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I had instantly fallen in love with Vernazza on our second day in the Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast of Northern Italy. This was the second of the five villages that we had visited, taking the ferry from Monterosso al Mare on that morning, and exploring this beautiful little village with its colourful buildings and picturesque setting. Now, we would use a different form of transportation to get to the next village – Our own feet. Today we would hike from Vernazza to Corniglia.
Hiking above Vernazza
There is actually a network of hiking trails that connect the five villages of the Cinque Terre, and they are close enough together that you really don’t have to walk all that far. The next village, Corniglia, was only about a 3km hike from Vernazza, but first we had to climb up the steep hill to the top of the town, where we had incredible views out over Vernazza and the surrounding coastline.
View of Vernazza on the trail to Corniglia
The trail continued to slowly climb, with the steep terrain dropping away to the ocean on our right. The coastline is absolutely spectacular, and as we got higher and higher, the views became even more breathtaking.
The trail flattened out once we got to a certain height, but the rough terrain still kept the trail dropping and rising. The views were always so spectacular that I kept stopping to rest just for an excuse to take them in.
Hiking to Corniglia
After a while, we began seeing views of Corniglia, perched high up on top of a rocky headland, and I couldn’t wait to get there to explore the village.
View towards Corniglia
Corniglia
We took around an hour and a half to walk the three kilometres from Vernazza to Corniglia, but there were quite a few stops along the way. It’s just the kind of hike that you want to take a long time to do.
Although it wasn’t quite as spectacular as Vernazza, Corniglia was still an interesting little village to explore, and there were a lot less people there compared to Monterosso and Vernazza.
A piazza in Corniglia
We rewarded ourselves with some well earned gelato after exploring the village, before walking down the many steps to the train station to head back to Monterosso al Mare, completing another wonderful day in the Cinque Terre.
Corniglia train station
Hiking in Cinque Terre
Hiking is an excellent way to really experience the Cinque Terre and see some of the dramatic coastline that makes up this region. The trails are generally easy to follow and you can split them up into small hikes and travel between towns on the train or ferries.
The Classic Trail: Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail)
This is the most famous path, hugging the coastline and linking all five towns. The section we did from Vernazza to Corniglia is part of this trail.
Distance: ~12 km
Time: 5–6 hours in total (not including long photo or gelato breaks!)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate, with some steep sections and stairs
Highlights:
The cliffside trail between Vernazza and Monterosso is the most iconic, offering stunning panoramic views and unforgettable photo ops.
The stretch between Manarola and Riomaggiore is called the Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Lane)— we did this in reverse the next day. (Note: some sections are occasionally closed for maintenance—check trail conditions before you go.)
Off-the-Beaten-Path Options
I’ve researched these for future trips and think they are worth considering for those wanting fewer crowds and more challenge:
Riomaggiore to Portovenere: A rugged 13 km hike through forests and olive groves, ending in the picturesque town of Portovenere.
High Trail (Sentiero Rosso): Runs along the ridge above the villages. It’s more demanding, but the views are absolutely worth it—especially from Santuario di Montenero.
Have you been to the Cinque Terre, Italy? Did you go hiking between the villages?
Oh yes – fond memories indeed of this special coastline, we trained in and hiked out – what a wonderful day – gelato and pizza included!
Hey Jo. That’s one of the great things about Cinque Terre, the train is so handy that you can do as much or as little hiking as you like, and just take the train the rest of the way. I’m glad you had a great day. It sounds lovely 🙂
I have visited Cinque Terre twice so far – the first time in winter and the second time in summer. The first time I was travelling solo and I was probably the only tourist staying in Corniglia – picture no shops open when I arrive, a grey depressing day.
I somehow found a place to stay and they opened up the shop for me as there were no restaurants open and I had no food with me… I walked the track from Corniglia to Vernazza the next day in light rain and grey skies. I was the only person on the trail, and at one point I thought I would slip over the cliff on the wet cobblestones and no-one would know what happened to me. I finally saw Vernazza through the cloud and was very happy to arrive safely. The bar was open so I had the most amazing Italian hot chocolate – thick, rich, steaming hot and very decadent on a cold day.
On my second trip with my husband we visited in Summer and stayed in Vernazza and it was so different – crowded with tourists everywhere, but still really nice. We loved Vernazza – swimming, walking the trails, late night feasts in the plaza.
So two completely different experiences!! I am glad you enjoyed Cinque Terra, I certainly plan to go back again one day.
Wow that’s really interesting that you got to see two very different sides to Cinque Terre. I imagine that it must have been quite peaceful to have the place to yourself during the winter, despite the bad weather. I visited during September and it was quite crowded, but still enough room to breathe and enjoy the scenery.
I guess that is the problem with a place being really popular is that too many tourists can go there. It was great in winter, as you said really quiet and still beautiful But I still liked Summer the best when the restaurants are open, it is sunny until late and you can go swimming in the Med.
Yes, but these places are popular for a reason right? Because they are worth seeing! 🙂 Summer is definitely the time to visit the Mediterranean!
We only hiked the short 20 minute trail to Riomaggiore. We had planned to hike another trail, but there just wasn’t enough time to see it all!
Hey Christy. We hiked that one as well and it was a really nice walk. We were there for 3 days and saw all of the villages, but would have liked another day or two to do some more hiking. It’s certainly a beautiful area!
3 km doens’t sound too bad until you see all the hills! yikes!
Haha. Yes it is certainly a steep coastline, Jade. But really, it wasn’t all that hard. I found it quite easy and peaceful, and there were plenty of other people of all ages doing it. It’s well worth the effort!
[…] a view of all five of the villages, leaving from Monterosso al Mare, stopping at Vernazza, passing Corniglia and Manarola and finally hopping off at […]