Hotels near Vernazza to Corniglia

If you only walk one stretch of the Sentiero Azzurro, make it trail 592-3. Vernazza to Corniglia covers 3.2 km with an official time of 1 hour 30 minutes, a maximum altitude of about 220 m and something in the order of 250 m of ascent, again an estimate rather than a published park number. The park applies the same Esperto grade it gives the Monterosso leg, but the climbing here is spread across the whole route instead of stacked into one staircase, and most reasonably fit walkers find it the easier of the two open sections. A Cinque Terre Trekking Card is required and checked at the gate.

The sting comes at the end. Corniglia is the only one of the five villages not built at sea level, and getting from Corniglia station up to the village means the Lardarina, a brick zigzag staircase of roughly 380 steps. Walking the route in this direction at least means you arrive at the top of it rather than starting your day at the bottom.

Pro Tip: Skip the Lardarina on the way back down. The ATC shuttle bus runs between Corniglia village and Corniglia station, and it is covered by the Cinque Terre Treno MS Card, so anyone holding that tier pays nothing extra to save 380 steps on tired legs.