Category: coastal

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Cinque Terre, Italy – Porto Venere to Manarola

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

In 2010, I hiked the famed Sentiero Azzurro aka Verde Azzurro path, or “Blue trail”.

It connected the 5 main villages of the the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Riomaggiore to Monterosso al Mare.

Sadly, since 2011 sections of the classic have been closed.

Returning in 2023, I decided to do part of the most popular alternative, the Sentiero Rosso aka Cinque Terre High Path.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

A LOT of ascent and descent. But gorgeous vistas from high up.

Took the train to La Spezia. Then the local bus to Porto Venere.

A pretty town.

Starting the hike north, immediately you find the impressive Doria Castle.

EPSON DSC picture

The trail takes you high above the ocean with terrific views in each direction. There are some very narrow pathways, but no real exposure.

I found a quiet spot, just before dark, to put up my tent.

Early next morning I arrived at the impressive Santuario di Montenero. The priest came out, interested in my drone. I showed him how it worked and later sent him this video.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Flowers bloom in profusion in June. You can see why everyone loves these trails.

I climbed WAY DOWN to Riomaggiore. A charming seaside town.

At tourist information, I confirmed that the original Blue trail was still closed. Got a map and directions for the best high route.

The tunnel by the railway station was a highlight for me.

Up, up, up.

More amazing vistas from up high.

Finally, I caught the train in Corniglia, a little further on from Manarola. It was nice to have the freedom to finish the day whenever I wanted.

YES, the Cinque Terre is touristy. But taking the high trails mostly gets you away from the mobs.

I highly recommend this hiking destination.

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Surviving the Kalalau Trail, Hawaii

I met Blake and Eli cycling the Tuscany Trail in Italy.

World travellers, they’ve been living and working online from locations like Hawaii, Australia, Bali & Thailand.

Living the dream.

Click PLAY or watch one of their hikes on YouTube. Subscribe to the channel if you enjoy it.

Kalalau is one of our Top 10 coastal hikes in the world.

Details.

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Cinque Terre, Italy – Riomaggiore & Santuario di Montenero

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Riomaggiore is 1st of the famous 5 villages of Cinque Terre.

Hiking in from Porto Venere, the highlight for me was the Santuario di Montenero, a Catholic church & monastery perched overlooking Riomaggiore.

I met the priest who was keen to see how my drone worked. I put this short video together for him.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mathew conducts service in all 5 villages. I told him he had the best congregations in Italy.

He didn’t disagree.

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Madeira, Portugal with Kraig Adams

Kraig is the #1 hiker on YouTube in my opinion.

This video includes a lot of hiking and spectacular drone footage — as usual — but also includes much more on the rest of his visit to the islands of Madeira, 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north of the Canary Islands and 520 kilometres (320 mi) west of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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BestHike #7 – Otter Trail, South Africa

The Otter Trail on the Garden Route out of Capetown is arguably the most famous in Southern Africa.

Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.

Otter Trail

Lush forests, rugged shorelines, mountain streams and waterfalls and fragrant fynbos make this a unique coast adventure.

Book 12 months in advance to get one of the exclusive permits. .

South Africa Tourism
South Africa Tourism

AT A GLANCE

  • one of our top 10 coastal hikes in the world
  • Storms River Mouth to Nature’s Valley
  • 42km
  • 5 days, 4 nights
  • clean huts, no tenting
  • gorgeous cliff tops, returning to sea level to cross rivers

Read more on our Otter Trail information page.

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5 best hikes in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is not at all considered a hiking destination. But Lonely Planet does recommend these trails.

  • Waitukubuli National Trail, Dominica (185km)
  • Pico Turquino, Cuba (22.5-25km)
  • Mt Christoffel, Curaçao (2.7km)
  • Gros Piton Trail, St Lucia (4.7km)
  • Dark View Falls, St Vincent (2.4km)

Details – The 5 best hikes in the Caribbean

Of those, we’re most interested in the long Waitukubuli Trail, officially opened in 2013.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Carly Hiked the Vancouver Island Trail

Solo.

Approximately 800km / 500miles

She saw no other hikers outside the 2 provincial parks.

There are multiple route options, but here’s the gist.

Carly Wiechnik:

The two higher elevation mountainous sections, the Beauforts and Strathcona, can be snow covered until the end of June, and snow can begin to fall again around the month of October.

A thru-hike might take a month (fast) to six weeks (slower), which can easily fit into the window of July-September.

The best month to hike would probably be August, as by then the snow is mostly gone in the higher elevations, precipitation is low and it is warm and dry. (However, campfire bans are common around this time to prevent wildfires). Coastal trails are also less muddy. …

Resupply: A cool thing about the VIT is that it goes straight through towns at reasonable intervals, so it’s easy to hit up a grocery store every 3-6 days …

Vancouver Island Trail: Recap (and Tips!)