The Italian destination Cinque Terre lies in the northwestern part of the boot (just below Genoa) and is made up of five towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, e Riomaggiore. All five are ancient fishing villages on hills (though Monterosso is noted for being quite flat), and according to the region’s website, until fairly recently the towns were only connected by mule tracks. So the terrain is beautiful, but definitely rustic. The best way to travel in and among the Cinque Terre is by hiking — but you have to wear the right shoes!! I guess too many tourists coming to visit the seaside have tried to hike in their beachgear, because in 2019 Cinque Terre National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — officially enacted a NO FLIP-FLOPS policy. This year they’re upping the ante, warning visitors that violating the rule could end up costing you a $2,900 fine. No flip-flops are worth that kind of lira!
While the town on the Italian Riviera coastline is a popular destination for travelers looking to take in the stunning blue waters and spend time in the sun, the Cinque Terre National Park authority is enforcing a fine for hikers wearing flip-flops, strappy sandals and other similar shoes.
The rule began in 2019 when the park authority started warning travelers that they should wear the proper footwear when hiking the trails, as they can be slippery and the local mountain rescue team wants to prevent incidents, according to Travel + Leisure.
“These are difficult paths, in some cases, similar to mountain paths,” Patrizio Scarpellini, director of the Cinque Terre National Park, told CNN Travel at the time. “Essential to have proper shoes!”
As part of the enforcement, visitors who wear flip-flops or sandals on the trails could be fined up to €2,500, or about $2,900.
“The fines will be high,” Scarpellini added.
Posters will alert travelers about the fines, as well as when buying an entry ticket online. They also encourage hikers to stick to trails that suit their skill level, and to bring sunscreen, a hat, hiking boots, food and other necessities.
Along with wearing the right type of shoes, a one-way system has been slowly rolled out since 2023 along popular trail stretches to prevent crowding.
The Monterosso-Vernazza stretch is just one of the trails, as it becomes one-way from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time on packed days in April, May and June.
The decision “is aimed at improving the use of the trail and ensuring the safety of visitors by avoiding dangerous intersections and congestion along a particularly narrow and steep path,” park authorities have said.
To access the Cinque Terre National Park, visitors can pre-purchase a Cinque Terre Trekking Care with tickets starting at €10 (~$12) or €15 (~$17) on peak days.
I’m with Cinque Terre on this all the way! Frankly, I don’t think flip-flops belong anywhere outside of beach or pool settings. As I get older, supportive footwear becomes more and more important to me. I need a shoe that’ll give me a bounce into each step. Flip-flops give NOTHING! They’re all flop and no flip. (Don’t get me started on this flip-flop heel trend, it’s like Sneex 2.0 except with no comfort technology!) So aside from not fathoming why anyone would want to walk around, let alone hike in those flat contraptions, I totally understand a National Park deciding they have to cover their liability. Even at $2,900 a sandal. They don’t want anyone falling and injuring themselves on Cinque Terre turf, and sometimes we humans are best only motivated by financial penalties. But really, this isn’t a punitive act by the National Park — it’s an act of love! They want you to survive their wilderness! And I, for one, will definitely be heeding their advice to stick to the trails that suit my skill level… by staying at the beach this summer.
photos credit: Domenico Adornato, William Posser, Kindel Media, Anne van der Valk on Pexels
I got to visit Cinque Terre two years ago and I cannot imagine walking around the villages in flip flops. I had supportive shoes and sandals with arch support. The roads in the village are hilly and had cobble roads. We had to get on a ferry to get from one village to another. The two villages we didn’t get to go to would have taken at least two hours because they are so remote. One of the women in our group wore these flat sandals and complained about her back the whole time. The tour guide told us that 80% of Italy was hilly and she was not kidding.
I can’t believe that water was not included in the list of hiking essentials!
You would have to be some kind of idiot not to bring water. Then again, you would have to be some kind of idiot to go hiking in flip flops. So I guess it evens out? Actually it’s probably the same idiots doing both. Haha.
Oh well.
I laughed reading this because I’m that person, I wear sandals while walking on certain trails in my area but for harder hiking I’ll switch to hiking shoes. It drives my husband crazy! LOL
Have tourists hurt themselves at the time and expense of Italian rescue services? Probably.
This trail is NO joke. I walked it in May 2008. I was astounded that more people hadn’t had accidents. There’s some wire to the side but there were feet long gaps, and it’s rocky and extremely narrow. We all had to stop as a helicopter came to rescue someone who had a rock fall on his head. We were stationary for hours, I think we all had to turn back. Absolutely with the authorities on this one, no flip flops or sandals. Definitely some grip on your shoes.
Don’t blame them – I once saw a woman hike up a steep hill in heels to get to the crater of Mount Vesuvius. Neither she or the man she was with were dressed appropriately for the trip, they looked dressed for lunch at the Ivy.
I was in Italy in May for a wedding. It is thronged with tourists. Florence was so crowded that it honestly made it hard for me to enjoy the more popular sites. We found off-the-beaten path ones and rooftop bars just to get away from the crush of people. The guide we used one afternoon told us it only really abates in the first two weeks of December, between the Thanksgiving and Christmas periods.
\
I am not surprised people show up to these places without proper footwear. A lot of them (not most, but quite a few) are there to pose for Instagram pics and they dress accordingly. We saw at least one “influencer” at every stop we made. The amount of makeup some of them are wearing is a lot more obvious up close, lol.
I don’t blame the government there! The last thing they need is to have to spend resources saving people from their own hubris. And money talks.
I just took a meal to a 75 year old neighbor who broke her leg by wearing cheap-o Old Navy flip flops out to her back porch to water flowers, it was slick with water, her shoes slipped and she fell. Not sure why people want to wear that crap, especially the older we get. It’s so terrible for your feet and obviously a non-stable piece of foot wear!
I hiked the trails between all 5 villages quite a number of years ago. it’s not something one would do in flip flops. although these days there’s so many people that you are more likely to get jammed up than you are to stumble on a rock. Truly a spectacular place.
Makes sense and I agree with this. It can be a tough climb in some areas and proper footwear is needed.
It’s like the tourists and foreign students who try to hike Vancouver’s grouse grind in flip flops, which is laughable and they never make it to the top of Grouse Mountain.
For the record, I have flip flops from Crocs that have arch support and I love them!
FYI: Fit-Flops are very supportive, still not for hiking in Italy but they do support your feet. I had plantar fasciitis on one of my feet and Fit-Flops were the only summer shoe I could find that actually helped my foot. By the end of summer the pain was gone. I’m not a fan of how bulky the Fit-Flops look, but they have come out with a lower profile flip flop and it’s still much more supportive than regular flip-flops. I’ve been wearing the lower profile ones for a few years and my foot is still fine.
Thought I’d throw that out there for those who like to wear flip flops.
I lived in Italy for years and returned to the US last year. It is so overrun by tourism that it borders on the tragic. I feel so bad for the actual Italians just trying to live their lives while their elected officials endlessly promote more and more and more.