Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra is collection of 5 (cinque) cities (Terra means earth). We stayed in Vernazza and visited all the other cities. They are all beautiful and quaint and have a little something different to offer. Most people come to hike between cities but you can take a boat or ferry or train between cities as well. The hiking can be difficult and with the heat it seems a little harder.
1. Riomaggiore. We had gelato in the city (we pretty much ate all day, we justified it with over 12 miles of hikes). My gelato was served up in waffle like crepes. They also served up small little baskets of fried seafood, calamari etc which I was dying to try but at this point I was too full. 
2. Manarola. This is exactly what I picture when I think Cinque Terra. This was probably our favorite city. They had big rocks at the beach that people where cliff jumping off of. We actually jumped in the water in our workout clothes to cool off for a bit. We ate at the best restaurant Nessun Dorma with incredible views. They served fresh lemon juice (essentially lemonaid) as this area is know for their lemons and they also had amazing virgin mojitos. We ordered a cheese plate that said it was for 2-3 people but looked like it was for 10. It also had anchovies (which the area is also know for, I tried them but still not really my favorite). Don’t forget to order olives and a side of pesto both of which were incredible as well. The view was perfect from the restaurant too. There was a little bit of a wait but it went fast and they had a restroom (which can always be hard to find in these small towns).
3. Corniglia. We had lemon granato right after we completed the hike which was perfect in the scorching sun. Multiple cute little gelato shops and other little shops lined the streets. This city didn’t really appear to have beach access. We wanted to hike to the next two cities from here but both the trails were closed. Make sure you check before going to ensure the trails are open. We ended up taking the train to Manarola. 
4. Vernazza. We stayed here so I think we experienced the most in this town. We left in the morning to hike to Corniglia. We heard this was the best time to do this hike. Hiking was hard and it was definitely hot. After reading a lot about it I thought the hike would be harder but it’s definitely not easy, lots of stairs and ups and downs. It’s dusty and took us about 1.5 hours with stops for pictures and water. This is one place I feel like tennis shoes are necessary and honestly it would have been hard in anything but workout clothes. I really wanted to wear something cute since I knew there were so many photo ops but it was so hot and dusty I’m grateful I wore what I did! The next day I wore my swimsuit with a light coverup to keep cool which was helpful too since there are many opportunities to hop in the water.
If you wanted to get some good pictures without quite the hike we went up to the cemetery overlooking the city in about 20 min in flip flops. It’s straight up but mostly paved. The best views of Vernazza were just inside the park on the hike to Monterosso. We did this hike in the late afternoon and it took us around 2 hours and seemed harder but again the light wasnt so strong at this time of day and made it a little easier to not be in the glaring sun the whole time. This had a lot of stairs and skinny paths. 
Vernazza has a small farmers market on Tuesday mornings in the Main Street. There is only a small little street through the town which is quaint and beautiful. We ate at Belforte along the coast with beautiful views. The seafood was amazing…best mussels I’ve ever had and we had awesome service and tiramisu.
The beach here was actually sandy which I find a rarity in Europe, although small. Small children from the town were playing in the water and it was delightful to watch the families here. It looks like you could rent canoes, small boats or paddleboards.
5. Monterosso. This has two parts of town, the old and the new. This city appeared to actually have a few hotels and the beach was the largest of any of the other cities. We ate at Torre Aurora which was newly opened and offered an array of uniquely prepared seafood. Best desserts I have had anywhere.
Where we stayed-Caso Cato: At first glance I was nervous. We had someone meet us at the train station and walk us up a hill (again) to give us a key. The room was directly above the train station and the small pathway to get there seemed a little sketchy but once opening the room I felt assured that we were in the right place. The room was clean, cool although small with a small balcony overlooking the city with a picture perfect view. You could hear the trains but it didn’t really bother me. The room was right along the path to Corneglia which was convienent. This is not a hotel just a few rooms together that you can rent. I don’t believe the area has a lot of hotels.
They did have a small terrace where they offered breakfast that was clean and decorated with bright tables with awesome views of the city. The owners met us from 9-10 with a breakfast that they had prepared for us and the other guests and they gave us tips for our travel and recommendations. It was delightful and added to our enjoyment of the area.
Tips and Tricks:
1. Trains run often but be aware that they stop at a certain time and how often they run slows down as the night goes on.
2. When you purchase a ticket for the park you can get some that include the trains and ferries. This may be worth it depending on how you plan to get around.