5 Reasons why seeing the Cinque Terre by sea in a boat tour is the way to go

PHOTO of the coast (Photo credit) by  Micheal Pasini  edited by Gianfranco (5Service)

Luca, a new Disney Pixar film that will be released this summer, is about two boys who become friends while sharing the secret that they are sea monsters. The film is set in an imaginary town called Portorosso, better known as the Cinque Terre.

Where did the writers get their inspiration? You guessed it — from a boat tour and a piece of our famous local bread, focaccia. Luca’s director, Enrico Casarosa, spent two days exploring the coast from Portovenere to Monterosso by boat while listening to local stories and munching on focaccia.

When I first saw the movie trailer for Luca, it gave me goosebumps — it is seeing the Cinque Terre through the eyes of Disney and Pixar. I always say I feel like I live in a movie set — case in point here! Now that I know about the film, I walk around places like Corniglia and Vernazza and say, oh, this is going to be in the movie!

You know that if a boat tour around the Cinque Terre inspired the likes of Disney to create a whole film about the place, to see it from the sea is to experience something truly magical.

When you depart Riomaggiore’s harbor with Yuri, within seconds you find yourself in the heart of the marina, surrounded by 360 degrees of gorgeous — pastel buildings, vibrant colors, the sea. Then, once you are out of the harbor, you see the villages from a perspective that shows each village’s beauty off like a fashion show. With every turn of the boat you get a different angle and an even prettier picture.

I have lived here for 14 years. The day after I met Yuri, he took me on his boat with a bottle of prosecco (I told the American couple sitting in the harbor my full name in case this random Italian boy was going to feed me to the fishes — at least my parents would know what I had been up to in Europe if I had never returned!). That feeling when we went out and I saw Riomaggiore from the sea made my heart skip a beat. And it has every single time since, 14 years and counting.

Photo credit Micheal Pasini

I love hiking. I hike every day I can, even when it’s 30 degrees and the last thing I want to do. I need to do it for myself and my mind and soul. The best thing that happens to me is when Yuri calls me when I am on my hike and says, ‘I have a free couple hours, want to go on the boat?’ Before he has asked the question, I have my swimming suit on, and I am on my way to the harbor to meet him.

We head out to a quiet area, drop anchor, and take a swim in crystal clear water, with fish all around us and nobody within sight because it’s a weekday morning and not a popular boating day.

The Mediterranean is so salty you just float, and it is so warm from the rocks, it’s like being in a bathtub. And it is so clear, you can see right down to the rocks, meters below you. You can put on a snorkel and go on an adventure and see the local marine life.

So everyone is happy, from the kids to mom to dad — especially water baby me that just does summer circles like an otter for 20 minutes. Then I stop, breathe, and think, THIS is the dolce vita. This is it right here. I need nothing else.

There are sunsets, and there are sunsets. I am a sunset lover. Cinque Terre sunsets are one of a kind. I don’t know if it’s the village vibes, the sea, the coastline, or the colors bouncing off the buildings, but Cinque Terre sunsets are ones you don’t forget.

Our most popular tour is our sunset tour. From the playlist to the local prosecco and focaccia, Yuri makes this tour romantic for couples, fun for groups of friends, and engaging for single travelers looking to spend an evening in incredible company with people from all over the world.

As you travel up the coast and Yuri stops in front of each village, you learn about them and take stunning pictures. Then when you think it can’t get better than this, Yuri has a famous secret up his sleeve that has, no joke, brought tears to many of our guest’s eyes.

This is not just a job for Yuri. This is his passion, and if you take a sunset tour with him, it will most likely end up being what our guests tell him after the cruise — the highlight of their entire trip.

I am a mom and a wife, and I am on call when it comes to anything and everything family. When we go on vacation, I have lists for everything, from carry-on luggage to things to do at the destination to maps. Yes, I am the person that gets to the airport before they even open the check-in counter. But damn, do I give my family and my husband good vacations. I pride myself on it.

We work hard, we play hard, and if we are going to take a family vacation, I love every minute of the planning that goes into it.

Experiences. Travel is an experience. All travelers know that it is worth every penny they earn to travel because you get so much out of it. Doing a boat tour in the Cinque Terre is no different; it is an experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life, as you breathe it all in and say, ‘Now this is what I dreamed I would be doing in Italy while I was planning.’ Now it’s a reality.

Coming to the Cinque Terre? Check out our website to see our tours, and let us show you the Cinque Terre. You make the booking, and we look after you from there. So YOU can spend time relaxing with a local and learning about the Cinque Terre.

As I said, I am biased — we own a boat company. I get that, but if I didn’t own a boat company and only rented rooms, I would still recommend all our guests do a boat tour. I was going to put ‘seeing dolphins’ as number 6 but that would be too much to handle, which it is every time it happens.