I love this place. It's as pretty as it is in pictures…read more Short story: Woke up at 6am to catch the 7am train to Cinque Terre and guess what?! The train conductors decided to go on strike that day. People at the station said all regional trains are canceled this morning. I was about to cry because the #1 thing I most looked forward to was visiting Cinque Terre on this trip. Everything happens for a reason, right? Somehow at 9am, a train decided to take off going to Pisa, which connects to Cinque Terre. We got to Cinque Terre around 11:30am. Late start to the day but I finally got there. I visited and walked all 5 towns. Each one is special in it's own way. The five towns are called Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Most people would say Manarola is the prettiest, not going to disagree with that but I actually love Corniglia the most. Maybe because you have to climb a few (a lot) steps to get there. It's small and charming once you get to the top and you can see Manarola. I had the best gelato there and I have eating a lot of gelato during my 2 week trip in Italy. Each town has their own special food too. A lot of street food which was awesome. When I do visit again, I would stay a night at least to do the full hike and enjoy all the towns a little more. I cant wait to get back.

Cinque Terre translated into English is roughy "5 Lands" but it is more like "5 Villages."…read more Daniele was a great tour guide! He is very knowledgeable and passionate about his village of Manarola... And the other 4 "Cinque Terre!" The villages are only accessible by local trains from La Spezia train station or Levanto. It takes about 15min to arrive to Manarola from la Spezia (but take an earlier train because Italian trains are often very late and crowded!) We did the morning tour, meeting Daniele close to the marina at 9:45am. There were 12 of us on the boat (all Americans so communication was easy). Daniele speaks almost perfect English so the tour went very smoothly. He drove us past the Cinque Terre giving a very nice history of how his forefathers turned a very steep/rock facade into a fertile farming area. Fighting off pirate attacks and later becoming fishermen. Cinque Terre has a very deep and amazing history that Daniele tells as you pass some of the most beautiful scenery! Daniele stopped the boat for two separate swims in the Mediterranean Sea! Daniele was very helpful as to where to swim and not to. How not to use your legs (avoiding kicking the rocks) and how to climb the rocks without slipping! We dove off rocks, took a refreshing shower in a natural waterfall and swam the clearest of blue water! I cannot say enough of Daniele and his 2.5hr tour! He provides beer, water, wine, sodas. He was considerate to the children on our tour who began feeling a little sea sick. Bring sun screen!!!! There is no room on his boat for your luggage; we left ours in a "Left Luggage" for $9 euro (3 bags) at La Spezia Train Station. Hotels are NOT easy to find in Cinque Terre so make reservations far in advance or stay outside in La Spezia.

This was one of the coolest experiences I found while I was in Italy. They have a link on their…read morewebsite for accommodations. Click farm inn - Agriturismo Terre Rosse Portofino - where you can reserve the little farm to table Inn to spend the night. There is a waterfall next to the Inn. They provide breakfast and dinner each day. Once you're done diving you get dropped off at this little dock in the area the Christ of the Abyss is located and you have to hike up the mountain. Yes, I said hike. So pack light! Then they come pick you up the next morning for your day of diving. When we did this tour, we were fairly new divers (I mean like 10 dives) and the water was rough! Portofino Divers is a group of Tech Divers so they don't call dives for much. The swells were insane. I was underweighted and the water was freezing. But they helped us and they were super patient. One of the divers even took my GoPro and took videos and photos for me. Those were some of the deepest dives we've ever done (34-36 Meters!). We did get to see the Christ statue even with the visibility being terrible. We also did our first drift dives here. Great memories and I would highly recommend this operation. They have showers you can use back at the dive shop too.

Bruno and his team offer perfect Service, everything is in a good shape. Equipment is more or less…read morenew and in a perfect condition. The Boot is clean, fast and the captain knows what he is doing. Specially for technical diving this is the first adress around Portofino. Thanks! We will be back!

Excellent time. Though I'm spoiled with the Baltimore aquarium, this one comes as a close second…read more Great variety of species, educational element. You can pet the stingrays as well! The kids experience in my opinion was not really forth it if your kiddo is over 6/7 years old.

Largest aquarium in Europe, but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed. I first visited this…read moreaquarium decades ago, when it first opened. In 1992 the entire waterfront area of the Porto Antico was redone, with major works by Italian architect Renzo Piano. And the aquarium feels a bit outdated, like it had been built in 1992 and never really modernized. For an aquarium this size, there is a lot of dead space. This is not to say that there isn't a lot to see; it will take you 2-3h to visit the aquarium, depending on how much time you want to spend here. Definitely buy tickets in advance; there is always a line, and this way you will be sure to get in. You will have the chance to pick the day and the time of your visit. As there are different ticketing options, if you have young children my suggestion would be to get combo tickets for the aquarium and the City of Children, and skip the Biosphere and the panoramic lift. The biosphere is small[1], and it felt somehow disconnected with the aquarium experience. The panoramic elevator/Bigo was inexplicably closed between 12 noon and 5 pm on a Sunday; as we had morning tickets to the aquarium, we just couldn't make it to the panoramic elevator. If you come here by train, the walk from Piazza Principe train station to the docks and the aquarium passes through some pretty derelict streets. ---------------------- [1] When we went, apart from some specific trees the only other things in there were some goldfish, a large parrot, some small birds, and a small glass cage with stick insects.

Amazing place to visit, hike, drink eat etc…read more I hike most of the trails between the 5 towns and they are spectacular. You can even take the train or a water taxi between them depending. The highlight for me was the final hike from the most southern town Riomaggiore all the way to Portovenere....8 miles 2500 feet of elevation gain and stunning view after stunning view. You even pass by a monastery great little outdoor restaurants etc. Bucket list item

The most beautiful walk of my entire life. Be sure you understand the route - easy to get lost!read more

From the owner: Spiaggia Libera Attrezzata, ingresso gratuito, possibilità di noleggio lettini ombrelloni e sdraio,…read moreservizio di bar tavola calda, noleggio canoe e Kajak. L'acqua del mare e' molto pulita, una delle migliori del Tigullio, assolutamente da provare