My wife and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in May. When choosing a home base for our 3-4 day stay in CT, I'd appreciate recommendations. We'd like a village offering accommodations with an outdoor patio over elevated water views, enough restaurants to vary our meals, and perhaps a market from which we can purchase food should we choose to dine on our patio. We plan on at least two hikes along the trail system, likely a sunset boat tour, and perhaps some sort of food/wine/culinary outing such as a pesto-making class. Aside from the hikes, this will be the R&R portion of our Italy trip. Thank you!
Posted by
Boston
1929 posts
Monterosso is the best village for your preferences. We use booking.com for searching hotels as the reviews are verified and the search filters are good. Best to reserve soon as the town will be fully booked before long. On train schedules the town appears as Monterosso al Mare. Look into getting a Cinque Terre Card online once as your date approaches to avoid the line at their office at the La Spezia train station.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2969 posts
hey hey David H
congratulations on your anniversary.
may is a busy time and can be crowded in cinque terre. nowdays there doesn't seem to be an off/low season anymore. so many travelers every where and all wanting to go to same places as many other & of course cinque terre is one of them
incinqueterre.com cinqueterre.eu.com
click the towns at top of page to see what interests you guys.
nessun dorma in manarola has a pesto making class. look at boat tours, hiking, cooking classes
arbaspaa.com
day tours and accomodations to check out. so much to think about. check-in times 3-4pm check-out times 10-11am
as Mike mentions check booking.com. on left side put in your filters, mobility issues (some have many stairs/steps carrying luggage) A/C, fridge, balcony, your budget, dates. some people like vernazza also. when you find what is good for you, email hotel/apt if get a better deal. booking.com reviews are from people that have stayed in them. book fast before places get booked up
many daytrippers all wanting to see the villages, trains can and will be very crowded, early mornings or later afternoons when they leave. it's also cruise season which adds thousands more people depending how many ships in port.
cruisemapper.com
click unselect all, click port, search la spezia and genoa, scroll down to may 2026, and has the days cruises are in port
have a great time, enjoy & have fun
aloha
Posted by
OP
Connecticut
2 posts
You two weren't kidding about Monterosso being booked up! We've always been seat of the pants when it comes to booking, but since Cinque Terre is a must-do for us, we've begun the process (what we thought was) early. Thanks!
Posted by
Chicago
9576 posts
We are visiting on the spur of the moment in April to connect with some friends from Arizona who will be in the area. We found all the places we like in the CT booked up and ended up in Rapallo at a hotel with breakfast . We first hiked the CT nearly 40 years ago -- what a difference now. Disneyland on the bay.
Posted by
Alberta
765 posts
We stayed here a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. A quick look shows availability still in May. The terrace we had was with a view more down the town " valley" but I thought it was lovely. It is a very small hotel, that has been in the family a long time, but the rooms were recently renovated
https://cadandrean.com/en/
In terms of hikes there is a small hike around the town. We took a bus up to Volastra which is a town up from Manarola and then hiked down through vineyards into Corniglia and had an early dinner there.
There is a small market and there are a few restaurants, not probably as many as Vernazza or Monterosso, but you can also just train to another town for dinner. I believe there is also a pesto making class there, although I didn't try it. We did catch the first boat out to Portovenere one day and that was nice too.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2969 posts
hey hey David H
LOL LOL "seat of you pants!!" not anymore. italy is one of the top places to visit, it's everywhere in that country (north to south east to west). where your next city to visit is like booking yesterday, get on it like NOW!! hoping all works out.
you may find a boat cruise that takes you on an excursion to swim with the mermaids!! celebrate :)
aloha
Posted by
Boston
1929 posts
Jusy north-ish of Cinque Terre is Levanto which is connected to Cinque Terre by ferry, rail, and hiking. It is very enjoyable on its own and numerous travelers prefer it as an alternative to staying in CT. Serious celebrations are a moveable feast.