The trip begins with arrival at the Genoa airport.  Upon arrival you will be met and transferred by private but to the Grand Hotel Portovenere, the gateway to Cinque Terre.

After breakfast this morning, we meet our guide and depart by coach to Montemarcello.  After a visit in this charming little village, we begin our program with a 3-hour hike along the pathway which leads to Lerici.  The trail is in the regional Park Montemarcello/Magra. It’s a fluvial area that includes stretches of the two main rivers of the province of La Spezia: the river Magra and the river Vara. This protected area follows the two rivers.  The pathway is generally quite narrow and in some points reaches 3280 ft. The hilly area of the Park is characterised by harsh and rocky relief: on the one side the Gulf of La Spezia and the open sea, and on the other side the Magra mouth, the Luni plain, and the Apuan Alps always covered with snow. The Park territory encompasses 16 municipalities.

This is a diverse hike combining: the Mediterranean maquis, garigue, Aleppo pine woods, and deciduous oak woods; in addition this fluvial environment is one of the most important stopover areas for aquatic birds along the big migratory paths.  Last but not least are the charming little villages on the sea such as Lerici, Tellaro, San Terenzo, whose beauty fascinated poets so much that the area was named “Gulf of Poets”.

This morning we depart by boat from Portovenere to Monterosso.  After a brief visit to Monterosso, we begin our 2-1/2 hour hike to Vernazza, one of the most beautiful walks along the coast.  Upon reaching Vernazza, you will have free time to enjoy a light lunch at one of the many restaurants in this charming town.  In the afternoon we will take the train to Manarola and visit the village. Then we begin our 20 minute hike along the most famous stretch of trail along the Cinque Terre, the Via dell’Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore.  After the hike, there will be time to visit Riomaggiore.  We will take a public boat from Riomaggiore back to Portovenere. 

Departure by coach and travel to the Apuan Alps.  We meet a local guide in Carrara. The whole day will be dedicated to the discovery of this area famous for the Carrara marble which has been quarried since ancient Roman times. Michelangelo used to come here to personally choose the marble blocks which became his masterpieces. This interesting excursion provides both a wonderful walk (2 ½ hours) to enjoy the scenery of the Apuan Alps and learning about the famous Carrara marble. A visit to a marble atelier will also be included.    

Departure by boat from Portovenere to the Palmaria Island where we hike along the pathway that marks the entire perimeter of the island. The itinerary on foot (about 2 ½ hrs) is very interesting not only from a natural point of view, but also because of the many archaeological traces dating back to the prehistoric settlements of this area.

After the hike, we travel by boat to Tino Island to take part / view the striking religious celebrations. Only on September 13 is the only day of the year that the little island of Tino (belonging to the archipelagos located just in front of Portovenere) is accessible to people because of the religious festival devoted to Saint Venerio, patron saint of La Spezia Gulf.  Enjoy the taste of the typical foods of the area which are freshly prepared by local people, who set-up food stalls as part of the festival activities.

After breakfast, we check-out of our hotel and travel by to the beautiful town of Santa Margherita where we check-in to our hotel.

We will travel from Santa Margherita to Portofino by boat.  From the dock we hike to Portofino lighthouse which is an easy hike of about 1 hour.  We will return to Portofino and you will have time to enjoy lunch at one of the local restaurants.  Late afternoon we will take the boat back to Santa Margherita