Cinque Terre was the ultimate relaxing getaway because the 5 islands are small, and there is nothing much to do except to just chill by the sea and play.

All I did was people-watch, cat-watch, nature-watch & sea-watch (the sea is AMAZINGLY PRETTY I could literally stare at it all day long).

Accommodation

Vernazza Holiday Via Roma 51 Vernazza, 19018, Italy

Vernazza is one of the 5 islands, but is located in the middle of the 5. The view is amazing here (like all the other islands too).

We actually had a mini panic attack because we couldn’t find our hotel. A few other groups were also lost and couldn’t find their own accommodations. For our hotel, it was pretty…unique, because the ‘lobby’ was in a perfume shop that was owned by the hotel’s owner. The hotel was somewhat of an extra income for them I suppose.

It was quite funny because we were really stressed from being unable to find the place, and when we found her she started complaining about how her life started badly that day. (Maybe that was her way to distract us with her excuses of being uncontactable???)

It was one of the cheaper rooms we found online. The rest were all resorts, b&b and villas which were up the hills (the steepness of the islands are no joke) and far from the main mini-beach in Vernazza.

The owner was also pretty lax about the check -in. She simply cancelled our room booking online after we got our keys so we wouldn’t have to pay extra tourist tax.I was honestly surprised by this because, who does that in other places? But It was nice of her to help us save cost though we were starting to doubt her business methods of handling a hotel/motel. She is very nice though and didn’t force us to buy her perfume in the shops, phew.

The stairs to the room was once again, a steep journey. We had to share the bathroom with the other tourists in the rooms beside us though. The room was pretty big, but it was super dirty and the plugs were unusable and the fan was unusable even before we used it. Thankfully, the owners bought a new fan for the room so we didn’t have to suffocate from the humidity. And i was foolish enough to have forgotten to bring my slippers (it was stuck in my luggage at London sobs sobs, so I had to buy one pair here).

I also managed to send a postcard to my family back in SG, they received it one month later though.

Transport

The main mode of transport would be the train or the hiking trails that connects the 5 islands together. But you can also take a ferry (though I’m not sure where it goes to) or you can just swim to the other islands (nah I’m kidding about the swim part, you’ll never make it haha).

I think overall Italy is pretty lax about their transport fares. We just hopped on the train and it was so crowded and full of tourists, no one would bother to check whether you have bought tickets or not.

Oh oh, and there are literally no cars in sight in Vernazza, so the only way you can get around is by walking. The other islands have a bit of traffic like a shuttle bus to ferry them up the hill but it’s very minimal. Living a very natural life with no distractions, which I loved.

Attractions

THE HOUSES. In all the islands, the houses are just so…colourful. It’s so pretty, and it’s so cool how there are different shades of the same colour, and it looks so chaotic but somehow, it fits well as a whole. Cinque Terre is appealing because it does not display any modern developments in its architecture. Though if you really look at it closely, the buildings are pretty dirty and unkept, with the paint peeling off since it’s not maintained very well. That is definitely different from Singapore. But I love it. I guess I’m not such a city girl after all.

The good thing about staying in Vernazza is that we have our own beach area where it is not too deep with no rough tides. There’s also some water activities for rent, like canoeing, standup paddling and such.

Moreover, there’s also Castello Doria, a small castle located at the highest part of Vernazza. It boasts an amazing view with a small entry free of 1.50€ but yeah it didn’t disappoint. It closes quite early though at 6pm.

The view from the castle:

Montesorro Beach is a lot bigger and more commercialized. I would definitely go there if my budget was a little higher!

The hiking trails. Only 1 trail was opened when we were there. We took the Monterosso to Vernazza trail. Saw a lot of cool plants (and cactus!!) and met very nice people who always greets us, which is not something you do in SG, unfortunately. The trails can close without prior notice though. Might need to check beforehand. We also had to pay to hike. But what my friend reccommended was to go really early in the morning even before the staff opens the booth to bypass it. We thought 9am was early enough, but it wasn’t, so we ended up paying.

Oh my gosh, I remember how scared I was when Cherrybelly went beyond the boundary just to take a photo of something. Do not play games with my heart, miss.

Cliff diving in Manarola. It is something worth trying out. The sea is beautiful. A lot of people just watched people cliff-dive and clapped for those that finally dared to jump after being on the rocks for a very long time.

Corniglia was crazy. The only pathway to get up to the place is by climbing a never-ending flight of stairs. But a bus can take you up, should you want to save yourself from the stairs. But once you get up there, the view is priceless. It was full of agricultural plantations and spread far and wide across the hills. And i tasted one of the best margherita pizza there!

Another thing we did was finding the exact spot of Tuulavintage’s instagram photo at Riomaggiore. After loads or rock-hopping, we finally found it hooray!

This was the place with a lot of hot guys coming in with canoes and Cherrybelly spotted one that she liked haha. Other than that, one can also fish along the sea and people-watch, or sunbathe by the rocks or just sit there to take in the scenery and to have a conversation with your loved ones.

Food & Shopping

There isn’t much to shop and the tourist souvenirs are quite expensive since it’s limited. Even their gelatos and milkshakes are a bit more pricey. Nothing much to recommend here because we didn’t try out their famous wine.

PS There are many penny pressers in Cinque Terre!

Conclusion

One thing that I realized was that the trains in Italy are all on time and it seems quite efficient. What I liked is that the scenery while riding the trains are all FREAKING NICE. I. CANNOT. It’s so amazingly pretty and I’ll never be able to see these kinds of view in SG, period.

And there are a lot of steep and uneven steps in Cinque Terre. As long as one is careful, the stay is quite enjoyable. The islands are all really pretty and each has its own charms. But one thing I love about Cinque Terre is HOW NATURAL IT IS. The power of nature is really beautiful and I feel very blessed to have seen it in its full glory here.