Cinque Terre Swimming etc

The water off the coast of the Cinque Terre is incredibly clear and I remember thinking that I wished I had a snorkel, mask and fins along with me! Unless you bring your own though, I'm not aware of a place to rent gear...maybe someone else has an idea? You'll certainly be able to swim unless the weather turns cold!

My 2 cents is that Monterosso al Mare has the best swimming beach.
There is a section of it that is free, and another where you have to pay to use
the beach.
Wonderful swimming there.

I really enjoyed walking around Monterosso too. Lots of cute cobble streets, great
bakeries, gelato shops, and I enjoyed the restaurants in the old part of the town
(walked thru the tunnel to get there.)

Weather permitting you should be able to. It is still warm in Italy. Sometimes seas are rough, especially if you had a storm, therefore you must be careful because the coast is rocky, it gets deep extremely fast and it's treacherous. Monterosso has a beach. All others just rocks and cliffs. You can buy or rent snorkeling equipment locally.

The water is absolutely wonderful, however the beaches are very rocky. Consider wearing beach shoes as you may not be able to even walk on the beach or water depending upon location.

Thanks for the input. I was thinking of bringing water socks for the rocks.
How does swimming in Vernazza compare to Monterroso? If I have the room will bring my snorkel. Any casual pizza or pasta or breakfast recommendations?

I remember the Monterosso beach as being sandy, unlike the others.

Ann,

As the others have mentioned, Monterosso has the best sandy beaches for swimming, both in the old town and new town. Some parts are "pay per use" with chairs and umbrellas, and some are free. I haven't checked recently, but the weather is probably still fairly warm so the water should be reasonably pleasant.

There's a small beach on the enclosed harbour in Vernazza, but I've never tried it so I don't know how rocky it is. I've noticed that the younger crowd often swims on the rocks on the opposite side of the harbour, directly under the tracks.

There's somewhat of a beach in Riomaggiore in a small bay, which is around the corner from the harbour (you'll be able to see it from the location where the boats dock). Again, I've never tried it so don't know if it's rocky.

If you end up getting into the water from a rocky place, just watch out for sea urchins. I remember having to step between them on the rocks where we swam.

Thanks for the replies especially to not step on sea urchins. Looks like I might need to start a new topic what to do in Vernazza and Venice when it rains. Rain is forecasted this week.