Cinque Terre: Vernazza or Manarola?

Wherever you find accommodations you like.
I prefer Monterosso because there are more choices of hotels, restaurants, and a beach. But any town is just minutes away from the others by train.

Thanks for the reply! We have a great option for stay lined up in both Manarola and Vernazza, and our choice will come down to which town we decide to stay in :)

Check out the 6th town...Portovenere...it has the best views of the 5 towns! :)

Staying in Porto Venere is not a good choice as it has no rail service so you'd need to use a Bus to La Spezia or boat to get anywhere. Also, it's not the "6th town" ("Cinque" means five).

I agree with Roberto that Monterosso is the best overall choice but of the two towns you listed, my suggestion would be Manarola. I'm sure you've seen shots like this - https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/locationscoutnet/images/2014-08/manarola-in-the-evening-italy_l.jpeg . I'm also a photographer and that's one of my favourites.

The only way one can see the 5 CT villages from Porto Venere is by drinking significant amount of alcohol and dreaming about them after passing out.

We stayed in Vernazza back in 2013 for a few nights after I saw a Rick Steve video on YouTube during my planning. And gee did we love it. Stayed right on the Piazza Marconi in at guesthouse, so we walked out of the boarding and into the square with all the little fishing boats there. My partner says Vernazza is where she has had the best seafood pasta in her life...

It is so easy and quick to take the train between towns that it does not really matter which you decide to stay in because you will have no problem visiting the other towns. Pick based on the accommodations that fit your needs the best.

Honestly you can't go wrong, and they connect by train so quickly it barely matters. Both are wonderful spots, Vernazza by a nose maybe. Have a great time, it's beautiful.

We stayed in Manarola this past Sept and can honestly say between the 2 it doesn't matter.
It takes a few minutes by train to get from one to the other.
Both are outstanding and my top 2 choices, I went back and forth as well before choosing 1.

I am a photographer and main view/shot I wanted was in Manarola so that is why we stayed there to basically ensure I got a good one from the main viewpoint.

If you are more into hiking, staying in Vernazza has some benefits since the 2 main trails that are open both either end or start in Vernazza. From a photographer or videographer both towns are paradise, though getting different compositions can be quite a challenge.

Looking back, glad I did. I went to the Manarola viewpoint with gear 6 times (sunset, late night, mid day, sunrise, during a mid morning storm and lastly a nice sunset) ; only to get a few good pictures in the end.
Vernazza went hiking up the trail for one sunset and stayed through the blue hour, those turned out great and only visited the other side of the trail mid day so nothing much else to show for the time in Vernazza.
So basically my advise is decide of the pictures you have seen which is your #1 must get shot or clip ; and stay in that town Manarola or Vernazza to give you a better chance of getting it.

The thing I came to appreciate about Manarola (and we stayed there 3 times versus 1 time in Vernazza) is that there seem to be fewer stairs and more ramps/sloping sidewalks/paths. It is level to-and-from the train station (through the tunnel). It is also quieter at night.

Hi Sean. I just stayed 3 nights in Manarola earlier this month (April 6-April 9). We stayed at Aria di Mare and loved it!

I chose Aria di Mare and Manarola simply because I had found a few hotels/apartments with great online reviews in various CT towns, and the Aria di Mare owner wrote me back when I inquired online. There was really no reason other than that.

You could easily stay in Manarola or Vernazza. If you're wanting to go to the next town (or even two, three towns over), the train is extremely quick and convenient. Our "longest" train ride in CT was between Monterosso and Manarola, and I think the whole ride took maybe 15 minutes.

Tough crowd. Guess they did not see the smiley face! :)

Portovenere is a lovely town with ferry service to islands and some of the Cinque Terre. It is on the ferry ride that you will have a stunning view of the Cinque Terre. Enjoy your trip.

We like this place in Vernazza:

http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

Live from New York:
serious question, what happens if you stay in PortoVenere and the ferry is not running due to waves/high seas to the Cinque Terre towns?
You would be somewhat screwed having to take a really long multi-stop train ride or maybe able to take a boat somewhere else to catch a train. Either way far from ideal. Not sure for Set-Oct I would recommend it, for summer months of the year I imagine that is not really a concern.

Just a short note:
I had stayed in Vernazza for 3 night and couldn't sleep.
Trains passes all night long, so if you are a light sleeper that can be a problem.
Trains passes Manarola under the town so maybe it's better.

Love Vernazza, stairs and all.

I was 60 on first visit and 67 on second so you should have no problems. Pack light, you won't regret it. We smartened up second trip and checked our carry on bag at La Spezia station and took only an overnight bag with us.
Have stayed there twice and though it's crowded during the day, from the station down to the beach, you'll find very few tourists in the upper reaches of town.