Cycling Cinque Terre with Kids

Cinque Terre conjures up images of lush mountains and beautiful villages on rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. We planned on hiking Cinque Terre with our kids, but we were very excited to discover we could also go cycling in Cinque Terre with our kids!

Still working on your Italy Itinerary with kids? Here is our 4 week itinerary for Italy with some suggestions for a 2 week Italy Itinerary and a 10-day Italy Itinerary with kids.

This post contains compensated links.

A fun alternative to Cinque Terre hiking is going on an oceanfront family bike ride along the Levanto bike path. Levanto is easy to get to from the Cinque Terre villages, simply take a short train ride to Levanto for a really fun & easy Cinque Terre cycling experience. 

In 1874 trains starting running from the Levanto train station along an incredible oceanfront railway with many tunnels running through the edges of the mountains. The trains fell silent in 1971, but in 2011 the oceanfront Levanto railway track was converted into a dedicated pedestrian & cycling path.

The Levanto bike path is a wide, two-way paved cycling trail with dedicated lanes for both walking and cycling. This very unique Cinque Terre cycling trail is perfect for cyclists and walkers of all ability levels.  

Location of the Levanto Bike Path

This kid-friendly Cinque Terre cycling route runs from Levanto to Framura. The trailhead for the Levanto Bike Path is located along the Ligurian Sea, just north-west of central Levanto.

This self-guided Cinque Terre bike tour runs through the small Italian beach town of Bonassola, before concluding in Framura.

Length & Difficulty of the Levanto Bike Path

The Cinque Terre cycling route from Levanto to Bonassola is approximately 2.6 km (1.6 miles) long.

The bike ride from Bonassola to Framura is an additional 2.4 km (1.5 miles) for a total one-way distance of 5 km (3.1 mile).

This Cinque Terre bike path is easy and relatively flat and won’t take you very long to cycle from end-to-end. The path is slightly downhill on the way to Framura, so the ride will seem almost effortless. You’ll notice the bike ride is slightly harder on the way back, especially if you have child seats on your bike.

Be sure to stop and enjoy the various sea views and explore the coastal Italian towns along the way. 

Cycling Cinque Terre with Kids

When traveling with our kids (aged 4 and almost 2), we try to give them a variety of activities each day to keep them mentally and physically stimulated. On the day of our Levanto bike ride, we took the morning to explore Levanto, stop for a pastry and let the kids play at a playground.

Once the kids had their fill of the playground, we set off on our family-friendly Cinque Terre cycling trip.

Kid-friendly Cinque Terre Bike Rentals

We rented our bikes (complete with child seats) from Sensafreni Bike Shop on Piazza del Popolo in Levanto, conveniently located right across the street from the playground.

We had brought helmets for our kids from home as we had planned to go cycling in Italy a few times with our kids.

The bike path through the train tunnels is well lit and every so often there is a break where a tunnel ends and a stunning oceanside view appears. There are even holes carved out of the side of the tunnel every now and then leading to a platform where you can enjoy the beautiful oceanside scenery.

It took us approximately 10 minutes to cycle to Bonassola and another 15 to Framura (1 hour round trip). We didn’t go into either town, but if you have the time it would be fun to explore them. At Framura, you’d need to lock up your bike at the old train station and walk into town.  

Cycling from Levanto to Framura is a perfect thing to do with kids in Cinque Terre a really hot day, as the train tunnels will keep it cool. The tunnels also make it a great rainy-day activity since the tunnels will protect you from the rain!

If you are not interested in a family Cinque Terre cycling outing, you could also walk the 5 km if you didn’t want to rent bikes. You don’t need to walk the full length of the Levanto bike path to enjoy the experience.

Where to Stay in Cinque Terre with Kids

Levanto is a larger town just north-west of Cinque Terre – it is not officially part of the five Cinque Terre villages. For the full Cinque Terre experience, we recommend you stay in one of the five Cinque Terre villages, instead of Levanto.

With five Cinque Terre villages to choose from, finding the right place to stay is a bit more work than usual.

We chose to stay in Monterosso al Mare with our kids. It has superior train connections, has an excellent playground and has a nice long stretch of beach. Monterosso isn’t as charming as the other Cinque Terre towns, but we chose it for better train connectivity, grocery stores and it’s great playground.

We rented a two-bedroom vacation home rental at the northern end of Monterosso al Mare. We chose to stay at a vacation home rental as we enjoy the family-friendly amenities like separate bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

There are plenty of kid-friendly Cinque Terre vacation home rentals to choose from.

If hotels are more your style, we personally use and recommend using Booking.com as their Top Picks for Families search filter makes it easy to find good family-friendly accommodation.

Still working on your Italy Itinerary with kids? Here is our 4 week itinerary for Italy with some suggestions for a 2 week Italy Itinerary and a 10-day Italy Itinerary with kids.

Visiting Italy with Kids

• Cinque Terre with a Baby or Toddler
• Rome with Kids
• Rome Playgrounds
• Transportation from the Rome Airport to your Hotel
• Florence with Kids
• Pisa with Kids
• Lucca with Kids
• Taking the Train in Italy with Kids
• Island of Elba with Kids
• Rome with a Baby or Toddler
• Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast with a Toddler
• Venice Italy with a Baby or Toddler

Amazing Family Cycling Tours

Found this post helpful? Pin It For Later!