Cinque Terre in June with 13 and 16 yo sons

Go to Airbnb.com and search:

Cinque Terre, Italia Homes

Of course, you will want to check the location of each, but it pulls up quite a few different apartments in the 5 villages.

This is how I found a place for June in Riomaggiore. We will be travelling with our 19, 17, and 14 year old daughters and son.

You can do the same type of search on vrbo.com as well.

We stayed in a Monterosso airbnb with our three t/weens. We forced them to hike in the mornings, and had loose plans for afternoons. So day one hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza, ate lunch and swam briefly, continued hike to Corniglia, train back to Monterosso. Beach swim before dinner. Day 2 train to Ria., hike the upper trail (the coast trail was closed) over to Manarola, ate lunch and cliff jumped (my 13yo son could have done this all day) all afternoon, then train back. We were only there two days. Because the afternoons are so hot, we scheduled hikes for morning. The beaches are rocky (like, actually stones, not sand) so beach shoes are really nice. Yours are older, maybe they can do their own thing part of the time while you and hubby hike? The area is certainly small enough for kids to navigate

Thanks for the replies!
Fuel for making desicions!

See if Casa Alice is available.

https://www.cinqueterredalmare.com/en/cinque-terre-apartments/

Boat tours and Kayak rentals are available too.

Good overview of the villages.

https://cinqueterreinsider.com/category/village-spotlight/

Jo,

June should be a great time to visit the Cinque Terre, although there may be some days when the area is inundated with the cruise ship hordes. A few thoughts on your questions.....

1. Many of the small hotels also provide breakfast, so they're kind of like B&B's. There are also some that are self catering. I'd suggest having a look at the RS Italy 2019 guidebook, as there are listings for accommodations there in each of the five towns. You could also check the places on this list - http://rebuildmonterosso.com/visitors-information/ . I don't know how current it is, but you can start there. If your budget allows, I would highly recommend either Hotel Villa Steno or Hotel Pasquale in the old town part of Monterosso.
2. NO, I would not suggest staying in La Spezia, especially as your sons want to "lounge near the beach". Monterosso has the best beaches of the five towns, so that would be a good place to use for a home base. Having said that, it would be a really good idea to get something booked soon as the available accommodations will fill up quickly. There's a charge for the lounge chairs and beach umbrellas, but it's quite reasonable I believe. There are also free areas, and your hotel staff can point those out.
3. I haven't found that there are "cancellations of the trains often". The distances are short and the Cinque Terre Express runs frequently. At that time of year, you'll also have the Ferry to travel between towns (it doesn't stop in Corniglia), and it's nice to see the towns from the water.
4. "Recommended must do?" The Cinque Terre is best as a place to relax and enjoy the gorgeous scenery and some great Pesto in the area where it was invented. A big favourite with restaurants is Cantina di Miky in Monterosso, which is just down from the train station (don't confuse this with the Miky restaurant which is more upscale). Once you've decided which town you're staying in, it will be easier to recommend restaurants.