Cinque Terre

Hi Sally,

The first thing I would do is narrow it down to which town you want to stay in. The Rick Steves Italy book neatly describes the differences in each town's "feel."

I recommend choosing a town first because you'll find that the kinds of accommodations are roughly the same in each village -- lots of cute little rooms for rent, up lots of stairs, and individually run by their local owners. The exception is Monterosso (town #5 in RS), which is bigger and has more hotel-type accommodations.

Many folks on this board have their favorite CT accommodations depending on price range, ocean view, etc. To hear people's specific recommendations, give us a sense of your budget and what level of comfort you want, and then I'm sure the recommendations will come pouring in.

Wherever you stay, you'll love the Cinque Terre! It's truly magical!

I have wanted to see Vernazza for quite a few years now. I understand there aren't too many places to stay there. I found a couple, La Marina and La Mala and have e-mailed them. I'm looking for something simple, and preferably twin beds or a roll away. A view is not really necessary, just looking for a place to sleep. I have Rick's book and video, and am doing my ground work. Thanks for the input.

Just stayed at Albergo Barbara the first week in Oct. and while the room was OK, the 83 steps (I counted them) up to get to the Hotel makes it almost a Death Climb. I carried my bags up to rooms all over the country and didn't have a problem but this was different. The owner did carry our bags up and back down the last set of stairs(spiral with a rope for a center handrail) but the climb was so bad that we avoided going back to the room during the day.

Sally, we stayed in Manarola for 3 nights, in September. If i went again, i would still pick Manarola. We stayed at Carugiu's bed and breakfast, and we loved it, it has no views tought. Vernazza was packed with tourists, you could hardly walk in the streets, my second choice would be Monterosso.

Sally,
My husband and I spent 3 nights in Vernazza at the end of September. We went to all the other towns and thought it was the quaintest. i didn't find Vernazza to be that crowded. We rented a room from Monica Lercari which I don't think would work for you since you would like twin beds.

When I'm in the CT I want to see the sea. My favorite hotel is Albergo Meuble Agavi in Monterosso. It's not far from the train station and most rooms are on the front and have sea views. It is inexpensive, clean, and all rooms are located on the first floor (one flight up from the street).

Hi Sally - After many years in Le Cinque Terre , I would suggest http://www.nerinarooms.it/
Located on the harbor in Vernazza a very nice location and accomodation.

Wherever you stay Sally be sure to walk the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore - The Via Dell'Amore(lovers path) It's one of the most scenic sections with a cafe part way across to stop and get a beverage. Only about a 25 minute walk - mostly paved and level.

Ciao, Greg

Thanks for all of your ideas. Keep them coming, this is great! Yes, Greg, that is exactly what I have been wanting to do for quite some time now. Can hardly wait, hope the weather will be good!

Sally,

You've received some great suggestions so far. I'd recommend picking up a copy of the Italy 2010 Guidebook, which is available now. It has lots of listings for accommodations and restaurants in all of the towns of the Cinque Terre.

One point to make about Vernazza is that although it's a beautiful location, it's also one of the most popular especially with tour groups. Therefore it might be a bit more challenging to find a room. As you're travelling in May, it could be busy as that will be the spring "shoulder season".

For the best selection of rooms (and the best beach), you might consider Monterosso, which is the largest of the five villages. Corniglia is high on a bluff, so not as accessible but there are rooms avaiable there. Manarola is another good spot, and slightly smaller but with lots of character (depending on your budget, have a look at La Torretta in Manarola). Riomaggiore has a fairly good selection of rooms, although this is the smallest of the villages.

Happy travels!

Hi Sally,

I just returned from Italy and spent 4 nights in a gorgeous villa that was in Lerici. Lerici is a beautiful town overlooking the Bay of Poets. Absolutely gorgeous!!! You can catch the ferry (21 Euros round trip) right in the town center and go to Cinque Terre. It is really a beautiful and interesting boat ride. Teh ferry stops at Portovenere and then in each of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. The Villa that we stayed at was simply to die for! The owner of the villa lives on the 3rd floor and you don't even know he is there unless you need help, advice or actually anything. He is fabulous and actually prepared a beautiful dinner one evening. The villa has 3 floors and the bottom floor is one bedroom and the second floor is 2 bedrooms with a beautiful living room and dining room. The decor is wonderful and each room overlooks the Bay of Poets. The villa has 3 levels of decks that provide wonderful relaxation. The second deck has a swimming pool wiht lounge chairs, beach towels and everything you could possibly need. When we first arrived Gian Vallentini took us on a tour of the surrounding area so we could know where the stores sere, the hot restaurants, etc. It was so nice of him!!! If you are driving you can park at the villa but if you arrive by bus or train Gian will pick you up and deliver you to the villa. Like I said earlier he is totally awesome!!!

You can check out the villa at www.villainlerici.it. The prices, I believe, are 140 Euros for the one bedroom and 180 Euros for the 2 bedroom. While we there we had the place to ourself.......The website has great photos and they are just as the villa is! The views over the town of Lerici are spectatcular and you can see the castle that is right in town overlooking the Bay.

I referred a gal earlier this summer advising that I had not yet gone and she jumped on board and stayed there. She had the same fantastic experience. Let me know what develops! You'll love it, Janice

Sally,

A large factor in choosing which town to stay is the nightlife. You can take the train and try numerous restaurants in any town, but do you want things to do after? Drinks, hang out, etc.

We stayed in Riomaggiore which was very quiet at night, except for the one gelato/bar.

My husband and I will stay in Vernazza next time so we have more choices and things to do at night.

There's so many opinions!! I highly suggest taking your time walking each town and of course the 4 town hike.

Enjoy!

Dear Sally,

This is where we stay in Vernazza:

www.elisabettacarro.it/ It does involve a LOT of steps!

Hi Sally. Just returned from the CT in September. We stayed in Monterosso and I'm glad we did. I loved Vernazza but found Monterosso easy to navigate with luggage because it's more "flat" as compared to the other towns. We stayed in the old town at Hotel Margherita. It was a bit pricey (150 euro/night) but the buffet breakfast that was included was incredible!! It was a very large spread including wonderful pastries and the buffet included a lot of variety. The hotel even made us a sack breakfast since we were leaving early in the morning on our last day to catch a train. The room was very clean, modern and comfortable. The deciding factor for me though was that I didn't want to climb a lot of steps or steep streets to get to our hotel. I also liked the variety of restaurants on Monterosso. Happy travels & enjoy the Cinque Terre!

Hello. On the following link you can find useful information for the Cinque Terre. Hotel and B&B descriptions, touristic guide and many useful information plus video and news on the blog.
Bye

We've been back from Italy for two weeks and loved Vernazza. We explored all the towns, but stayed in V and I'm glad we did. We had trouble finding a room and with help from a Rick Steve's consultant, called Monica Lercari (p.315 in the 2009 book) and she set us up with a friend who had an apartment just off the main street and up stairs and more stairs. It was so clean and well located and only E80 a night with bunks, bath and kitchen downstairs and a queen up. Also, make sure you have breakfast and even dinner at II Pirata delle Cinque Terre. The twins are so much fun, make great coffee and pastries and made us feel like relatives. We walked high above Vernazza to Franco's Ristorante La Torre and have terrific lasagne's and views. Be sure and call to make sure he's open - it's quite a walk. I'd go back to Vernazza in a minute.

Thanks to you all. These are all great ideas. Since this will be my first trip to Italy, I really appreciate the input. :-]

I stayed 3 nights in Vernazza at Camere Fontana Vecchia, it's in Rick Steve's guide. It's an easy 2 minute walk to the place from the train station. There are no stairs to climb to get to your room. It's bright and clean, with a small fridge. It's the only place that I stayed in in Italy that has down comforters, and it was chilly when we were there. For a double with bathroom, I payed 75 euros per night. Her email is [email protected]

When you're in Cinque Terre, you have to stop by Il Pirata for breakfast. During my 2 week stay in Italy, I found that they have the best breakfast pastries. Il Pirata is located across the street from the hotel.

I don't know how long your vacation is, but I think 4 days might be too much in Cinque Terre. My husband and I were there for 3 nights out of our 14-day vacation, and I thought 2 nights would have been enough. Hope this helps.

Hi Sally. Just a comment about spending 4 days in the CT. We were there for 3 days and I wished we had stayed longer. 3 days is fine for seeing the 5 CT towns themselves but I would have liked a 4th day to go to Portovenere or Camogli or some of the other equally picturesque towns along the Ligurian coast. Just a suggestion.

Hi Sally,

My husband and I stayed at Edi’s Rooms in Riomaggiore (www.wel.it/Vesignaedi). This was our favorite place we stayed in Italy. We were in the Case Mimi room which had a huge balcony overlooking the sea. It was very clean and just the perfect location. It also had a refrigerator, coffee maker, and table and chairs inside the room to eat. This room was 80EUR. They did have other rooms to rent for less as well. Edi is also recommended in the Rick Steve's books (and when you go to their office they have X-mas cards from Rick's family).
We liked staying in Riomaggiore because it was connected to the Via Dell Amore which is an easy path to the next town Manarola (approx 20min walk). It's also great to watch the sunset from the rocks in Riomaggiore.

Have a great trip!