Sestri Levante instead of "real Cinque Terre"?

[Nemanoxer]

Hi fellow cruisers.

 

We are booked to have one day (28th August) n Portofino port with excursions to Cinque Terre, more precisely Monterosso and Manarola. Now, we are really worried about running into 3000 tourists, 35 degrees and some kind of power climbing necessary to get some nice photos. We have never been in Cinque Terre, our worries might be over the top. 

 

Anyway, would you consider Sestri Levante or other places in the area if worrying about "real Cinque Terre" stresses you out too much? Or are the "real Cinque Terre" not as crazy bad and more or less bearable in late August?

Constructive thoughts and input will be much appreciated, thank you.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Nemanoxer

[cruisemom42]

You are stop in the absolutely beautiful town of Portofino. (Which I happen to think is the equal of any of the Cinque Terre.)

 

Just relax and enjoy your day there. You can take the short ferry ride to the next town over, the equally charming Santa Margherita Ligure and if you're feeling ambitious even as far as Rapallo (a little less charming but still worth a visit).

[marazul]

You can also take the ferry in the opposite direction to San Fruttuoso and Camogli. But, to quote cruisemom,  Portofino is absolutely beautiful. 

[edinburgher]

13 hours ago, marazul said:

to quote cruisemom,  Portofino is absolutely beautiful. 

It is indeed, but tiny so the above suggestion to split time between there and Santa Margherita is an excellent one.There are buses and the ferry connecting them or if you feel up to it, you could walk, although I highly recommend using the ferry at least one way as it is only 15/20 minutes but super scenic. And Santa Margherita is a very pleasant seaside resort to explore and prices are lower than those in Portofino which caters to the rich.

 

Many past threads and posts about both Portofino and Santa Margherita, and more recent ones have included links to ferry timetables.

 

Use the SEARCH tool under your username to find them.

 

Go to the ITALY BOARDS forum, the general one, not an individual thread, input Portofino in the search box under your username then hit the little spy glass.  All threads including that word will appear ready for you to read.  Repeat the process with Santa Margherita.