Travel to Cinque Terra

when are you going?

We are going to be in tehe Cinque Terra the 21st of June to the 24th of June. Jan

Many of the small places in the CT do not have websites and many do not take reservations months in advance. Thus, there are places available that are difficult to book from the U.S.

I like firm reservations which is why we had to stay in La Spezia because we too could not get a firm reservation in late May of last year.

The alternative, which I don't recommend but many do, is to show up and see what you can get. RS used to recommend this in his book but the CT is very busy in June. I don't know if he still recommends this.

There are walk-in rental agency places in some of the towns. You walk in and see what is available. Seems everybody in the towns has relatives or knows somebody with a room to rent. Great summer income and it beats fishing. Good luck.

We are going in April and booked Hotel La Colonnina in Monterosso al Mare. They start taking reservations at the start of the new year. Good luck.

We had the same issue and made a reservation at a place in Manarola called Alla Porta Rossa; although we wont be able to report out until July, we have found the folks there very receptive to our questions.

I can't imagine staying in La Spezia in order to have firm reservations.

Italy has a "come what may" attitude that gets stronger as you get into smaller towns. It's charming but sometimes disconcerting to Americans.

If you call Rick's recommended hotels the morning before your arrival (you might have to call more than one), you should be okay. You could call an extra day in advance for added safety.

At CT, we didn't even do that. We were shoulder season and arrived with no reservations. We were offered places at the train station. We looked at one that wasn't big enough, then went to one of Rick's recommended hotels and told them what we needed. Several ladies had a conversation then walked us to a two-bedroom apartment that was perfect for our family of five.

After searching, we were finally able to get a reservation at Hotel Margherita in Monterosso. It has good reviews in Travel advisor and also other people on this site have recommended it.

I stayed in Vernazza, the jewel of the CT, at a small Bed and Breakfast (at the house of a kind Italian woman named Gemmy)-http://www.bbgemmy.it/camere.htm. Very cute little place. Can have a bedroom that includes breakfast or a small "studio" style room with a kitchen included. Very close to the train station, about a 3 minute walk (up stairs though). Small city, far less touristy than Monterosso. Definitely would recommend it. It was about ~80 or 100 euros a night for the room with the kitchen, if I recall. Just need to send her an email and then call day before to re-confirm. She doesn't speak too much english, but she's quite friendly and helpful.

Jan,

Have you tried Mar-Mar Rooms in Riomaggiore? I stayed there on my last visit, and found the room was clean and comfortable, and the proprietors very efficient. The only point to mention is that on the day of arrival, you MUST arrive by 17:00 as they close for the day at that time!

Good luck and happy travels!

Have you tried the Francamaria rooms? Their website you can look at each of the four rooms - they are literally right overlooking the piazza and harbor in Vernazza. Not fancy, but fairly inexpensive w/ bathroom and frig. http://www.francamaria.com

We stayed in Levanto in Sept 06 and liked it so much that we are going back this May. It's a great town with much more to offer than any of the villages in the 5-Terre. you can get a day pass and see the villages without a problem. This year we plan on visiting the tiny villages above Levanto -- local buses go there. Accommodation was much more reasonable and available in levanto -- and was actually recommended that we do it by the owner of the "pirate" bar in Vernazza. We booked an apartment for 3 for 5 nights and the cost for us is 345 euros. They have a range of accommodation depending on your needs and budget. Check out levantur.com. They are very prompt in replies and give all the information needed.

Mark, you'll like Hotel Margherita in Monterosso. RS even has some of his tour groups stay there.

We've booked an apartment through this website: http://www.acasa5terre.it/

Since we haven't stayed there yet, I can't tell you how it is, but reviews online were quite positive...

Jan: The largest hotels are in Portovenere, although there are dozens of small b&bs & rooms for rent in all the small towns. The 2 hotels in Portovenere that I have stayed in are the Royal Sporting - a 10 minute walk from the piazza, and the Grand Hotel Portovenere, which is on the piazza. From Portovenere there are boats that can drop you at all 5 towns in the CT, and there are trains or hiking paths between them. Portovenere is NOT one of the "five" towns but is a great base to explore them.

David
San FRancisco

I see that a few people have recommended the Hotel Margherita which I found had very high ratings on TripAdvisor. I can not find it in RS Italy book. Am I missing something?