Walks of the Cinque Terre and Portofino

This was a great holiday walking in lovely countryside by the coast and visiting the picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre and Portofino. The walks themselves were usually very steep and would not suit everyone, a good level of fitness is required although you don't need to be a mountaineer. The hotel in Moneglia is on the beach and we were able to swim after the walk every day. I was away during the first week of October, I didn't see any rain and the average daily temperature was 24-25C but the previous week had been wet so no guarantees! ...more ...less

This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The location in Moneglia is superb. The beach right opposite is beautiful. The breakfasts were great in the Piccolo too. We loved the spectacular scenery of the Cinque Terre and Portofino although they are very busy locations. The best views are from above as you walk down towards them. We made wonderful new friends and enjoyed sharing meals and drinks with them. 100% recommendation. ...more ...less

A very well organised trip and excellent guide who was always decisive and unruffled when there were changes forced on her by weather or authorities. The hotel in Moneglia was very good, serving a good evening meal on the first night and a wide selection of breakfast food in the mornings. Moneglia was certainly quieter than the places we visited during week, so was quite restful. Travelling by train to each start point was enjoyable and quick in comparison to road travel around the area. The walks I would have said were graded a bit low at 3, certainly the steps and rocky climbs and descents needed a good set of knees and or walking poles, walking boots essential. Not a set of walks for trainers, though one did see idiots in insubstantial footwear attempting them. Wonderful views of the villages of the Cinque Terre and coastline as the walks progressed. Walk to Portofino was pleasant but the place was quite crowded even in May as we experienced . Three cruise ships anchored in the bay on one day would not have helped matters. If you don't mind being organised by someone and can go with the flow this is an excellent trip. We did not have to pay for anything in terms of travel during the days apart from lunch on the those when packed lunches were not provided. On the basis on this trip which was my first with Exodus I would definitely consider other tours with them. ...more ...less

We had a great time hiking the Ligurian hills and the Cinque Terre towns. Michela was a great guide, she immediately became an integral part of our group with her gentle, yet thoughtful leadership. We had wonderful views, beautifully-maintained trails and a lot of laughs. Some of us raced ahead to explore all that nature had to offer while others meandered slowly taking pictures of everything. The trail options made our trip accessible to everyone in our group with all our varied walking and hiking abilities. We enjoyed exploring new towns everyday and trying our language skills with everyone we met. ...more ...less

We have only very recently returned from the Exodus Adventure Holiday 'Walks of the Cinque Terre and Portofino' We had the most wonderful time exploring the stunning coast line and beautiful villages in this UNESCO World Heritage region. Using the excellent and efficient Italian train service we were able to access the start of each days walk. We climbed, and we descended through the steep hills and promontories that are the feature of this coast line, and go someway to preserving its unspoilt beauty. It was a hot week, but all of the walks were perfectly paced to meet all of the group needs, and expertly led by our wonderful guide. The History and geography of the area was explained to us as we went. The Cinque Terre villages revealed themselves through tantalising glimpses from upon high before we finally descended into their charming hearts. For anyone wanting to experience this stunning area of Italy, then this holiday is the perfect presentation. Exodus continue to deliver experiences to cherish for a lifetime. ...more ...less

Loved every step. Our super fit guide, Michela Wicks, did an excellent job keeping us all together, providing us with heaps of information and many laughs. Thank you Michela. You are wonderful.♡

We joined the majority of our group mid-Sept with Michela in Pisa. An informal meet and greet and an idea as to what to expect was laid out each day. As quoted by our fearless leader 'A little bit of up and then we level off' this was - pretty much the start of every glorious day. Michela was a great guide - easy going, kept us on point and moving at a comfortable pace. A couple of the days were more steep than others, it was super hot when we were there which didn't help. On a cooler day, the up's would have been a lot more tolerable. The last day provided some amazing views. Moneglia is a cute/quiet town with great options for dining - the host hotel was super comfortable and crazy clean! ...more ...less

Overall, this is a good trip with a good guide. It is well organized and has plenty of opportunities for people who are less fit to skip a section or entire day. That said, it became very apparently some people did have to skip a day. While the trip notes mentioned steep and loose descents, I would say about 6 out of 15 people on my trip were not prepared for what was ahead of them. More emphasis should be put on the difficulty of the terrain on the main tour page to make it a little more obvious. Maybe also a picture or two of the steps in the trip notes. Having completed several Exodus trips, this felt more like a level 4 trip, not level 3. I think this may be why the wrong audience was attracted, which took away from my personal experience. An example of this was seeing a 70+ year old member of the group refusing to use two hiking poles and ending up falling down a cliff. Luckily this person was okay, but this is a situation we should not have been in. ...more ...less