Cinque terre

When will you be there and will you be using the trains? or boats? or????
We need more info before answering - thanks

I'll be there April 4 and 5 and will be arriving by car. Thanks.

We enjoyed our stay in Hotel Baia in Monterosso a few years ago.

Monterosso is the largest of the 5 villages, it's also the only one with a small sandy beach.

You can easily visit the other villages via train which travel frequently and are very inexpensive.

You can also travel via ferry, except to Corniglia, which does not have a ferry dock.

There are many hiking opportunities as well.

Check these websites for more info:

• http://www.cinqueterre.it/it
• http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php
• http://savevernazza.com/traveladvisortrailupdates/
• http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en

EDIT: I just read your reply to others questions: If you will be arriving by car, Monterosso would be a good place to stay as there are more parking options.

I'm also interested in people's replies here. We may be going in early Sep 2016. Trying to decide about where to stay. Leaning toward Monterosso.

Hotel Villa Steno or Albergo Pasquale, Monterosso al Mare. We stayed at the Steno a few years back. The Pasquale is closer to the water.

Love Hotel Villa Steno!! http://www.villasteno.com/en/

I prefer Vernazza. Franca Maria rooms are down by the harbor, and very few steps. www.francamaria.com

La Spiaggia, Monterosso. Rooms are small but they have balconies, and it's practically right on the beach. Very close to the train station and restaurants. Ask for a seaside room.

Il Maestrale in Monterosso. http://locandamaestrale.net/?lang=en

My wife and I stayed in Vernazza for two nights(not enough) with Franca Maria. Our room was a bit quirky but that added to the experience. My wife left her cell phone there and Franca returned it to us by mail. We keep reliving our experience there.

Another vote for LaSpiaggia. We took the train but I remember on the website that they.have parking available since you will have a car. They served a great breakfast and if you ask for a sea view when you book early enough they may be able to accommodate you. We certainly enjoyed our view!

I went to their site and all I could find for a contact for email is HotelLaSpiaggialibero.it. It's not a valid email. Does anyone have it?

The email on the website (http://www.laspiaggiahotel.com) is:
[email protected]

Did you forget the @? And it may be case sensitive. I just checked my mail history and that's also the email address I'd previously used.

In Vernazza, try :

http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

With a car, definitely Monterosso. Otherwise I like Vernazza the most but to get there by a car is tricky: very narrow road, if you meet an oncoming traffic one of you has to back up for quite a long. Also you cannot drive into the town, there is a parking lot right at the beginning of town but usually is full.

Jim,

As you're arriving by car, Monterosso is the best choice. It's also the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants, etc., and also the nicest beaches (not that beaches will likely be a concern in April). Some hotels there provide limited "first come, first served" parking for guests, and there are large car parks at both ends of town. Note that you can NOT drive between the old town and new town, but will have to go around through the hills so you'll have to be sure which road you're using to reach the hotel you choose.

Any neat places to stay - I always stay at Hotel Villa Steno and would highly recommend it (but be sure to book EARLY as it's very popular, and with good reason). Their "sister" property, Hotel Pasquale is also excellent.

April will be the start of the season there, so it will probably still be relatively quiet there.