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.

The most amazing boat tour in the CT. This is a 4 hour ride where you get to see the entire coast…read moreand all 5 villages from the water. Unlimited prosecco, apps, and food. Our guide was really sweet and funny and they provide snorkel masks and swimming noodles. We got to stop to swim twice which was a lot of fun. This was worth the bit of extra money as we had a long, wonderful day on the water. Our boat also only had 5 people on it (me and my boyfriend and 3 older people) so we basically had the boat to ourselves and could sit wherever we liked.

Definitely the best tour of our vacation. Angelo is the best…read more My husband had read about Angelo's Boat Tours prior to leaving on vacation, but he was worried they would not be up and running because we were there early in the season. During our trip my husband wrote to Angelo, and imagine our pleasure when we found out the sea was going to be calm enough to go out on the boat. Angelo is a dear as is his wife Paula. We met the boat at the dock at Monterosso and were quickly greeted and helped onto the boat. Angelo took us on a leisurely evening trip to show us all the towns, while giving us an explanation of the local flavor of each town. Angelo is very charming and provided us with proseco to drink while on the boat. We then stopped at a marvelous restaurant with Angelo, Il Porticciolo in Manarola before heading to view the last town of Riomaggiore. A great time was had by all. Paula had made us dinner reservations in Vernazza, which was definitely the best dinner of the trip. Make sure when you are going to Cinqueterre that you plan to spend time on Angelo's boat. You will be delighted, as we were.

Such an amazing experience! Leonardo was fabulous. He made our trip. He led us around Golfo del…read morePoeti and was so helpful and friendly! Cannot say enough good things!

OUTSTANDING! Our group of 8 had a fantastic time riding a…read morehop hop boat along the coast to Cinque Terre. Capt. Marta was a wonderful mix of fun and knowledge. The stop to swim in the perfect blue water was a joy. We were a bit nervous that we would be on a speed boat the whole time, but it was great and allowed us to cover so much territory. Book your trip now.

Absolutely incredible service -- Thomas went above and beyond!…read more We had the pleasure of having Thomas as our driver in Siena, and we honestly couldn't recommend him enough. It was a Sunday in Italy and we were completely stuck with no transport. Thomas arrived in a lovely, air-conditioned van, helped us with our bags, and immediately went out of his way to make sure we had the best possible experience. As soon as we got in the car, he told us all about Montepulciano -- the best vineyards to visit, what prices to expect, and how to get around. We hadn't booked anything, but Thomas contacted his friends and organised everything for us. He even took us to our hotel, waited patiently while we checked in, and never rushed us. He then arranged a taxi to collect us after our vineyard tour and even negotiated the price for us -- something we never asked him to do! At the vineyard, he personally walked us in and introduced us to his friends. Thomas truly saved our day and turned what could have been a stressful experience into one of the highlights of our Italian trip. He was incredibly kind, patient, generous, and genuinely wanted us to have the best experience possible. If you have the option to book this service, do it! And if you get Thomas as your driver, you're incredibly lucky. Thank you so much, Thomas, for making our experience so special!

Tomas was very knowledgeable of Assisi, Cortona, and all of Italy. He also spoke English very well…read moreand was very friendly. He was an excellent and very safe driver and knew the area very well. My wife and I highly recommend him as a driver and tour guide.

Davide (in English pronounced Davi-day) is an amazing tour guide! We went to a parmagiana reggiano…read morefacilty where Davide gave us a private tour and knew so much about the cheese... and knew all the people that worked there. We then had a tasting. We road back to the city to an amazing deli where we had all kinds of cured meats. We ordered (apart from the fee) wines and really had an amazing time talking to Davide. He's an amazing host and a great guy!!!!

Recommend!! We booked our tour just a few days before arriving to Parma and were able to customize…read moreit to our budget, interests, and schedule. We communicated with Davide via email then later FB messenger, and he was very flexible, accommodating, and communicative throughout the process. On the day of, it was supposed to rain but fortunately for us, it didn't! We met with Davide at the Cicleteria right next to the Parma station. Davide got us all set up with bikes and we were on our way! He was great at communicating where we were going and gave turn by turn signals to make sure we didn't get lost. He took us slightly outside the city to our first stop, a parmiagiano-reggiano factory. He had his own equipment so you know he's a regular and knows his stuff! Meanwhile, we got geared up in a protective smock and got to learn about every step of making parmigiano-reggiano cheese (and what goes into make the real stuff)! It was entertaining and a wonderful learning experience! We topped off the experience by getting to try differently aged parmigiano-reggiano cheese and became experts in distinguishing the different flavor profiles ourselves! We also had the chance to buy parmesano reggiano cheese from the cheese factory at a cheaper price. They had other food souvenirs as well. We wanted to try real and local balsamic vinegar, but since the bike ride to a balsamic factory would have taken us too long for our half day tour, Davide scheduled a tasting at Antica Salumeria Alimentaria Rastelli. We got to have a balsamic vinegar tasting, as well as taste some amazing burrata, pickled onions, olives, and Parma ham (prosciutto di Parma). So delicious! I would highly recommend Bike Food Stories and having Davide be your Parma guide! Grazie mille, Davide!!

Can't say enough positive things about Easy Touring and its owner operator Wolfgang. We met…read moreWolfgang by chance as he was our transfer arranged by a restaurant in 2013. Since then we have traveled with him for custom tours to Chianti, Bolgheri, montecarlo, and Montalcino as well as for many train station and airport transfers. He's the best. Professional, knowledgable, kind and very good at helping you coordinate your tour or transfer needs. A valuable resource for your trip in tuscany! He even planned transportation for our wedding, getting 75 guests to a hillside church outside of Lucca!

From the owner: I am a private-hire in Tuscany and can take you from your hotel to the airport for example but also…read morespend the day on a tour of your choice. I am fluent in English, German and Italian and like culture, history, good food and wines!

My 5 friends and I chartered the Sins 2 for a day-trip around the Portofino and Cinque Terre areas…read moreand absolutely loved it. This was the best experience we had in Liguria and after doing extensive research about the boat options available I can say hands down this is the best value. Captain Cesare picked us up from the pier in Santa Margherita were we were staying and took us for an amazing trip. We stopped in a couple of amazing spots for a swim and had lunch at a cool restaurant on the main square of Vernazza. Cesare provided drinks but we were also able to bring our own. Highly recommend this for a group of friends, couple or family.

Great boat charter! We messaged Giovanni on Instagram and booked the trip easily. We took out the…read moreboat Vices and it was clean & very comfortable. Giovanni took us to four different locations and made us a reservation for lunch in Portofino. It was an amazing day, would definitely recommend :)

The two brothers who run the boat and narrate are fun and interesting. They provide the right…read moreamount of folklore and fact. Sunset makes the lighting spectacular on the mountainside. Highly recommend!

Going out on the boat with Daniele was probably one of the best things we did while in Cinque…read moreTerre. It was nice to see all five towns from this vantage point which also oriented us for our hike. Swimming and snorkeling in the secluded was also beautiful. Daniele is an experienced captain and a native of Manarola, he has a vast knowledge of Cinque Terre and its history. He is a charming person and his friendliness rubbed off on everyone aboard. I highly recommend this excursion!!

Fabulous must visit part of Genoa. I am in love with this city and it's massive medieval centre…read morewhich is supposed to be the biggest in Europe. Via Garibaldi is an amazing street with lots of small palaces and amazing architecture surrounding it. I could spend days here photographing buildings and narrow lanes :-)))) I would recommend this as a must visit :-)