent changes. It has to be paid in cash upon arrival and is not included in this package. However, its cost in our area is never more than Euro 2,00 per person and day

Availability

Please take note that this service is always on request. No allotment has been blocked yet and availability will be checked at the moment of the request. All offered hotels/guesthouses are very small and often popular family run places. Thus program changes can be possible as well as alternative accommodations, even with supplements, in case of booked out spaces.