Private Cinque Terre
Explore Beautiful Cinque Terra
In medieval times, the word 'terra' (land) meant 'village.' This is the origin of the name of this beautiful area: Cinque Terre (Five Villages). The inhabitants of these places had agricultural origins and lived on the hills. They came down to the coast once the Saracens had finished invading, when the sea became safe; they populated the villages at the mouths of the rivers along the shore. Cinque Terre's landscape is harsh and wild and the coast reflects this. High cliffs dropping down into the cobalt blue depths of the sea, hiding minute coves at Riomaggiore and Vernazza, or tiny ports like Manarola.
The Cinque Terre, is recognized by UNESCO as a 'World Heritage Site', and is a national park and protected marine area.
After meeting your driver on the pier for your Livorno excursion, you will set off on the 60 minute drive to La Spezia. Here you will meet your professionally trained local guide and begin your exploration of Cinque Terre. You will proceed by public boat or by local train, depending on the current weather conditions, to the village of Monterosso.
Beautiful beaches, rugged cliffs, crystal-clear turquoise waters, and plentiful small hotels and restaurants make Monterosso al Mare, the largest of the Cinque Terre villages (population 1,730), the busiest in midsummer. The village center bustles high on a hillside. Below, connected by stone steps, are the port and seaside promenade, where there are boats for hire. The village is encircled by hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, and by a forest of scrubby bushes and small trees. The medieval tower, Aurora, on the hills of the Cappuccini, separates the ancient part of the village from the more modern part. The medieval center of Monterosso has remained perfectly preserved with its tower-houses and 'carrugi' (narrow alleys). The remains of the walls and defense system are a testament to the town's numerous sea battles. The castle, overlooking the sea, and the Aurora Tower, the only one standing out of the thirteen towers built in the 17th-century, help paint the picture of this tempestuous time.
Departing from Monterosso, you will head to Vernazza. This tiny resort is located at the mouth of a river and is naturally protected from the threat of the sea by a rocky promontory, making it the only major landing point in the Cinque Terre. Vernazza has always had a strong political and economical importance, which is witnessed by the style of its houses and streets, decorated with loggias and refined arcades, giving it the appearance of a noble and elegant village located on a steep cliff.
Following Vernazza, you will make your way to Riomaggiore. Nestled between two steep terraced hills that descend in abrupt cliffs to the sea, the historic borough of Riomaggiore strikes visitors with its tall vertically built colourful houses. While strolling amidst the tight network of alleyways, the village's archways and staircases offer charming shifts of light and shade. All of the houses have two entrances: one at the facade on the street level, the other at the rear at the level of the higher road. In the 1500s, these structures guaranteed an escape route in case of Saracen attacks. After a delightful day exploring the picturesque Cinque Terre, you will be returned to the port.
Please Note: Due to vehicle regulations in Cinque Terre, vehicles available for this tour accommodate groups of up to 7 passengers maximum. Groups with more than 7 guests must split their group between vehicles accordingly. Please take this information into consideration when booking. In case of inclement weather, one of the villages above may be substituted with another village in Cinque Terre, Manarola.
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.
We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.
Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.
Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.
Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.
Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.
Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.
$300.00 USD
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