Cinque Terre excursion from Portofino.

My husband and I (late 70s) really would like to take the ship excursion to Cinque Terre which is boat and bus and listed as strenuous with "extended walking over concrete and cobblestone surfaces". We have been to Portofino before and know the area. Walking itself is not a problem but I am wondering if there are a lot of up and down, steep steps, ramps, etc.. Any thoughts from those of you who have done this excursion? I have read what is on the roll call and ports of call but nothing really addresses the question. I may wait until we board the Quest in October and make the decision then after discussing it with the Land Discoveries people. Any input will be appreciated.

I went by boat only from one of their little towns. There was a lot of stairs and cobblestone streets. since you have tons of people walking you really will not walk fast. i am sure you can do it. forget the ramps. only stairs.

My husband and I (late 70s) really would like to take the ship excursion to Cinque Terre which is boat and bus and listed as strenuous with "extended walking over concrete and cobblestone surfaces". We have been to Portofino before and know the area. Walking itself is not a problem but I am wondering if there are a lot of up and down, steep steps, ramps, etc.. Any thoughts from those of you who have done this excursion? I have read what is on the roll call and ports of call but nothing really addresses the question. I may wait until we board the Quest in October and make the decision then after discussing it with the Land Discoveries people. Any input will be appreciated.

We're doing this excursion in June; I'll report back and let you know if there's anything to be concerned about

I don't know the details of the ship's excursion but have been to Cinque Terre. There is a significant amount of walking and, if the weather should be rainy, it can be very slippery. If the excursion is listed as strenuous, I would wait and discuss with the shore excursion people. The last time that we were there it was very rainy and they were actually closing walking trails due to slippery, unsafe conditions.

You do not need to go on the hikes between the towns I think crzrr refers to. You will likely visit four of the five towns. If you go by boat then you have to get off the boat. Then there are steps in some places, the towns have some cobblestones and some pavement.

Thank you, Laurieb, I will look forward to hearing your thoughts about it. I did find that the train station at Monterosso is near the seaside promenade so that sounded good. I am thinking I will book it and then cancel on board if the LD folks tell me something I get concerned about.

The train station in Monterosso indeed exits onto the seaside promenade, straight across the road is the public beach . There are steps up to the platforms. When we stayed there last August all the tour groups met in the tunnel to the station. This is in "New" Monterosso - it is approx 1 km walk to the "Old" Monterosso along the promenade - slopes uphill. If you go to street view in Google maps you can see all of this.

Cinque Terra is magical. But the 5 towns are built into steep ravines that run into the sea. There are stairs and steep streets with inclines. Part of the magic is walking between the towns. The paths between the towns are flat in places but steep in others. The walk between towns ranges from 20 minutes to more than an hour. There's also a train that connects the towns. I can't imagine taking a bus between the towns as the road is not as scenic.

You might want to look at pictures of the towns to gauge whether walking around the towns is above your ability at this point. Consider also that if you are disembarking from a ferry and transitioning to a bus in any of the towns, you will almost certainly have to walk up the hill to where the busses can park. That will be hundreds of feet in elevation. You may want to consider waiting to book until you're onboard. Remember, however, that unless the excursion staff has actually been on the tour, they won't really be able to tell you much more.

My husband and I (late 70s) really would like to take the ship excursion to Cinque Terre which is boat and bus and listed as strenuous with "extended walking over concrete and cobblestone surfaces". We have been to Portofino before and know the area. Walking itself is not a problem but I am wondering if there are a lot of up and down, steep steps, ramps, etc.. Any thoughts from those of you who have done this excursion? I have read what is on the roll call and ports of call but nothing really addresses the question. I may wait until we board the Quest in October and make the decision then after discussing it with the Land Discoveries people. Any input will be appreciated.

We traveled on the Quest to Portafino in 2015. We just walked off the ship and caught the local ferry that visits all the little bays and towns along the way. You can get off in Monterosso, it is a little steep, but small to wander around before staying on the ferry as it arrives in the other towns. We only hopped off again at Vernazzo briefly. Great views just staying on the ferry.

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Just returned from the Quest and took the cinque terre tour from Portofino; ferry to Santa Margarita, bus to the first cinque terre town, ferry to Vernazza, train to Manarola and then bus back to Portofino. There was quite a bit of walking involving steep roads; stairs at the train station and if you want to go up into the buildings above the main town square. The ferry could be a challenge also.

I thought it would have been better with one less town.

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Thank you, Laurieb. Gives me a better idea if we can do it or not.

You're very welcome!!

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An excursion to Cinque Terre is better done from Portovenere, which I have done (twice before) and is much closer.

I also did the ship's tour from Portofino. Approximately 6 of the 9 hours were spent traveling or waiting for public transport.

An excursion to Cinque Terre is better done from Portovenere, which I have done (twice before) and is much closer.

 

I also did the ship's tour from Portofino. Approximately 6 of the 9 hours were spent traveling or waiting for public transport.

If Portovenere is an option, sure it is. However, when we went to Portovenere the ferries weren't running so we couldn't get there...