Sailing through Cinque Terre will forever be one of the best experiences of my life. The skipper was so fantastic and the group was small - only ten people so you’re able to fit comfortably on the boat and it’s a nice size so you get to mingle with everyone. The views were spectacular and the food and wine were great. We stopped several times during the trip to swim in the sea and it was just perfect. I can’t recommend this enough - if the same trip was offered the next day, I would’ve done it two days in a row! This was such a fun experience. 10/10 would highly recommend!

Taking a medium sized sail boat trip is an intimate experience because it can only accommodate a few people. WIth a sail boat, the captain has the option of allowing the boat to just drift, with the help of the sails or if it's a windless day, he can use the motor. So you enjoy a relaxed rather than a rushed journey most times.
Fortunately when we set off from La Spezia with Captain Lorenzo nicknamed Gerre, it was a gloriously sunny day with calm waters. The wind helped us glide along the deep blue Ligurian sea and Gerre used the motor whenever he wanted to manoeuvre us close to the 5 Cinque Terre towns for better views. All along he gave us the history of the Villages and all the places we passed en route to them.
In a medium sized sailboat it's easy to strike up conversations with fellow passengers and the Captain because you spend so much time together sharing the same beautiful experience. Sun bathing is possible on the boat itself, as well as swimming in the sea once the boat completes it's journey past the 4 Cinque Terre towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza and is finally anchored off the last town of Monterosso al Mare. At this point lunch is served by the Captain mainly an assortment of finger foods. Drinks are available throughout the cruise. There is even a restroom on board.
On the way back, the boat takes the same route, but because the journey is more relaxed, the Captain allows those who are keen, to take the wheel and gives them sailing lessons. My husband was over the moon as he took the wheel from Captain Gerre and took on the high seas for quite a long time! The lessons he learnt served us well when we did an independent boat trip in The Netherlands, later in the month!.
This Tour is to be taken to appreciate the sheer beauty of the Cinque Terre from the sea. You get to understand what the Poets and early settlers saw that drew them to these places. The perspectives and views of the Cinque Terre from the water are unparalleled.
This Tour is not recommended for those with sea sickness.
Arbaspaa srl is a good company that offers well designed Tours and they have very experienced Captains in charge of all their boats. We were fortunate to have the young, enthusiastic and knowledgable Gerre Lorenzo, who gave us an unforgettable day with great views, camaraderie, sailing lessons, ocean swimming and kept us regaled throughout the journey with his sense of humour and wonderful stories of Liguria and beyond.
If you want to have a memorable experience in the Ligurian Sea with the jaw dropping backdrop of the Cinque Terre, take this Tour and if you're truly lucky, you'll be taken around by Captain Lorenzo!
Felicia Variava Albert, Managing Director, Blaze Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

We started in La Spezia and were able to get the best position at the back of the boat - starboard - best place for great photos - perfect weather. We went as far as we could and then did the return trip gradually - the best tour ever.

We would do this tour over and over again. It was amazing our captain was fabulous. And seeing these picturesque villages from the Seaview is incredible. Highly recommend.

The sailing trip was fantastic. Franco was a wonderful Captain who was very knowledgable about the area, and clearly enjoyed his job. the views were breathtaking, and the opportunity to swim in the med was incredible. This trip was the highlight for the 4 people traveling in my group. Highly recommend!

This was a very enjoyable day, including meeting the other guests on the boat. Franco was very friendly and an excellent skipper and the boat was a good size to suit the 11 clients on board. Franco is very competent, aware of the safety of the guests, and cool and efficient with the handling of the boat. When there was sufficient wind we put up the sails and had two periods of sailing in the day. Snacks and lunch were provided with beer and wine focaccia with olives, tomatoes or onions or plain, some anchovies, salami and sun dried tomatoes. It could have been more interesting , with vegetables and cheeses would have improved it. Commencing at 10 am perhaps the last hour to Lerici was getting to most people's limit. It could happily have finished at 4 pm on the day.

This tour was amazing!

The only reason I booked this was to experience sailing on the open sea, and helping to crew, per the tour description. It was a horrible experience and a waste of one day of our family vacation. The skipper never raised the sails, and the motor broke down about 1.5 hours into our 8 hour day. We sat for several hours, with the boat rocking violently in the waves, then were towed back in by 3 different boats. Someone finally boarded our boat when we were almost back and got the motor running, at which point we motored in. Two family members vomited due to the rocking, one 4-5 times. We were just about to demand that the skipper get a motor boat out there to get us back to the dock when someone else got the motor running. We ended the day several hours early because everyone was sick.

The day started out nice enough , motoring past Porto Venerre. Our chain smoking skipper Gregorio kept to himself and never spoke to us through our 7 hour ordeal. We tied up off Vernazza and were immediately accosted by local officials regarding our anchorage. This delayed our lunch of stale focaccia and warm Polish beer for about 20 minutes while things got sorted out. The water was cool but nice but we were not allowed to get off of the boat to tour Vernaza. When it came time to leave the engine would not restart so we had to be towed back to port, all the while trying to remind Giorgio that we were on a SAILBOAT! That's right we never came close to putting the sails up, not even when we made it back to La Spezia harbor where dozens of boats were enjoying the ideal conditions. If you want to see Cinque Terre by water simply take the local ferries- at least they will let you off.

The day started out nice enough , motoring past Porto Venerre. Our chain smoking skipper Gregorio kept to himself and never spoke to us through our 7 hour ordeal. We tied up off Vernazza and were immediately accosted by local officials regarding our anchorage. This delayed our lunch of stale focaccia and warm Polish beer for about 20 minutes while things got sorted out. The water was cool but nice but we were not allowed to get off of the boat to tour Vernaza. When it came time to leave the engine would not restart so we had to be towed back to port, all the while trying to remind Giorgio that we were on a SAILBOAT! That's right we never came close to putting the sails up, not even when we made it back to La Spezia harbor where dozens of boats were enjoying the ideal conditions. If you want to see Cinque Terre by water simply take the local ferries- at least they will let you off.