Cinque Terre

What town is your hotel in? It sounds like you are planning to change hotels while visiting Cinque Terre.

Porters (where they exist ) normally don't transfer luggage between towns. The assist you to move your luggage between the train and the front door of the station. I've never heard of porters at small town stations.

Why would you need to change hotels between towns in CT?. How many nights are you spending? It's a quick hop by train to any of the towns, so close proximity to a trail head really isn't necessary.

I did not see any porters in the Cinque Terre or anywhere in Italy. That is why Rick Steven and his tour guides recommend taking only a carry-on. There is a video on this website under Travel Tips on packing light.

No there are definitely Porter's in Venice.

They are not asking about Venice: they are asking about the Cinque Terre. :O)

There's no need to change hotels as the 5 Terre area is only 7 miles from one end to the other. Pick a village and stay there, taking trains or ferries (in season) to get around unless you're a hiker. Monterosso is our pick as it's the largest and has the most visitor services, hotels and restaurants. If you expect challenges with your luggage, I'd recommend picking an accommodation close to the train station (we like La Spiaggia).

I'm concerned about how much luggage you have if you need a porter to get around? The CT - and much of Italy - involves lots of slopes, uneven pavement and stairs, and train stations and hotels without lifts. The CT villages are also largely pedestrianized so you'll be doing a lot of walking. ALL of them are too small to spend more than a day to 1/2 day exploring unless you want to take on some of the trails between or above them.

sheryl,

As the others have mentioned, there are no Porters to haul bags between towns. Could you provide more information on what you're planning for your visit to that area? What kind of "daily walks" are you considering? The best method is to base in one of the towns and then just use the frequent local trains to visit the others.

Sheryl,

Just how much luggage are you bringing?

To pile on the concerns about excess baggage; in the Cinque Terre once you reach your building you may encounter really narrow spiral staircases which can be worse than the steps in town!!!
Usually the better the view the more steps required.

There is definitely no need to stay overnight in more than 1 of the 5 towns of the Cinque Terre

I have seen porters in Venice and also in Positano but never anywhere in the Cinque Terre.

Thanks everyone for all the information x

However, you can arrange a taxi or small vehicle to take luggage from the train station to some hotel locations, for instance in Monterosso. These recent threads touch on that topic:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/transportation-in-monterosso-cinque-terre-to-from-train-station

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/leave-big-luggage-at-florence-train-station-when-we-go-to-cinque-terre-74eb31a8-7cec-482f-a0db-59a5c69f34cc

I agree with all the other comments. Pick one of the towns, and stay there, and travel by train to see the other ones unless you want to hike the trail. You can see them all in one day if you if you want. I spent three days there, and saw four of the towns in one day, and saved another day to see the fifth. I stayed in Vernazza and enjoyed it, but the other towns are just as nice.
I also agree with the other comments about packing. My wife, and I have backpacks, and I try to follow Steve's suggested packing list. I am not young by the way, 71 to be exact, but find it easy to handle a backpack that I try to keep under 20 lbs. and usually try to shoot for 15-18 lbs. Every pound counts. We spent a month in Spain, and Portugal in February and took the backpacks. Since it was winter our clothes weighed more but we were still under 20 lbs.