Cinque Terre Hiking Day Trip from Florence

A wonderful bright sunny day at Cinque Terre. As I learned, if it is not the busy summer months, a must way to see the area, and that is doing the walking hike at its beginning. Our guide, Alessandro, was simply in a word, wonderful. A young man that loves history, history and art was his concentration during his schooling years. This young man spoke five languages, had a great sense of humor, communicated so well, and was so knowledgeable about history, the history of Italy, and all parts of the world actually. Loved his insights about World War II, specifically about La Spezia, and it being a naval stronghold. His insights and knowledge just made the trip even more enriching. Meeting the group was perfect, on time in Florence, the bus ride enjoyable through La Spezia ending at our beginning point, Volastra. From Volastra we walked high on the hills above the coast, among the steep vineyards and olive trees, with periodic stops to hear Alessandro's insights. It was almost a 3 mile trek to Corniglia. Nothing too difficult physically the trek down the hill to Corniglia was great, a down hill stretch for sure, but for someone who likes outdoors and physical activity, it was great, and all in our group made it no problems at all. Alessandro had a pre arranged lunch set for those that wanted to join him and a great restaurant with great views of the water, where we had a two course meal, second to none, great seafood caught right off the coast, great pesto pasta. The way to see the area is the view you get from these higher trail perches. From there, the train to Vernazza, then to Monterossa al Mare, back to Manarolo (would have taken a boat to Manarolo, but currents were not right that day). All the time, Alessandro keeping us on time, always keeping track of all 29 in the group that day, all the while providing great historical background. The trip itself was tremendous, those fortunate to get Alessandro for a guide, it would be a triple bonus. We arrived safely back to Florence, on time that evening.

This tour was worth every minute and was absolutely amazing! It was nice to have the day planned for us and we didn't need to think about a thing. Our tour guide, Chris, deserves a special shout out as he made our trip extra special with his running commentary! We were forewarned that it might be a cold and/or rainy day in December, but the weather ended up being sunny and in the 60s. PERFECT weather for a hike! What is CRITICAL for this rour is really comfy hiking shoes. I think I did 22,000 steps that day!

Finding group at train station was easy.Drive was over 2 hours, vehicle was very small, could not put seats back.We only did one hike between two of the five villages, it was in the morning when we arrived. It had beautiful views and was good exercise. The path was a bit sketchy in a few parts (had to crawl under chicken wire) and would only allow single-file. If you got stuck behind a slow person, you are unable to get by. The guide didn't really wait for some to catch up and seemed a bit impatient. This made for anxious moments trying to follow him once in the city of La Spezia through busy intersections and crowded streets. The rest of the day we took trains and then did 10 min walks through the towns. He had nothing to show us. He just raced through the main street and then back again to the train station. Since the towns are more or less the same, I would have preferred to skip a couple towns and have an hour free time to wander.I wouldn't recommend Antonio as a guide, and I wouldn't do the hike in December, nothing in the towns is open but even if there was there is no time.Even though he gives an option for the $15 lunch, there is no other option, so you must go. The lunch was not good and the restaurant rushed us like cattle. But the view from the restaurant is nice. I should have eaten at the cafe next door.Cinque Terre is a lovely area but not in Dec, it's just grey. I would do the hike in spring or fall and would plan myself.

This was a great tour. Martina was our guide. She was amazing. We had constant drizzling rain so the paths were very muddy and of course rocky. Make sure you have good walking shoes or boots. We had a lovely lunch in one of the villages. This is a must do tour!

We had a wonderful time. The hiking part was just right. Had enough time in most locations. Due to being there in off season food and store options were pretty limited which did cause a few issues at lunch. But our guide Stefano was really great and helpful and on top of things. We had to take train connections a bit more than I expected, but again I believe that was due to time of year (November). Overall Hough would do again in a second.

This was pretty much the only hiking tour that I found for this time of the year and was glad I chose to go. Our large group of 50 was split into two and Lavigna was our guide. She made sure we stopped at the right spots and gave several options to walk around the villages. She very quickly got to know each of our names and that was quite impressive.Shoutout to Steffano too for his humorous talks all through.I highly recommend this tour and if either of these two if your guide, rest assured you will have a memorable experience.

We enjoyed our tour very much. The trip was organized well and our tour guide, Martina, was excellent. We a large group and she did a great job to make sure everyone was accounted for and accommodated all day. We highly recommend this tour for those who want to see this great area and can handle a moderately challenging hike.

Stefano was kind, caring and funny! Everything was well organized. Our group was a lot of fun and the hike was really awesome. Wear proper clothes!

Great tour, would do it again! Our tour guides Gloria and La Vina were excellent guides, they were very knowledgeable and funny. The first town of Riomaggiore was crowded and only briefly visited, I would recommend skipping Riomaggiore and going directly to Corniglia to give more time to enjoy lunch before hiking. Moderate hiking, make sure your able to easily hike 10miles before doing this tour.

Our guides Gloria and Lavinia were really exceptional guides. They did an amazing job of keeping track of everyone and providing clear details at all times. The groups are huge and the crowds are overwhelming. However, a lot of people don't do the hike so it's quiet on the trail. Make sure you dress appropriately in hiking clothes and enjoy the spectacular views. Be sure to take advantage of any available toilets as they are in short supply.