Cinque Terra

I just found a lovely apartment in Monterosso at www.monterossonet.com. Enzo is mentioned in Rick's book and we found a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom very reasonable. Also, just rented in Florence by going on www.vrbo.com. Took me several hours to find places but I was successful and there were several others that contacted me after I booked so you should still be able to find something if you stay with it. Good luck! We will be there in September so your dates are definitely closer. I also used Rick's book and emailed all the places he suggested. Prem

In Vernazza, try her: http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

It all depends on your interests but I would be bored out of my mind after three nights in the CT. What do you mean by "looks like a heck of a journey from Pisa to Florence back to Pisa and on to Cinque terre"? It's a 50 minute train ride from Pisa to Florence. Stay there three nights. Throw in Siena for three nights and the CT for 3. You're going to have a challenge finding lodging in these places at this late date. Try booking.com and venere.com which allow you to look at only those places that have lodging available for your specific dates. Too bad you didn't book open jaw tickets, flying into one city, but leaving another. It's often the best way to go. Good luck.

Try Arbaspaa. We booked through them for September in Manarola. We used Flip-key for apartment rental in Florence. Hope you find something. Buona fortuna!

Hmm. Nobody else is answering your question about whether 10 days in the CT is too many.

Ok, ok, I'll say it! 10 days in the CT is too long......unless you fancy
Il dolce far niente!

Hello, Great thanks for all your suggestions. Finally found somewhere last night after getting a rush of responses. Thinking we might tag on a few nights in Florence at the end of our stay. Should have flown out from elsewhere but been a bit of a rushed booking. Both me and my brother moving flats in late august/ early September and only dates that worked for both of us. It was so close to the time, with flights steadily gaining in price we just booked without much of a plan. Both of us just want to chill out a bit, and both keen on swimming and hiking. So probably quite happy not doing too much for around 6 days, but any suggestions for any good day trips out of Cinque Terre would be great. Thanks again Miranda

10 days is too many by 7. We stayed in Portovenere and loved it. Took a boat up the coast to see 5 Terre towns. Try it, you will like the sights from the sea.

Miranda, Which town did you find accommodations in and for how many nights? The time to allot for the Cinque Terre will depend to some extent on what you plan on doing there. I've stayed there for about a week at a time, which isn't too long (IMO) if using it as a "home base" to explore nearby areas or for those that want to do extensive hiking. As someone else mentioned, it's also a great area for Il dolce far niente for those that prefer to sit on the hotel balcony with a glass of Prosecco and read a good book, or enjoy the beaches and swimming (Monterosso has the best beach). Regarding your last question about day trips.... > You could visit Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Levanto, Porto Venere and the island of Palmaria, or other places in that area. > You could visit the Marble quarries at Carrera It's not really a "heck of a journey" from Pisa to Florence or from Florence to the Cinque Terre. I travelled that route in June, and it's very easy. Happy travels!

Yup, ten days in CT would be too much. Four or so would be good. The distance between CT/Pisa/CT isn't all that much. Not sure what train schedules would be as I always drove but it's not bad at all. Maybe check out Carrara to spend a night in?

I have been to CT and agree 3 nights is enough. The Trip to Florence is a better option, not a journey at all. Won't take that long and the train is great. CT is very isolated and you can almost walk from town to town. If you do stay overnight stay at a B & B in Vernazza for three nights then I would stay a few nights in Lucca. Better choice than Pisa. Pisa just a day or maybe just 1 night is enough. I would fly into Pisa and take the train to CT, stay 3 nights. Train from CT to Florence stay for 3 or 4 nights (a lot to see and do), then the train to Lucca and stay for the remainder. You can take a day trip to Pisa. Transport from Lucca to the Pisa airport by car is about an hour. Or just stay in Florence for 10 days and do day trips from there or perhaps overnight 2 or 3 elsewhere.
Have fun. Lorie

Hi Miranda, I stayed at Manuel's Guesthouse in Monterosso (CT), and loved it. We spent 4 nights, with a day trip up the coast) and would've loved another night. As mentioned, it's very relaxing. But if you enjoy beautiful hiking, colorful seaside villages, a lingering lunch, a swim, stopping to watch a group of older Italian men play a serious game of bacchi ball, and a relaxing dinner, you'll love it! I think 3-4 nights is perfect for a first visit, unless you are certain you want slow paced travels. I'll add that we ended up in Pisa, unexpectedly, and spent two GREAT nights at La Pace hotel RIGHT by the train station (1 minute walk). I found Pisa much more charming than I'd imagined. The people were friendly, the food was great, and the tower was surprisingly cool to see. The staff at that hotel were the best I experienced in all of 3 weeks in Italy.
Enjoy!