Shuttle Bus timetable in Cinque Terre spring 2012

Here we come with an updated timetable of the shuttle bus service in the 5 Terre valid from March 2012.

Some things to remind:

• This timetable is subjected to changes, we don’t guarantee its accuracy. This post has to be intended as guideline and basic information, ask for precise information in the info point of the 5T National Park.
• The bus service is a connection between the historic centres of  each Village and its upper part, its parking ( always located in the high part of the towns) and its hamlets in the surrounding hills; there’s no BUS connection between the 5 coastal villages. The connection between the coastal villages is guarantee by train, ferry (not Corniglia) and road (we’ll publish soon a detailed guide to the current road situation).
• The shuttle bus service is included in the Cinque Terre Card; on-board is also available a ticket for the single stroke.
• Vernazza is currently in troubles due to the flood occurred last October; the road is still under recostruction and the shuttle strokes are reduced to the minimum. It’s recommended not to drive to Vernazza, of course the situation is in progress and we invite you to follow our regular updates on this blog and on our twitter channel http://twitter.com/#!/cinque_terre
• There’s no timetable for Corniglia: the shuttle BUS departure is scheduled from the train station toward the town at every train arrival in both directions.

RIOMAGGIORE: click to enlarge

MANAROLA:

VERNAZZA:

MONTEROSSO: click to enlarge

Popolarità: 3%

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The Cinque Terre’s Paths situation updated

Let’s try to put together some information regarding the situation of the paths here in Cinque Terre.
Everyone is probably aware of the flood occurred on Oct. 25th 2011 that caused heavy damages to the towns of Vernazza and Monterosso and to the surrrounding hills.

Short walk (path #2 variant Manarola) with beautiful views, currently open

The magnitude of this event has been so huge to affect the territory for several months and probably years. However, a large part of the 5 Terre area has been untouched by the flood; at the same time, the flooded towns are quickly recovering and, according with the official information from the local administrations, they will be ready to host visitors in some weeks. The path’s network has also been damaged by the flood and, moreover, it suffers a long-term lack of maintenance due to management “mistakes” in the past and economic crisis today.

So what can be the tourist’s expectation? Which are the paths open and what towns can be reached by foot? What is the best location as starting point for an hiking trip in 5 Terre?

Have a look at the map of the trails as appears (today march 18th) on the official website of the 5 Terre National Park (http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri-e-trekking.asp):

• ( Map updated on march 25th 2012, path #02 reopened Manarola-Groppo-path #1 )

Talking of the next 45/60 days this will likely be the situation:

• Path number #2: the most known path, the one connecting directly the 5 villages is interrupted between Manarola and Corniglia due to a landslide and it’s interrupted in 3 points (segments 2.2, 2.3 & 2.4 on the map) between Manarola and Monterosso due to the flood and to an older landslide. The only open part is the Via dell’Amore, between Manarola and Riomaggiore (segment 2.1, marked in light blue) This is a very easy path, for everyone, no particular skills required. Fully paved and protected with rail, still needs the payment of a ticket (only until 7.30 P.M., after that the transit is free) it has a completion time of 20/30 min.
  Consider, however, that the segments 2.3 and 2.4 are scheduled to open very soon; (click here to see the note below->) in this way it will be possible to connect Corniglia with Vernazza and Vernazza with Monterosso respectively in ~1.45hrs and ~2hrs
• Path number #1: The high path runs a the top of the hills, it’s completely open and absolutely gorgeous. Appropriate for good hikers it needs a good trekking equipement. No ticket needed, it can be reached directly from one of its two extremes ( Levanto [preferably] or Portovenere) or from one of the “connection trails”, we’ll talk later about them..
• The sanctuaries way is the second path marked in light blue on the map, it connects Volastra ( located above Manarola) with the church of Montenero (above Riomaggiore), completely flat it’s a path for everyone, but it’s a long hike: it takes ~2 hrs to Montenero and another ~1hr from the church to Riomaggiore. In fact there’re no public transportation from the sanctuary to Riomaggiore whilst one can easily reach Volastra with a bus from Manarola.

After this first description and a quick look at the map, let’s focus on Manarola, the town that currently is best positioned to reach the available hiking itineraries of the 5 Terre. Let’see in detail what they are..

1. We’ve seen that in just 30 minutes one can reach Riomaggiore from Manarola by the Via dell’Amore. From Riomaggiore one can decide to take a train to visit the other towns or proceed uphill on the path number #3 to reach the Church of Montenero in ~1.15 hrs. Than return back to Riomaggiore on the path #3A or complete the ring back to Volastra  in ~2hrs than path number #6 down to Manarola in 30/40 min. Note that  this itinerary made in the opposite direction needs no climb since one can take a bus from Manarola to Volastra, the rest is just flat and downhill.
2. Again From Manarola, along the path number #6 a good hiker can reach the path number #1 (Monte Marvede) in ~2hrs/2.30hrs. From the path #1 there’re some options: to Portovenere in ~3.30hrs/4 hrs and back by boat (boat service starts by the end of March, check the last ferry to return back) or to Riomaggiore through path #01 in ~2.30hrs; or to Vernazza via path #8 in ~4hrs.
3. Still on the path number #6 to Volastra in ~1hr. From there one of our nicest path, the #6D with wonderful panoramic sea views (see the picture below), will take you in Corniglia in ~1.15hrs through path #7A. The #6D has been recently cleaned by volunteers from Corniglia, Volastra and Manarola. Also in this case ..no climb is needed since one can take a bus from Manarola to Volastra and the rest is flat+downhill. Currently, from Corniglia one must take the train to move to another village.
4. Path #02, currently marked in red [In fact it has been reopened and marked in yellow, the map has been updated on march 25th], has actually been cleaned by volunteers of Manarola and Volastra and, after the positioning of new signals, should be praticable soon.
   The #02 intersects the sanctuary road (~1 hr) and reaches the path #1 (708 meters altitude) in ~2 hrs.

Manarola hosts also short walking paths around the town, for those who like a ‘light hike‘ at sunset for example. In Manarola is available a service of naturalistic guide, to accompany small groups of people along the paths, to discover hidden corners and learn some basics about history, flora and geology of the area. Contact Sara at the number+39 3494973384 for more information.

Out of Manarola, some advices:

• A very interesting hike is from Levanto to Monterosso along the path #1 up to the ‘Mesco Observatory’ in ~1.30hrs and than downhill to the town of Monterosso along the path #10 in ~45min.
• From Monterosso one can reach the Sanctuary of Soviore in ~1.15hrs via path #9.

Final consideration:

Views from path n° 6D between Volastra (above Manarola) and Corniglia - currently open

• Despite the closure of an important element of the blue path (#2), the towns are all well connected to each other by alternative routes (except Corniglia-Vernazza tract for which you can easily use the train).
• There’re many paths, less touristic but even better than the most known and crowded ones, that allow the hikers to walk in a “ring” to return back to the starting point with different levels of difficulty; ask the local guides for all the information. These are the oldest paths running through olives and wineyards that will make you feel the essence of our territory.
• All paths, even those “high”, lesser known, offer splendid views of sea and sky, characteristic of our park.
• Within few weeks the most of the paths will be open and an hard year will finally be left behind us.

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON APRIL 6TH 2012

See the map below -click to enlarge- updated on April 6th: according with the official information of the National Park and of the Municipality of Monterosso al Mare ( See here the official sheet->) the BLUE PATH number #2 has been reopened between Vernazza and Monterosso)

This important update makes possible a direct connection between Vernazza and Monterosso; at this point the only missing connection is Corniglia-Vernazza, we hope a quick solution. For the other paths -particularly Manarola/Corniglia- you can see the notes above.

Popolarità: 12%

( 3 voti; media: 4.67 su 5)

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2012: The 5 terre after the flood -POLL-

It is said 2012 to be the end of the world…but for sure this won’t be true for Vernazza.
Vernazza has already had its Doomsday, it happened on Oct. 25th 2011, earlier than Maya’s prediction.

On contrary 2012 will be the renaissance of Vernazza where, since the very first minute after the flood, nobody spent one tear more than necessary and everyone is working hard to return back our wounded towns into the beauty that made them beloved worldwide. In these past 2 months an enormous amount of debrees and mud have been carried away, the town is starting to looks a bit more normal..A wedding has been celebrated on Dec. 10th; the doors of the first floors, 100% of them wiped out in one minute by the wild river, have been replaced with temporary plywood doors and they will be ALL painted by local artists on Jan 6th 2012 (see also http://vernazzafutura.blogspot.com/2012/01/un-arcobaleno-di-solidarieta-per.html).  Signs of strong wish of return to normality.
But will it be enough?
The huge amount of money needed combined with the logistic conditions and environmental difficulties make the job extremely hard..and the clock is running fast toward the beginning of the touristic season.

The Municipality has’nt taken an official position yet, we actually think it’s not possible to have one and -of course- we don’t want to gamble with predictions in matters that involve people’s lifestyle and livelihood, we just want to aks a question in name of all the small business of the other towns.

The strenght of  the “CINQUE TERRE” brand, has unexpectedly turned into weakness. The very first message “Flood in the 5 Terre, the Cinque Terre don’t exist anymore” left the sign. Too few (even among tour operators and travel agents) are aware that only Vernazza (completely) and Monterosso (seriously but partially) have been hitted. The flood is indeed affecting every business of the 5 Terre and of the entire province, so we do believe it’s a fair question..Will Vernazza be ready for tourists in 2012?

The answer is likely NO. That’s my personal opinion and perception. Assuming that a part of the town itself could be accessible, the problem would be to conciliate tourism and construction sites, to supply a decent level of services and, more than all, to have secured the upper part of the town and the surrounding hills, almost destroyed by more than 100 landlsides.

That said..we want to engage a bit more the public with this POLL (that will remain active until the end of February) and try to understand what the scenario will be in case…

In case Vernazza cannot host tourists in 2012 will you:

• Still visit the 5 Terre, focusing on the other villages
• Pospone my visit until Vernazza will be fully recovered
• Don't know yet, I'll decide as last-minute

Risultati →

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Popolarità: 11%

( 1 voti; media: 5.00 su 5)

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Le Cinque Terre su Instagr.am: una photo-filter app per Iphone

Credo che dopo avere dato uno sguardo a questa bellissima Photogallery, i nostri lettori che possiedono un Iphone non potranno resistere alla tentazione di installare Instagr.am sul proprio apparecchio.

Instagr.am è un’app gratuita che consente di creare effetti speciali degni di un fotografo professionista con un solo click e di condividere la foto in real time.

Abbiamo effettuato la ricerca su Twitter raccogliendo le foto più interessanti scattate dagli utenti alle Cinque Terre

Curiosità: leggendo le faq del sito, gli sviluppatori ci raccontano le origini del nome che deriva da un mix fra “instant” (le istantanee polaroid che tutti ricordiamo con malinconia, uniche macchine che davano all’epoca, la possibilità oggi data per scontata, di vedere subito le foto scattate) e “telegram” (il telegramma, che arriva al destinatario in un tempo brevissimo anche questo oggi superato dalle comunicazioni real time delle email o dei social network).

[Show as slideshow]

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Popolarità: 7%

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Rick Steves and the “disarray” of 5 Terre 2010-2011

Everyone in the Cinque Terre should be grateful to Mr. Rick Steves, since we all know what was (and still is!) the impact of his enthusiastic descriptions on the touristic flow on the 5 Terre in the last 15 years.
Here are some links to corroborate (there’s no need of course but the links are informative to our readers..) this theory:

• http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/cinqueterre.htm
• http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/cinqueterre_fiatfree.htm
• http://www.ricksteves.com/tms/article.cfm?id=161&extras=false

And from the pages of our blog we already wished to tribute the right credit to Mr. Steves: http://www.cinqueterre.com/blog/rick-steves-acros-the-cinque-terre

Unfortunately our impression (you can feel it reading this last linked article) of a bad administration of the National Park of 5 Terre and of the municipality of Riomaggiore were true and on Sept. 28th 2010 the entire management was arrested,  accused of several serious crimes (corruption, threats, conspiracy to fraud against the state,..).
What had appeared for a decade a shining model of sustainable progress and tourism,  a modern vision of  public management, a genial creation of prosperity showed its miserable failure. The truth, cleverly concealed behind a fake glitter of gold,  was finally clear to everybody.

What to do now?

-) Cinque Terre will survive without Bonanini; they were here well before him and they will remain well after him.
-) We need a better government (not an hard stuff if you’ve in mind Mr. Berlusconi ahahahah I start laughing before you do..) and fortunately we have a new one in Riomaggiore. Now we need everybody to help her in the difficul re-construction.
-) WE NEED ALL OF YOU FOLKS.. we’ll do our best to give people the best hospitality we can.
-) We need Mr. Rick Steves to still spend his beautiful words for us, if he still believe that we deserve them…and it seems so..

Quoting Rick Steves from his FB note: http://www.facebook.com/notes/rick-steves/the-cinque-terre-national-parkin-disarray/10150183680359702

The park was run by its president, Franco Bonanini, a powerful man — nicknamed “The Pharaoh” for his grandiose visions. In a personal visit a couple years ago, he conned me into thinking he really was a visionary committed to the region and its precious park.

But Bonanini created a medieval-style system of favorites and enemies, with the help of Riomaggiore’s mayor, and others. Starting and stopping construction projects, funneling money here and there, and extorting people to preserve their power, this cabal derailed the park vision. In 2011 they were removed from power, but the damage had been done. The good ideas of the park (info offices, baggage deposits, mountain-bike opportunities, little museums, elevators for the infirm, and even maintenance of the trails) have been scuttled.

Today, Bonanini is out of power, and the park’s run by a man from the central government whose vision for a fix, it seems, is to run the park as a business. But a park is a park, not a business.

What does all this mean to the visitor? Not much. The Cinque Terre is still my favorite stretch of Mediterranean coastline. The people are endearing. The food, culture, and nature are uniquely enjoyable. I just thrill at the thought of people working together for a grand and noble vision that helps a community’s economy by wisely treating a park as a park, rather than making a park a business. And so far, the Cinque Terre has failed in that regard.

Popolarità: 4%

( 3 voti; media: 4.33 su 5)

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San Valentino alle Cinque Terre

Alcune delle più interessanti offerte per trascorrere il weekend di S. Valentino alle 5 Terre:

OFFERTE WEEKEND:

“Arbaspaa” Tour Organizer:

San Valentino alle Cinque Terre..
Pensate ad un regalo per sorprendere il Vostro partner a San Valentino ?
Per voi un week-end romantico nelle magnifiche Cinque Terre.

La nostra offerta :

- pernottamento in camera matrimoniale in uno dei paesi delle Cinque Terre, in strutture selazionate
- Cena a lume di candela in un ristorante tipico delle Cinque Terre con menù a base di specialità di mare.
Il pernottamento può essere esteso a seconda delle Vostre necessità.
Prezzo per coppia Euro 150,00.
Tutti i dettagli dell’offerta
https://www.arbaspaa.com/dettaglio_tour.aspx?IDT=42
Per prenotazioni ed ulteriori informazioni contattateci all’indirizzo info@arbaspaa.com o al 0187 760083 (skype : italia.fantastica )

Popolarità: 7%

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Video serie: Rick Steves in 5 Terre

Last video of the serie…while visiting the Cinque Terre, Rick Steves talks about the ancient castles which were used to defend the villages from pirates attacks. Those days are gone and now… the only attacks are by tourists and they’re actually very welcome…

Popolarità: 6%

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Another Rick Steves’ video about the Cinque Terre

Here’s another video by Rick Steves showing details about Riomaggiore and Monterosso.

As usual he points the attention on few basic and useful infos for tourists givin an exact overview of what one can expect visiting the Cinque Terre

… Continua a leggere→

Popolarità: 7%

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