Cinque Terre - where to stay?

I liked Vernazza. The busiest town is Monterosso. The most hotels, restaurants, stores, hotels. Some express trains stop there unlike any other town in Cinque Terre. It also has large beaches. But you cannot make a mistake. Each town is beautiful.

I'll vote the other way; we like Monterosso because it's the largest and so has more room for the mob to spread out. The smaller villages can be more congested during peak visiting hours. It also has more accommodations, restaurants, shops, etc.

My nephews were 20 and 25 when we first visited there and they enjoyed Monterosso, particularly the larger beach area.

Because my main reason for going to the CT is to see the unique colorful stacked houses on cliff edges I would opt for Vernazza or Manarola as they are the most picturesque and right on the sea.
However with 2 older teenagers I think you would want to stay where there is the most to do, most food options and a nice beach ; so Monterosso for your family I would say without a doubt.

You can't go wrong here. They are all wonderful. The trains come often, and take only minutes between towns. If you want the beach than for sure opt for the more "resort" like Monterrosa, its the only one with an actual "beach" I suspect your teens will be glad you did.

jm,

I would also recommend Monterosso, as it's the largest of the five towns, has the most accommodation and restaurant choices and also the best beaches. The larger number of accommodations may be important due to the late date. It's only a few months until June and many of the places in all the towns will be booking up quickly.

Some of the hotels or private rooms may be able to accommodate a group of four. If you can't find any vacancies with listings in the guidebook, have a look at this list - http://rebuildmonterosso.com/visitors-information/ . I don't know how current the information is, but you can contact establishments for more information. Note that accommodations will usually be either in the "old town" or the "new town" (a few may be further up the hill). It doesn't matter which part of town you stay in as the walk between them is easy (I normally stay in the old town). The new town is perhaps a bit busier as the rail station is there and also the largest beach.

It would be a good idea to get reservations secured soon!

Hi jm,

2 years ago, my family of 4 (2 teens) stayed in Riomaggiore. It was fantastic. This June, we are staying in Monterosso. I highly recommend staying in an apartment, if possible. For our family, it was the only way to go. There's just something about having a kitchen in Italy that makes a great experience.I use Booking.com. Like Ken said, Monterosso is the biggest town, and will have the most options for lodging. Good luck, and have a blast! :)

I'm going to CT for the first time in July with my family of five (kids ages 9, 14 and 16) and after reading about each town, I opted for Monterosso for the big beach and the wider variety of restaurants for the kids to have more fun with. It took me four days to find lodging. I started by emailing every single lodging place listed in Rick Steve's Italy tour guide book for Monterosso and Verazza, since I was considering both towns, and asking about options for five people. I found the website booking engines, even directly through the hotel, didn't always accurately show what was available.

Only about half that I contacted responded, and nothing quite worked, so I also went on another booking website to search for additional lodging options. I emailed a few from there. Through both sources, and a few more responses from the initial group, I ended up finding several with enough room, but many times it was a double and a triple, so two rooms, which didn't really suit me since I'd rather we all stay together, given the ages of the kids. I only trust the 16 year old to sleep alone. There was only one really nice sounding one, that Rick Steves recommended, with a family room that holds five and that is available for our two nights. It was 300 euros a night and includes breakfast. I booked it this morning. Monterosso, here we come!

\We are also planning a trip to Monterosso in September and emailed about a dozen places before we found our best option. Note that many places are walking distance to the beach so you don't have to splurge to stay right "on" the beach. Here were some of our picks if you're interested; they are also from Rick's guide book.

Manuel’s Guest House: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlK1421L0go&app=desktop
151 euro/night cash – balcony and sea view.
The price includes breakfast, wi fi connection, private garden, private bar for the guest, air con.
There are about 130 steps to reach the guesthouse (LOTS of stairs but the view looks amazing).
They say it's five minutes to the beach and the hiking trails; ten minutes from the train station

Il Giardino Incantanto B&B:
180 per night.
Breakfast included.
Short walk to town and beach areas.
Very romantic, 16th century home.

Hotel Punta Mesco:
140 per night with cash payment.
153 per night with credit card.
Breakfast included.
10 minute walk from the historical center along the seafront promenade, 5 minute walk from the train station on flat pavement, 2 minute walk from the beach.

Hotel La Colonnina:
The price per day (cash only) for the double or twin room including buffet breakfast is:
Euro 160,00 ( 2 pers. ) standard room.
Euro 165,00 ( 2 pers. ) room with terrace with no view.
Euro 175,00 ( 2 pers. ) room with terrace with view of the village.
50 meters from the beach. Panoramic roof terrace. Near the pier where ferries depart and the hiking paths.

Good luck! : )

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions :) - I ordered the RS guidebook 'Snapshot of CT' and as soon as I get it I will dive in and contact the lodging options. I am so excited and looking forward to visiting CT - it has been in my bucket list for a long time! I will make sure and post where we end up staying - June cannot come soon enough!! Ciao!! Jessica

Just a suggestion? I wouldn't wait to get the guidebook: I'd jump on reservations right now.. Try the few listed above first and then try anything which might still be available. Whatever is listed in the guidebook might be long gone or booking fast for June.
Try booking.com as well.

We booked our Monterosso reservations in January for 3rd week of May (5 years ago) and barely nailed the last room of our first choice.

Hi Jessica, I thought I'd go back through my emails and see which hotels told me they had family-sized rooms to hold five people in Monterosso and Vernazza, the two towns where I literally emailed every single hotel in the RS guidebook.

Here are the ones that responded, whether they had availability for my days or not. I suggest you email each of them and share your dates and ask about availability. As others have said, CT books up fast. I only had two places with family-sized rooms available for my dates.

Monterosso:

Agriturismo Buranco - www.burancocinqueterre.it
Email: [email protected]
Agriturismo farm, small house that sleeps 5, Euro 70.00 per adult per night and Euro 35.00 per child (up to 10 years old) per night. Breakfast included.

Hotel Villa Adriana - www.villaadriana.info
Email: [email protected]
300 Euros a night, breakfast included

Hotel Punta Mesco - www.hotelpuntamesco.it
Email: [email protected]
230 Euros a night for a small apartment that sleeps 5, around the corner from the hotel, breakfast buffet included. 10 euros discount a night with RS discount and cash.

Hotel La Spiaggia
[email protected]
250/270 a night for small apartments to sleep 5 in other buildings with sea views, not in actual hotel. (Not sure if this meant she never has room for 5 in one family room at the hotel, or just not on my dates.)

AlbergoMarina -
Email: [email protected]
220 Euros a night for an apartment that sleeps 5, 15% discount with cash for RS discount, breakfast included, and afternoon pasta bar

Hotel La Colonnina - www.lacolonninacinqueterre.it
Email: [email protected]
Euro 285,00 for five people in family quadruple room with the possibility to add a 5th bed. Breakfast included.

Hotel Monterosso Alto - www.monterossoalto.it
Email: [email protected]
225 Euro for a quad room with a single bed added, small but manageable. Breakfast included.

Vernazza:
Francamaria Rooms - [email protected]
one apt that sleeps 4-6:
Ciapàe
Large studio for 4 to 6 people in the center of the main plaza of the town.
Eur. 175,00 (5 pax)
See pictures and features of this room at http://www.francamaria.com/vernazza1.html

La Marina Rooms - http://www.lamarinarooms.com/apartment.html
Email: [email protected]
Apartment with sea view and private stone wall terrace overlooking the sea and the beach is composed of two separate double bedrooms "king size bed in each room", living room area, 1 bathroom/shower for all , hair dryer, 1 large and 1 small towels per person per day, we can additional an extra bed by the living room
House price is 270,00 euro each night for 5 person + Accommodation tax 10,00

I booked an apartment for my husband and two teens for Manarola in July. After I booked it I read about trail closures (I know I should have researched that first...). I can still cancel and rebook somewhere else, would you recommend that?

I want to thank Scully for your suggestions - really appreciate sending me all of the links. I've been reaching out to several of the lodging options - one of them (Hotel Villa Steno) did not have availability for my dates but sent me this whole list of places to try - I am sharing their options here for all:

Please try first of all at:
Hotel Pasquale Tel. 0187.817.477 Fax 0187.817.056 or Email [email protected]
If Hotel Pasquale is fully booked you can try at:

Other suggestions in Monterosso:

Hotel Stella Della Marina http://www.stelladellamarina.com (nice and very well run hotel in old town Monterosso)
Camere Monterosso www.cameremonterosso.com a nice B&B in the old town
Hotel Porto Roca www.portoroca.it (nice 4 stars hotel)
Hotel Margherita www.hotelmonterosso.it
Hotel Villa Adriana www.villaadriana.info
Camere Il Timone www.iltimonedimonterosso.it which is a very good B&B
Manuel Guest House http://www.manuelsguesthouse.com (nice B&B with beautiful view close to Villa Steno).
La Cabana www.lacabanacinqueterre.com
Hotel Punta Mesco www.hotelpuntamesco.it
B&B Il Parco www.ilparco.com a good B&B

In Corniglia:
Sandra Villa Rooms ( nice, clean and very well run rooms and apartments)
http://www.cinqueterre-sandravillarooms.com

In Riomaggiore:
Camere Paradiso http://www.camereparadiso.it/
Affittacamere Alla Marina http://www.allamarina.com/

Or for more places www.cinqueterrehotels.com

Have an awesome day!

Crossing our fingers for you, Jessica! Scully mentioned this one?

Hotel La Spiaggia [email protected] 250/270 a night for small
apartments to sleep 5 in other buildings with sea views, not in actual
hotel. (Not sure if this meant she never has room for 5 in one family
room at the hotel, or just not on my dates.)

No, I don't believe the rooms in the hotel can hold 5 so the apartments are in separate residential buildings (we stayed at the hotel and loved it.) So you might call or email them as well? http://www.laspiaggiahotel.com

Elizabeth:

I booked an apartment for my husband and two teens for Manarola in
July. After I booked it I read about trail closures (I know I should
have researched that first...). I can still cancel and rebook
somewhere else, would you recommend that?

No, don't cancel. Yes, a couple segments of the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) are closed and will remain so this season but there are MANY trails within the park. Also, the other two sections of the S.A. - Monterosso to Vernazza, and Vernazza to Corniglia should be open unless they have a big storm or rockslide or something which damages them; always a possibility. And there are certainly other things to do! Your teens will enjoy swimming in the gorgeous azure sea - either from a beach or just off the rocks in the some of the villages - and I highly suggest that you join them. It'll feel good in July! :O)

Check out the park trails and other details - such as passes required to hike the Sentiero Azzurro - on the website:

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Esentieri-outdoor.php

Clicking on a path in the listing or on the map itself will pull up a description.

Elizabeth: Manarola has a good amount of areas to explore by foot even if the main trials connecting the other towns are closed.
The area where the houses are all clustered above the train station is very cool to walk around and a place those not staying in town would rarely venture too. Just cool "streets" and some really nice overlooks.
Then the other area with the obvious views where there is also a restaurant, playground, garden area and a graveyard with a view.
Lastly the terraced hillside overlooking town above the mentioned area is also totally walkable, I wish I did this when we stayed in Manarola this past Sept. ; honestly was so busy for our 3 night stay I never really had the time but looks like you could hike/walk up and around those terraced areas for quite some time where views would be great.

The main trails have importance because they link the towns and back in the day where the way goods were likely brought from town to town. To get great views though or go for a walk around, you don't need the main trails open.

I really enjoyed Manarola and recommend you keep your booking there