Cinque Terre was supposed to be the highlight of our last week of our recent trip to Italy. The five villages – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore – have everything we like: real history, picturesque houses, Mediterranean beaches, scenic hiking trails and good food. They are a world-famous destination. A friend of ours went there on his honeymoon and raved about it.

We were close by, in the town of Portovenere where there are regular boats to Cinque Terre. You can get off anywhere and then get another boat back. Ideal for one or more days of exploring the villages, right? But we didn’t go.

Here’s something most travel bloggers don’t want to tell you. It’s not all shiny Instagram pictures. Sometimes you just want to be still for a while. You don’t want to see another thing, get on another boat. And that’s how we felt those last few days in Italy.

We were both physically sick and tired. Marlene had a stomach bug that wouldn’t go away. She just wanted to sleep. We were drained from too much walking, too much driving. Generally, we love walking and touring, and we had been doing a lot of it every day. By now, it was enough. Too much.

We were also tired of too many tourists and Cinque Terre is the ultimate tourist destination. It got to the point where we were saying, “not another cute Italian village”. (Hard to believe, I know.)

We weren’t excited about seeing more shops selling “not made in Italy” souvenirs. We’d already taken thousands of pictures, and although Cinque Terre is particularly Instagram worthy, it wasn’t enough to lure us.

Also, our Airbnb in Portovenere was a real disappointment. My Airbnb booking techniques had failed us. Up to then, we had found uniformly interesting and charming Airbnbs, but this last one killed our spirit. (It hasn’t deterred us from renting Airbnb; we’ve already booked one for a coming trip.)

The listing for the apartment “forgot to say” that it was on the fourth floor, with no elevator. Not the end of the world, but we decided to leave our suitcases in the car and just take what we needed. Although the space had a huge deck and a reasonable view through floor-to-ceiling windows, the rest of it was really shabby. We couldn’t help but think that with a decent makeover, it could have been a fabulous apartment. But, it wasn’t. It was tired and depressing, and so were we.

And just to really annoy us, two floors below they were gutting an apartment. Jack hammers were pounding all day breaking up an old marble floor. Debris was being dumped off the balcony into the bin below – BANG, SMASH, CRASH… Relaxing, it was not. The last day, when the renovations were too much to bear, we moved into a hotel down the street.

So, rather than go to Cinque Terre, we stayed in Portovenere. Which in itself is… wait for it… another cute Italian town, on the Mediterranean with lots of history, interesting architecture and all kinds of restaurants.

We just slowed everything down. Read, slept, ate, swam in the Med. Explored the gothic Church of St. Peter. Built on the site of a Roman temple of Venus, it was consecrated in 1198, and the “new section”, the black and white striped part, was added in the 1200s. Coming from North America, it’s hard to grasp these dates.

From Portovenere, we drove to the Milan airport, stayed at the Holiday Inn Express (it was perfect: quiet, clean, big room, outstanding buffet breakfast, recommended if you’re flying out of Milan, make sure you have a GPS to find it), and the next morning it was time to fly back to Canada.

Where you realize you’ve overdone it and you conked out? How did you adjust? Has it changed the way you travel? Leave a comment please.

On another trip, with more energy and better planning, we will get to Cinque Terre. Maybe stay there for a week or so, take lots of pictures… but if not, Portovenere is very nice.

Renting a car in Italy? Read this first about driving in Italy. It could save you a fortune.

Read about the extraordinary kindness from Italians we experienced every day in Italy.

Take advantage of our Top 5 Tips for visiting the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s in Rome.

Read about the exceptional week we spent in Venice – including opera at La Fenice.

I went back to Venice for 11 days of photography. It wasn’t enough!

Join us in learning about Mariano Fortuny, a true renaissance man of Venice, and make sure you visit his palazzo.

This account of Monticchiello, a small Italian hilltop village, will open your eyes to its history and brush with annihilation.

There’s nothing like having WiFi wherever you go. We rented a Teppy portable WiFi and carried it with us everywhere. With a Teppy, you can connect your phones, tablets, laptops and gaming consoles just like you connect to WiFi at home.

Use the apps on your phone including your favorite GPS apps without paying expensive cellular service fees.

It’s also perfect for uploading pictures, sending emails or just web browsing. We also used it for online work on the road including web updates and social media.

Teppy portable WiFi works around the world. Try it on your next trip.

For hotel accommodation, we like Booking.com. Photographs show off the properties, and real reviews help you choose the hotel that’s best for you. You’ll find a great selection, current prices and pages that make booking easy.

Remember, Italy is one of the world’s most popular destinations, so book early to get the best selection and price. Click here, and you’ll get $25 off your next reservation on Booking.com.

We’ve rented Airbnb throughout Italy. We wrote an article about renting Airbnb, 12 Tips for a Great Renting Experience to help you make the right decision. There’s a wonderful selection of apartments throughout Italy. If it’s your first time renting Airbnb, click here to get the equivalent of $50 CDN off your first booking.

Along with the websites and other travel planning tools, we still like to have a guide book handy. We’ve tried them all, and these days we prefer Lonely Planet books.

Use our link to get 10% off your total order when you enter EARTHTRIPPERS10 during checkout, where it asks for the Discount Code. Please note, this offer is valid only in USA and Canada.

These days there are many things that can happen when you travel, aside from getting bumped from a flight. That’s why we always get insurance for our trips. It covers damage, loss or theft of our belongings, health issues and if necessary, emergency evacuation. Better safe than sorry.

Whether you’ve just booked your trip or are already underway, you can get covered by World Nomads. Scroll up, complete the form in the sidebar and get a quote. With a few clicks, you can buy your coverage online. It’s fast, easy and convenient.

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