All Saints Day in Cinque Terre – Overrun With Tourists | Reader Feedback

I read your C.T. information with great interest as we planned a holiday in Oct/Nov 2005 for this area of Italy . As we traveled there we had the idea that we would be stepping back in time to an area that was quiet and quaint. Much to our surprise we arrived on a train packed like sardines!!!!

I am not sure about other times of Oct, but as we traveled there the weekend of the All Saints Day, all 5 towns were overrun with tourists. Americans and Italians invaded the towns the three days we were there. These towns are certainly not your small quiet quaint towns of yesteryear from what we saw, although the scenery and outlying areas were nice and the towns are certainly small. The hikes between towns while having fabulous views were like Italian foot freeways. Just as busy and crazy as the traffic in cities, only it was all people, one can’t imagine what it would be like in the busier tourist season.

There were so many people with Rick Steve’s Travel Books than I have ever seen traveling. Personally, I would advise staying in towns close to the C.T. as prices are higher in the C.T. The food was fabulous in some spots and terrible in others, just like any American tourist spot.

The weather while there was fabulous!!! If you look beyond the tourists and go to the areas that the locals frequent off the beaten path, which we had to do, you could see the beauty of the towns as they were before the American invasion with Rick Steve’s. He may be an American leader in Travel books and very informative about what he writes, however, it has also meant that he has sent loads of Americans to invade the quiet places of other countries, rendering them no longer quiet. Please don’t lead travelers to believe that the C.T is a quiet idyllic place to visit. While I am glad to have seen the area, I will worn people, what it is really like there and to be prepared.

Dawn Hallman, Toronto, Canada

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *