Cinque Terre: Private Boat Tour with Swim & Pesto Tasting

4.96

(204 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to feel so small out on the Ligurian sea, but there we were — just a few of us and our captain, leaving Monterosso behind. The boat was this sturdy old gozzo, kind of creaky in a way that made me trust it more. I remember the salt spray on my arms and how the sun kept shifting behind clouds, making the colors of Vernazza look almost unreal. Our guide (I think his name was Paolo?) pointed out the church right by the water — he said locals still get married there, which made me smile for some reason.

We drifted past Corniglia perched way up high — you can’t reach it by boat, so you just sort of gaze up at those tiny houses clinging to the cliff. Manarola came next, and Paolo poured us some white wine from a cold bottle while telling us about Sciacchetrà (I’m still not sure how to pronounce it). We stopped in a little cove I never would’ve found on my own; I jumped in even though I hesitated at first — the water was colder than I thought but so clear you could see every pebble. There was this moment where everyone just floated quietly, not really talking, just listening to the slap of waves against the hull.

Riomaggiore’s houses looked like they’d been painted with leftover gelato — pinks and yellows and that odd blue you only see in Italy. Someone asked about the Via dell’Amore path starting there, and Paolo laughed about all the proposals he’s seen from his boat (he winked at me when he said it). Before heading back, we sat on deck eating focaccia slick with olive oil and this pesto that honestly ruined supermarket pesto for me forever. The smell of basil mixed with sea air is something I still think about sometimes.