Wander to Monterosso, Italy

Monterosso al Mare is quite literally the red mountain by the sea, but really means “your happy place”. When planning this Italian excursion with my dad and knowing full well that I had free reign to pick whatever places I wanted, I started looking on instagram for picturesque italian villages. I didn’t have to look long to start to see about a million beautifully stunning grams of #Cinqueterre. And what kind of Italian vacay would I be planning if it didn’t include a stay by the sea and a few days on the beach? Not the kind of vacay I want to be a part of! So off to Monterosso al Mare we go!

Where To Stay

Monterosso al Mare is one of the five “Cinque Terre” which are located on the west coast of Italy in the La Spezia province. All five Cinque Terres are amazingly beautiful with incredible views, but when I was trying to decide which Cinque Terre to visit I found I was limited by hotel and apartment availability! Since the summer months can be such a popular time to holiday in these places (and because I put off booking something until like the month before), hotel availability can be limited. Not only that, but if you’ve been following along with my other Wander to Italy travel guides, you know that I’ve been using HomeAway to book a lot of our places to stay. Unfortunately I found that because the Cinque Terre areas in so popular and secluded, the inventory of apartments to stay in there was definitely the most limited that I experienced when apartment hunting for all the places on our itinerary. So, keep this in mind if your planning a stay in the Cinque Terres!

How to Play

One of the best aspects of Monterosso al Mare is that there is something for everyone! My dad was waaaay into just lying on the beach under a bright umbrella with a book and beer (ie. eventually falling asleep with book in hand under the umbrella! haha!). You can definitely take this approach the whole time and relax under the sun getting your tan on but for those of you that are a bit more adventurous, there’s so many activities for you too! You can go hiking in the surrounding mountains which are quite a bit steep but definitely worth it for the amazing views. Personally, I was SO excited about the paddle boarding! We have paddle boarding here in Austin and I’ve been a few times so I’m familiar but paddle boarding in the ocean next to Monterosso al Mare was amazing! You can people watch from your board, get a great work out in and also just lay down and catch a cat nap. There’s quite a few places you can rent these paddle boards along the beach, including renting snorkel gear, pedal boats and kayaks too. Just remember, the sun is INTENSE. You probably will be able to gather this just by looking around at the local’s tans but trust me, slather on the sunscreen. Rest assured you WILL get a tan, no matter how much sunscreen you put on, but definitely put on plenty of sunscreen!

What to Eat

I’m a huge seafood person every since my trying mussels and clams for the first time in on my very first Euro trip, which is scary to think that was almost about 4 years ago now! Ever since then, I’ve loved eating seafood any chance I get and what better way to eat fresh seafood than on a beautiful palapa by the Italian sea! There’s an adorable place,  Il Casello, in the old historical Monterosso which is just a short 5 min walk from the main stretch of hotel and beach area. Of course I ordered practically everything, we had fresh shrimp which were delicious, an amazing caprese salad and my favorite, mussels. I swear these mussels were the best mussels I’ve ever had! The broth really makes the mussel and these were to die for. Still dreaming about them! Near the beach there’s plenty of gelato shops with incredibly fresh gelato. Definitely get some gelato here in Monterosso because they have super fresh tropical flavors that I swear are better than the ones we found in bigger cities like Rome.

What I Learned

One of the biggest lessons I learned from this trip is that a 2 week Euro vacation can be go, go, go. And at times if you plan it like I did, it can feel a bit overwhelming! Besides no one likes coming back from a vacation and feeling like you needed a vacation to recover from your vacation. Looking back, I would have planned the trip so that the first and last place we visit are relaxing resort towns like Cinque Terre. This way all the go go going is sandwhich-ed by relaxation and winding down at the beginning and end of your trip! This might seem like an obvious thing to do, but I think I’m the kind of person to try to think of everything when planning something, but even the most detail-orientated millennial can make this rookie mistake like I did! It’s just one of those things you realize after you solely plan your first long action packed vacation and not your parents or an awesome travel company like if you study abroad!

Last note: Most important thing to bring with you to Cinque Terre is your favorite bikinis! If you visit all the Cinque Terres you’ll probably spend the entire time in your bathing suit, or cover up and or some form thereof, which is why I’ve included some of my favorite suits below for any vacations you’re planning for a warm getaway this winter!