Cinque Terre and the Ligurian Riviera

From Prague via Rozvadov, Regensburg and Munich to the Alpine ridge. It is a long leg, so set off first thing and plan regular breaks. Buy the Austrian vignette before you reach the border, at a motorway service station. You spend the night in Tyrol so that the Brenner Pass is within easy reach in the morning and the whole of the next day is free for the run down to the sea.

Over the Brenner in the morning, then Verona and Parma. From Parma the A15 motorway tips over the Apennines and drops to the sea at La Spezia. Set up base in Deiva Marina or Levanto — you do not drive into the Cinque Terre villages themselves in a motorhome, you go there by train, and the whole trip is built on that.

The vehicle stays at the campsite and you head for the station. Monterosso al Mare is the only one of the five with a real beach, Vernazza has a harbour wedged between the rocky headlands, and Corniglia sits high above the sea on a terrace — the Lardarina staircase leads up, or you take the local bus from the stop. The Cinque Terre Card covers both trains and trails; it is sold as a Trekking version and as a version with unlimited train travel.

Manarola is the village from the postcards; the best view of it is from the path to the cemetery above the harbour. Riomaggiore follows on with a ravine of houses glued to the rock. The trails and the Via dell'Amore are included in the Cinque Terre Card, but for the Via dell'Amore you also have to reserve a specific half-hour entry slot — the card on its own will not get you in. Check as well before you set off which trail sections are currently open, because after landslides they close and reopen one by one.

A quieter day away from the crowds. From Levanto a lit path for walkers and cyclists runs along the bed of a disused railway, threading through tunnels to Bonassola and on to Framura; bikes are rented right in Levanto. The afternoon belongs to the beach, focaccia and white wine from the terraces around.

Move your base towards the Apuan Alps and spend the day on the southern side of the gulf. Above the harbour in Porto Venere, the church of St Peter stands on a rocky headland with a view along the whole coast; boats sail from here and from La Spezia to the island of Palmaria. In the afternoon drive over to Lerici with its castle above the bay and walk the coastal path to the fishing village of Tellaro.

You do not drive into the quarries in your own vehicle — it is an active workplace and the hairpins up there are no place for a motorhome. Leave the vehicle down in Carrara or in Marina di Carrara and continue up on an organised tour; at Fantiscritti you can also walk an underground gallery with commentary on how the marble is cut. The road to Colonnata is just as narrow, so add the village and its lardo, aged in marble troughs, to the same tour.

A transfer west to Rapallo. Portofino is reached by Servizio Marittimo del Tigullio boat or by bus — the road from Santa Margherita is narrow, with restrictions for longer vehicles and controlled access to the village. From the same piers you can also reach the abbey of San Fruttuoso, which no road leads to.

Set up base in Pegli on the western edge of the city, with trains running into the centre. The historic core is a large restricted-traffic zone and the narrow caruggi lanes cannot be driven anyway. Walk the Rolli palaces on Via Garibaldi, the cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Porto Antico waterfront with its aquarium. In the evening get the vehicle ready for the journey home; the next day is a long one.

A transfer day: from Genoa via Milan and Verona onto the Brenner motorway and over the pass back to Tyrol. Set off early in the morning — on Fridays and Sundays the Brenner tends to be busy, with queues before the tunnels. A night in Tyrol splits the return into two manageable stages.

The final stage home via Munich, Regensburg and Rozvadov. If you would rather not arrive tired, spend the last night in Bavaria and reach Prague at an easy pace in the morning.