Cinque Terre

jr,

It will probably be somewhat "quiet" in the Cinque Terre at the end of October, but many of the businesses will probably still be open. You might consider staying in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns, and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other tourist amenities.

Whether the Sentiero Azzurro trails will be open will likely depend on conditions at the time.

We went fairly late in October 2014 (22nd-27th) and some of the restaurants were talking about shutting down the following week, about Nov. 1 . Some had stayed open as late as they had because the weather was good; Others had closed because a storm had been forecast (never arrived) and fears of what happened in 2011. I would just advise to have a back-up plan if the weather is bad. We actually made our reservations only a week before we traveled because that late in the season you can take some chances.

Thanks you both for your input. I've got another question that I'm going to post. Kelly G