Italy

Monday 4th May 2026 – Cinque Terre (Part 1)….

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A much better day than forecast but still a reasonable amount of cloud and breeze around to make today’s outing pleasurable – especially as it was soo busy! An earlyish start as we caught the 9.30 shuttle bus down to the station and caught the train to Levanto again. This time though we only needed to alight at Levanto to pick up entry tickets to Cinque Terre National Park – the tickets included train travel between the villages as well as access to the many footpaths. We hopped back on the train and decided to start at the far end, getting out at our first village – Riomaggiore – the main hub of this beautiful village was very busy leading down to the focal point, the harbour….

From here we followed the coastal path, which was significantly quieter, around to the secluded stony beach….

Here the path ended and on our return we watched for a while as the rather choppy sea made havoc of those trying to embark and disembark the ferry that is an alternative mode of transport (at additional cost to the ticket that we had bought), between the villages….

Trying to keep our distance from the crowds we wandered back along the path enjoying the stunning views of the village and coast….

Battling our way around the small harbour to get alternative views of the village as it makes its way up the hillside, with agricultural terracing visible above the houses….

Very pretty indeed but an absolute nightmare to live I should imagine – this is a Monday in early May – July and August don’t bear thinking about!

At this point I made a bit of a cock up, assuming that all trains stopping at the station, would stop at each of the villages – wrong, so before we knew it we were back at the first village – Monterosso! However for the sake of continuity, the next village heading east to west is Manarola….

This village is perched high up on the cliff top, looking and reaching down to the small harbour….

Here too we found that most people were concentrated around the bars, shops and restaurants lining the main street down and surrounding the harbour and so we made our way to the coastal path and were rewarded with a bit of breathing space and some pretty spectacular views of the village and surrounding coastline….

This was in fact our last village of the day, as by this time it is late afternoon and the trains are jam packed and frankly we have had enough. Fortunately, we had saved the least picturesque village (allegedly), Corniglia to last and contented ourselves with distant coastal views from Manarola…

We shall continue this excursion in tomorrow’s blog, otherwise it is at risk of becoming to media heavy to open….

Sunday 3rd May 2026 – a lovely walk from Levanto to Framura….

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A very hot day yesterday and being a Saturday we decided there was no point trying to find a spot on the beach so we stayed put and got on with a few housekeeping bits and stayed in the relatively cool spot we have under the shade of the trees.

It is still a fine day today but with a little bit of cloud and breeze around we venture down to the station and catch the train the short distance to Levanto as there is a section of old railway line that has been converted into a cycle / pedestrian way linking the coastal villages of Levanto, Bonassola and Framura, most of which is through tunnels affording a nice bit of cool for walking in.

Arriving in the pleasant resort of Levanto, we take a stroll around the old town first….

Before joining the seafront for a stroll along the promenade and the beaches of Levanto – Spiaggia la Pietra and Spiaggia Levanto….

At the far end of the resort is Spiaggia Scapinera with it’s collection of colourful small boats….

Ready to cool down a bit we venture into our first tunnel….

In between sections of tunnel are little glimmers of light with amazing views across the aquamarine sea and Levanto’s secret beach – Spiaggia Valle Santa….

After a couple of miles we are in sight of Bonassola….

A small and not especially remarkable village….

Busy on this beautiful Sunday afternoon with plenty of folk enjoying either alfresco dining or the sunny, part pebbly beach….

After a short break we continue our way through more tunnels, in fact this stretch was nearly all tunnel with the odd delightful gap here and there…

After another mile or so we reach Framura with it’s pretty natural sheltered harbour…

And small stony beaches – Spiaggia Torsei near the harbour and Spiaggia la Valla, just beyond the village which mostly sits perched high above the sea….

Here we take a last look at the beautiful sea and catch the train back to Deiva Marina, as walking any further involves roadside walking up through the hills for a further 5 miles – not happening especially as we have a big day planned for tomorrow….

A beautiful walk, only really made possible in this heat because of the long stretches of tunnel.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 8.5
  • Beaches – 7
  • Train – £4.40
  • O/N – £22

Friday 1st May 2026 – Deiva Marina….

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A beautiful hot sunny day and a bank holiday here in Italy as we took the courtesy bus the couple of miles down to Deiva Marina, noting that in fact there is a footpath from about half a mile south of the campsite. There isn’t much of a resort here just a few hotels and campsites (mostly higher up the road as we are) and the main beach is understandably heaving!….

Though we do manage to find a quiet corner, where there are a few other dogs, for a bit of a sit down but to be honest it was too hot for Tilly and though there are other dogs on the beach, the signage quite clearly states no dogs so we didn’t loiter. We wandered along the promenade to see if walking along the coast for a bit was an option but to the left just led into a campsite (no dogs) with it’s own tiny private beach, Spiaggia Camping Framura….

At the end of the site was a closed off tunnel preventing any further progress, so we about turned and headed in the opposite direction and low and behold….

So it would appear that short of doing some serious hiking, there is only one way in and out of the village. Oh well, we’ve had a nice walk and rather than calling for the courtesy bus we decided to walk back….

I imagine that tomorrow will be even busier, so we have decided to have a bit of a day off and do some laundry and other van bits and just be….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £20.71

Thursday 30th April 2026 – Rapallo and the mountain road to Deiva Marina….

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Another beautiful morning and we start the day with a walk down to Rapallo sea front just over a mile away from our Sosta. What we hadn’t appreciated was the fact that the weekly market was on this morning down on the sea front and so it was rather busy.

We were however able to walk along behind the market on the sea front, with a brief stop on Spiaggia Rapallo…

As we hav ecome to expect the colourful graceful buildings along the sea front do not disappoint….

And at the far end of the sea front the small castle and it’s small beach is a sight to behold….

Upon returning to the van, we were soon packed up and on our way, knowing that we have a somewhat interesting journey ahead of us. The drive is not far distance wise but after about 10 miles of coast hugging the SS1 coastal road heads more inland as it climbs through the inland hills, the coast, I guess was too tricky to viably construct a road and the few resorts are reached by some pretty steep and narrow declines – if the SS1 is coming inland then so are we. The road is steep and very windy, which makes for slow going but still an enjoyable drive with more distant sea views…

Eventually we reach the turning for Deiva Marina and start the equally slow and windy decline to the campsite we have booked for the next few nights. Unfortunately there is no footpath down to the sea from the site (about 2 miles) and the shuttle bus from the site only takes guests down up until midday, so we just take a wander around the site and relax for the afternoon.

Thoughts of the day:

  • The Wifi and phone signal is much better in Italy than we found it to be in France – so far at least.
  • Supermarkets with ample parking on the outskirts of towns do not seem to be a thing here which makes shopping a little trickier – but we are managing.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 29
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • Fuel – £75.56
  • Food – £7.07
  • O/N – £20.71

Wednesday 29th April 2026 – a stunning visit to St Margherita and Portofino….

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Another beautiful day as we say goodbye to Celle Ligure and continue our journey along the coastal road, after a scenic stint we endure lots of traffic and traffic lights as we drive through Genova – mostly it is a large port with 4 huge cruise ships in dock as we drive passed with terraces of terracotta apartment blocks and lots of construction work taking place in the town itself. They also appear to be working on an expansive promenade beyond the port but unfortunately there were nose to tail cars parked all the way along the front, with not a chance for us stop to get a better look. Eventually we work our way through the town and the coastal road becomes increasingly windy passing high above the few coastal resorts that appear every now and again. We did just manage one brief stop – high above St Margherita….

From here it was a windy and steep decline down into Rapallo, through the town to our Aire for the night – the hospital car park. The were already about 15 vans in the nearly empty of cars car park and we were able to park up without any bother.

We had originally planned, assuming that we would have had a couple of stops on the way, to stay overnight and visit St Margherita and Portofino tomorrow but as it is barely noon we decide to crack on and visit them today. Armed with our roamer bus pass we board a bus, without checking that it is going to St Margherita and it was only as we left Rapallo behind that I realised we were headed east rather than west! Frustratingly this cost us an hour, but no matter we were soon on the right bus and in fact St Margherita is only a couple of miles away….

We alight in the centre of town and wander along the sea front and Spiaggia St Margherita….

Passing the huge Marina and into the Old Town….

On the west side of the old town is Spiaggia Minaglia and heading towards Portofino, Spiaggia Gino e Rino….

We cheat half way to Portofino as the footpath is becoming a bit hit and miss and the road is very narrow (anything larger than a car is only allowed beyond this point for access) and hop on a bus (minibus really) for the last bit, catching a glimpse of Baia Cannone….

Portofino did not disappoint, though busy it is a charming small harbour village, clearly frequented by the cruise ships as the shops are Dior, Louis Vuitton and Missoni and the like but pretty all the same….

We had a good wander around, sat and people watched for a while before catching the bus back to St Margherita and then on to Rapallo and back to a very hot van!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 44
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 4
  • Bus ticket – £8.68
  • O/N – £10.40