Car parking in Cinqueterre?

Hi Skip - Parking is really easy for Le Cinque Terre - Park at one of the many lots in La Spezia - jump on the train and in minutes you'll be in the first village. It really is the easiest, safest, and most inexpensive way to do it.

Ciao, Greg

Greg gives excellent advice. CT isn't really set up for cars. Hard to drive there, hard and expensive to park there. And if you want to visit more than one town you go through the parking problem more than once.

You can board the train in La Spezia and be in Riomaggiore in 8 minutes, and on the same day pass you can travel the few minutes between there and the other towns as much as you want. Trains run quite often, from early morning to late at night. It's the way to go.

You will find parking spaces after the day crowd moves on, but be sure to have your hotel/b&b to notify the parking lot attendent that you are staying overnight to avoid the parking fines. It will be a tight space and you have the Italian zen when parking. Don't worry.

Hotel Locanda del Sole in Riomaggiore has its own private parking lot. I corresponded with him once, but he wouldn't take a reservation so far in advance. When I tried to reach him later, he wouldn't answer my e-mails, meaning he was already booked up.

But you might give it a try.

Hotel Villa Steno, in Monterosso, has its own parking. We did not find it difficult to drvie to. The hotel is pleasant, and the rooms with balconies have great views.

One thing about renting a car in Nice, then driving into Italy, is that if you drop off the rental in Italy, you will likely have a large drop fee.

You didn't say when you are going? If you are traveling now, you will be able to find parking in the towns. We went in late October and there was parking available in Vernazza. It was a small lot and I wouldn't expect anything unless it's outside of the main season.

We didn't expect parking in Vernazza so parked in La Spezia near the Navy Base and took the train in. I had planned to park at the station but it didn't look at all safe. I asked the locals for options and was directed to curbside parking across the street from the entrance to the base. It was free and the car was fine when I came back.

Skip on our last visit to the C.T. (early July 2006)we drove to Vernazza from France. On a previous visit we had parked in LaSpezia and took the train in but we wanted to drive this time as we were heading to Tuscany. Once you exit the autostrada the drive to Monterosso was not bad but the road to Vernazza is extremely narrow with lots of hairpins. We had to park above Vernazza which was not a problem but depending on when you are going the lot can be full. I, along with our 2 kids, thought the drive was quite nerve wracking but my husband said he would do it again! We did think the drive from Vernazza to LaSpezia wasn't too bad. Took a trip to Italy this summer with my sisters and we trained in and it was so easy. Have a great trip!

If you must drive, park in La Spezia, BUT be prepared for the worst. Car break-ins abound there. The local "talent" is watching the nice tourists get out of the rental car and head to the train station, bags in hand destined for the CT villages.

Hello?

Thanks for the suggestions about the towns that have more available parking and where/how to do so.
Appreciate the creative train ideas also. One thing for sure about Rick Steves'groupies--if I posted a question about travel to heaven, I am sure I would get great instructions about the train schedule, changing stations (purgatory?) and how easy it is to get there!

We drove to Vernazza in May (2007) and found parking available. It was during the week so that could have made a difference as opposed to the W/E. Like Janet, my wife was nervous on the drive up but I would do it again. It does have many hair pin turns and is a narrow road. Hope you have a gps to take with you since you are doing a lot of driving.

Skip, my fellow freedom loving care-free car renter! I'm glad the Rick Steves-ites didn't scare you off from driving. The fact is, most just can't get past that mental hurdle to realize it's not that hard at all. It's also ironic because Rick actually RECOMMENDS using a rental car in his suggested Italian itineraries, yet most here balk when someone asks about renting cars in Italy.

Just like train travelers need a backup plan if they miss a train or they go off schedule, car renters should also have backup plans. The suggestions here are great and can be easily combined. Plan on being able to park at the town you wish to stay in. If there's no hope for parking, drop off your travel companions with your bags, let them check in while you continue to La Spezia and take the train back. Easy!

When we were in Vernazza in late September 2008, we noticed the tiny parking lot with miniscule spaces was always full.... I don't know about the other towns, but they would definitely be worth checking into, especially the largest one (Monterosso?).

From the Website provided by Tim is the following from locals re the limited parking in Cinque Terre:

"In the Cinque Terre towns there are small pay parking lots in Monterosso and Riomaggiore. During the summer, from May to August, the car park is usually full and the roads to Monterosso and Riomaggiore are closed because there is no parking available. The other villages are always closed to cars, except for the residents.Levanto has many parking areas. You can find two good parking lots in Levanto: one near the railway station and the other near the sea. However, in August, even Levanto is crowded and you will need good luck to find a parking spot.When you are parking, be sure that you do not park in areas reserved for residents (these are marked by a blue sign with the words Parcheggio Residenti)."

For information on where and when parking is available, see this page.

Kent brings up a good point about taking caution when parking. The following link has some good information about driving and parking in Italy along with some other useful information. I printed some of the pages I thought would come in handy and took with me on our trip a couple of years ago.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

Hello everybody.
Just want to tell that if you're coming now to the Cinque Terre to park will not be a problem, there're few tourists and few cars now..
you can see this page for more information about parking in the 5 Terre