Five Cinque Terre Villages in One Day | A Guide's Journal

A guide's journal, part 3 of 3

There was one day we desperately wanted to visit Riomaggiore and Manarola. We'd chosen a different walk earlier that led us to Vernazza instead, but with self-guided walking, desire doesn't have to mean disappointment. When we finished our planned route for the day, legs pleasantly tired but spirits high, we simply jumped on a train. 

This is what sets the Cinque Terre Short Break apart – there's plenty of opportunity to make it your own experience. The structured walking programme provides brilliant routes showcasing the coastal paths at their finest, but you're never locked into only that. Want to extend your day? Take the train. Curious about a village you passed by? Go back tomorrow. Feeling strong and fancy a harder route? The options are all there in the app.

The train journey itself felt like part of the adventure, rattling through tunnels and emerging to sudden views of the Mediterranean, local commuters mixing with walkers like us who'd discovered the joy of combining feet and rail to experience more. Within the hour we were wandering Riomaggiore's steep lanes, then Manarola's tiny harbour, and by evening we'd managed to tick off all five villages of the Cinque Terre in one day. Not rushed, not exhausting – simply possible because we'd made our own plan. 

This flexibility extends to every aspect of self-guided walking. You choose when you want to start the day – early to catch the morning light, or leisurely over a long breakfast. You decide when you finish, where you want to cut the walk short or where you want to visit somewhere that may not be included in that day's programme. Each decision feels natural because you're responding to your own energy, interests, and the day's conditions.

Hiking the Cinque Terre this way rewards those who enjoy a touch of independence. Yes, you need to read your options the night before, check the weather, make sensible choices about routes and timing. But that's hardly a burden when it means the experience becomes genuinely yours. The confidence that comes from navigating successfully, from solving small problems and making good decisions, adds something to a walking holiday that following a guide simply cannot.

The Ramble Worldwide self-guided programme provides everything necessary for that confidence. Clear route information, alternatives for every eventuality, expert planning that accounts for the terrain and distances, accommodation already arranged, bags transferred where needed, and that reassuring knowledge that the in-destination agent is available if required. It's the perfect balance – enough support to walk safely and comfortably, enough independence to feel like a genuine adventure.

As we sat that evening overlooking one of those terraced vineyards that make the Cinque Terre so distinctive, tired in the best possible way and slightly sunburned despite the earlier rain, we knew we'd walked these coastal paths exactly as we'd needed to. Not as someone else thought we should, but as felt right for us. That's what self-guided walking offers – the walking holiday shaped entirely to you. 

The week had brought us stormy detours through tunnels, tiny pizzerias discovered down side streets, all five villages experienced in one perfect day, and countless moments of choosing our own pace and priorities. Each decision made the adventure more personal, each challenge overcome built confidence, each spontaneous choice rewarded curiosity.