By far, the most popular hike in Italy connects the 5 villages of the <a href="https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/italy/cinque-terre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cinque Terre</a> , along the coast of southern Liguria. Some of parts of this trek might have "easy" labels, but you should still take them seriously. Climbers report how they mistakenly thought this was an easy stroll, then ended up exhausted.

See the original in Fodor's <a href="https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/italy/cinque-terre/experiences/news/italy-wants-to-fine-you-2824-for-making-this-footwear-mistake">Hiking footware in Cinque Terre\</a>

Italy's famous group of 5 fishing villages, the Cinque Terre, has finally clamped down on the wrong foot ware.  Too many tourists have tried and failed to climb along the challenging trek up in the hills that connects these villages. And flip-flops are the reason why people have needed to be rescued. Many people find it almost impossible to climb down a steep path wearing these.

The volunteers of Club Alpino Italiano, the hiking organization responsible for saving hikers, has been called for help. But this is a huge demand on their resources, so  Club Alpino Italiano has start issuing fines. The new fines run anywhere from 50 Euros to over 2,000 Euros for the rescues, depending in how much the rescue has cost the organization.

Cinque Terre now has a public information campaign educating visitors about this, and about proper hike preparation. Club Alpino Italiano has issued fines for rescues since April 2019.  This hugely popular region is expecting 750,000 cruise ships visitors to land on it's shores this season (2019), almost double from last year.

In conclusion, flip-flops are great fun on the beach, but bring proper hiking boots for this trek. You also need plenty of water, sunscreen lotion and a wide brimmed hat.
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