Best way to get from Venice to Cinque Terre by car? Where to stay in Cinque Terre with a car?

According to Google maps, it's about 4 hours by car from Venice to the CT. There appear to be several routes, so I will let others with experience there tell you which is best. The most "car friendly" town in the Cinque Terre is Monterosso.

2 useless destinations for a rental car are Venice and Cinque Terre (there are others too of course). Why do you need a car? Take the train unless you have a very specific need for a rental car.

What is your overall itinerary?
Where are you going besides Venice and the Cinque Terre? Maybe you don't need to have a car while at the CT.

The fastest way to drive from Venice to the Cinque Terre is via the A14 (Parma-La Spezia).

Monterosso is best for parking, however another option is to park in Levanto and proceed by train.

If you are only visiting Venice and the C.T. I would not bother with a car. Have been to the C.T. 4x driving there once and taking the train in 3x. The time we drove we were coming from France after spending time in Provence and heading to the Amalfi Coast with stops in Tuscany and Umbria. In the C.T. we have always stayed in Vernazza. The drive after we left the autostrada I thought was a nailbiter. My husband didn't think it was that bad and our sons thought it was awesome but I just remember hugging the door. We could drop off our bags at the top of Vernazza and had to park in a lot abit above town which wasn't a problem. My husband and I were just there last October taking the train in so I don't even know if that parking lot is still there due to the tragic flooding in Oct. 2011.

I had a laugh about the driving in Italy. We drove from Florence to Udine, and i was hugging the door as well. Lots of trucks a continuous line and having to do 130 kmp hour and getting tooted continuously for not going faster. my husband is a confident driver, he has driven in America but Italy is different. Our relatives told us not to drive but we didn't listen. we catch trains and they are fantastic. but getting to some of the towns is a bit hard with changes.
Enjoy your trip

I did the same trip, last year. Picked up the car in Venice and drove lesiurley and stayed a night in Montecatini B+B Relias La Belluccia, just wonderful. Great clean reasonable priced rooms, food in adjecent restaurant owner will make you almost whatever you ask for. Droped off the car in LaSpezia and took the train to our B+B in Vernazza. No need for a car in CT. Then take a train back to ?? Airport.

Enjoy,
Lorie

I can think of one reason to drive from Venice to 5 Terre (which I have done). That is to stay somewhere and take a boat to the towns of 5 Terre and see it from the sea. I recommend this adventure and I would recommend Portovenere, a quaint little town to the south of 5 Terre.

If you are actually staying in 5 Terre then I think trains are the only way to go. No need for a car.