Wanderlusting: Cinque Terre Italy

With summer finally here so many people are off traveling with their families. We don’t normally travel in the summer time as we like to enjoy the hot Toronto weather; plus travel when school is out is always more expensive. We usually save our trips for Fall when prices are a little lower and less people are around.

I’ve been “wanderlusting” about Europe for YEARS and I’m so excited that my husband and I will be taking our first trip there this fall! It took us a while to decide where to go. We wanted a mix of culture with galleries and museums; we wanted to experience city life in a place other than the major Canadian cities we’ve been to; and we also wanted some nature – taking long walks and relaxing on a beach.

Upon researching the last criteria of our trip, I discovered one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I’ve come across:  Cinque Terre. I’ll leave you to google that or check it out my “Travel+Events” board on Pinterest.

Cinque Terre translates to “Five Lands” but is not really a place – it’s just used to describe the area. There are five villages that make up Cinque Terre. They are UNESCO protected villages within the Cinque Terre National park.

You can take a train between each of the villages or hike through them. We plan on doing a little of both! As I was looking up places to stay within one of the 5 villages of Cinque Terre we decided to stay just outside of the Cinque Terre area – a 10 minute train ride into the area.

One of the best guides to this area I’ve found so far are from Bianca of Italian Fix who has the BEST JOB EVER! She’s a Canadian who lives in Vancouver but spends her summers running tours around Italy. She has really great tips and even offers up suggested itineraries in Cinque Terre depending on how long you have to spend there.

{source: Italian Fix; photographer Lomoody Mo}

I also found this Complete Guide To Cinque Terre by Hand Luggage Only to be very practical and useful while planning our trip. They offer a great overview of each of the villages and what to expect while visiting.

Since my husband and I plan on walking / hiking a lot while we’re there I really enjoyed this post by Run Karla Run. She ran through each of the villages and offers up insight on what to expect while travelling by foot and also great perspective on the distances and changes in elevation between each town.

My friend Lisa of This Beautiful Day also went with her husband a few years ago, and I loved reading about her personal experience during this life changing trip.

{source: Hand Luggage Only}

 It’s an understatement to say just how excited I am about our trip!

If you’ve been to Cinque Terre or Italy (we’re going to Florence too!) I’d love to hear about your experience and any tips you have to offer.