Lovely trip to Italy, we had such an amazing time! Cinque Terre is charming and was perfect after 40C in Rome. Very good hotels, and in Venice we had canal views.
Fantastic hiking trip in a beautiful part of the world This is a popular hiking trip, and deservedly so. The views every day were wonderful - you'd be hard pressed to enjoy this area to the same extent traveling on your own; having a tour made it so easy to have the paths charted out for us each day, and transport back to the hotel after a tough day's hiking. Each day brought an exploration of a little bit of a different area. It is rated as a "2" i think, pretty easy, but it was not very easy due to the extreme heat (up to 40C on one day, and well over 35 on every day) and humidity, on steep and rough paths. I'd say it is more like a 3 (I am an over 60 yr old woman in good condition). It is a small (about 15 people) tour so the logistics are manageable, and the group was delightful. Food at the Hotel Due Torri was fine. Only negative: the rooms are haphazard: you might or might not get a good one. Don't pay for the "superior" room - just a jacuzzi tub in a garret, with a sloping roof, can't stand up in half the room.
The guide was great. The audio system was a bit unclear or muffled and could be better. Could I suggest a starting time at about 10:10, to allow for the train coming from Napoli Central.
