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Walking Tour in the Cinque Terre - Levanto to Portovenere
(7days / 6 nights - $2,295 AUD per person or $1,940 AUD with 'No Dinners' Option)
Portofino / Santa Margherita Option
(4 days / 3 nights - $990 AUD per person or $890 AUD with 'No Dinners' Option)
Manarola, Cinque Terre
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This walking tour in the Cinque Terre can be personalised to meet your interests and travel dates. This walk is family friendly walk: while not ‘easy' this Grade 1 walk follows well-marked paths and is suitable for fit children 10 years and above.
The Cinque Terre National Park embraces a stretch of Italy's most spectacular coast, to the east of the port of Genoa, where the sheer cliffs of the Appenine Mountains meet the waters of the Mediterranean. The dramatic coastline is scattered with small towns and fishing villages which are dug into cliffs and gullies, suspended high above tiny harbours packed with colourful fishing boats.
Inhabited since Roman times, the tranquillity of the picturesque villages contradicts their dangerous past: for centuries they were raided by pirates from nearby Corsica and North Africa. The steep mountains that rise up behind the villages are stepped with terraces filled with olive groves and vines for which the Cinque Terre are famous.
This walking tour of the Cinque Terre follows stone paths that have linked the villages since the 15th century. They twist and wind along the rugged coast passing through pine forests and terraced vineyards, with breath-taking views out over the Mediterranean. All the villages are linked by trains and (during the warmer months) by ferries, which give the walker great flexibility. You'll be dropped off at La Spezia railway station (on the Rome/Genoa line) at the end of the walk.
"The Cinque Terre walk was all that we had been told and even better!! We thoroughly enjoyed very moment and your arrangements and guidance were first class. It finished off a remarkable holiday perfectly."
CW, 2008
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What's included in this walk? |
- Six nights accommodation
- all breakfasts and dinners
- lunch recommendations
- reading lists and historical and cultural notes
- maps and detailed walking instructions
- daily transfers of baggage between hotels
- drop-off at the end of the tour from Portovenere to La Spezia station (on the Rome/Genoa line)
- 24 hour backup from local manager
- Portofino/Santa Margherita option includes three nights accommodation, breakfasts, two dinners, a picnic lunch, maps and instructions
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How hard are the walks? |
Grade 1 Walk - Good paths, straight forward orientation, most walks 10 to 12 kms, no long climbs.
The walks follow clearly marked routes, except for Day 5 (which is 14kms) the walks are short, there are train and ferry options, so if someone wishes to shorten or skip a walk they can do this quite simply. The path, however, runs about 200 metres above seas level, so there are some steep climbs getting up and down from the villages
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What's the accommodation like? |
Accommodation is in comfortable, family-run hotels. Costings are calculated on two people sharing a double room. All rooms have en suite bathrooms.
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Tour Cost: |
AUD $2,295 per person (single supplement $350)
(approx US $2070, SS $300 - Subject to daily exchange rates)
Cinque Terre 'No Dinners' Option : AUD $1,940 per person
(approx US $1,750 - Subject to daily exchange rates)
Portofino / Santa Margherita Option : AUD $990 per person
(approx US $890 - Subject to daily exchange rates) |
Tour Snapshots: (click the image for a larger version)
Vernazza, Cinque Terre
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Fish markets, Cinque Terre
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Portovenere Bay, Cinque Terre
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Vernazza Bakers
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Houses, Riomaggiore
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Portovenere, Cinque Terre
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Vernazza houses
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Approaching Portovenere
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The tour starts in Levanto, a charming coastal resort (on the main Genoa/Rome railway line). |
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The first walk follows a superb coastal path, through woods and scented scrub with breathtaking views of the gulf and the five villages of Cinque Terre. Along the way it passes the ruins of an abandoned convent, before dipping down to the first Cinque Terre village.
(7 kms, 3 hrs) |
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With today's walk you start on the Sentiero Azzuro, the celebrated path that links the five villages of the Cinque Terre. The walk weaves along cliffs and through terraces, offering spectacular views over the bays and the villages, taking you to Vernazza, the second and arguably most picturesque. of the five villages, where you'll stay for the evening.
(6kms, 2.5 hrs) |
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You pick up the Sentiero Azzuro again passing through olive groves with views up to the ancient terraces climbing the mountains above you You pass through two more of the Cinque Terre villages (where you can stop for lunch) before following the Via del Amore into the last of the five villages, where you'll stay the night.
(8 kms, 3 hrs) |
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Today you walk above the eastern part of the gulf to Portovenere. Inititially, this quiet route takes you away from the coast, up to a religious sanctuary, where you can rest and enjoy the views, before continuing up through forest to a small village, where you can have lunch. From here you descend through more forest with breathtaking views over the sea into stunning Portovenere.
(14 kms, 5 hrs) |
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The walk today starts with a short boat ride across the narrow waterway that separates Portovenere from the small island opposite. You then follow a circular route that takes you through a small fishing village, past beaches and the remains of a monastery from the 11th century, with wonderful views over the Gulf of La Spezia along the way. You return to Portovenere with the small boat.
(12 kms, 3 hrs) |
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After breakfast, you'll be transferred by private vehicle to La Spezia (30 minutes away) a busy and colourful port, with a number of excellent museums, a picturesque harbour and daily markets. La Spezia has regular rail connections to Rome, Florence and Milan. |
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Santa Margherita Ligure is lively and picturesque port at the foot of superb Portofino National Park, a large promontory surrounded by cliffs and small coves, which has some the most rewarding walking on the Italian Riviera. The slopes of the park are covered with wild time, pine and holm oak and offers views over successive headlands from the summit. Santa Margherita is easily accessed by rail or road and is an ideal base from which to explore this fascinating part of the Ligurian coast. You'll stay in an excellent family-run hotel near the waterfront. Dinner is at your hotel. |
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Your walk starts with a short ferry ride around the promontory to a beautifully restored 1000 year old abbey tucked in a tiny bay that is only accessible by water or on foot. A beautiful, ancient trail takes you from here up through forest to the top of the national park and then back down through olive groves into Santa Margherita. We'll organise a picnic lunch to take with you. Along the way, you will have the option of detouring to visit the tiny port of Portofino, one of the most picturesque and glamorous spots on the Italian Riviera, sitting on a tidy bay surrounded by cypress pines, olive groves and very expensive boats. (6 kilometres, 3 hours) |
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Todays walk starts a short train ride to a very attractive fishing port on the western side of the National Park, the ‘saltiest, roughest and most piractical little place' according to Charles Dickens when he visited the town. The spectacular walk takes you along the coast, skirting the whole headland before rising to ridge top, cutting into forest and then gently descending through olive trees and palms you to the abbey, where you can have lunch and catch the ferry back to Santa Margherita. |
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Santa Margherita is on the train line that links Genova and La Spezia. Levanto, where the Cinque Terre walking tours starts, is a 40 minute train ride from Santa Margherita. |
Contact Us
For more information on this tour or to make a booking, please get in touch with us.
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