Cinque terre - Where to stay ?

I would suggest Monterosso. It is closer to Pisa and is a good place to start your journey by boat.

You may want to consider returing the car in Pisa and taking the train to the CT. The car will be useless and not that much parking. If you need a car afterwards take the train to La Spezia and pickup another car there.

Stay in one of the towns not La Spezia. Riomaggiore is the first town. Monterosso is the largest. I stayed in Vernazza and loved the little village. We stayed at the top of the village by the castle at La Marina Rooms.

Try here in Vernazza:
http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

BTW, your "mid budget " is low budget.

kavya,

If you're using a car, I'd suggest staying in Monterosso as that has the best parking of the five towns. There's a large lot at the far end of the "new town", close to the water. I don't know what the charges are? As I recall, there are two routes into Monterosso - one into the "old town" and one into the "new town". Be sure to take the "new town" exit (hopefully Roberto will spot this Thread, as he'll be able to provide more specific directions). One important point to note is the you will NOT be able to drive into the town, especially the "old town" which was damaged by flooding in 2011.

I don't know what the current status of parking is in the other four towns. I'm not sure whether the visitor parking has been rebuilt in Vernazza, so that might not be a good choice with a car. There's a large car park near the station in La Spezia, so you could leave the car there and just use the local trains. Having a car in the Cinque Terre is somewhat of an expensive and useless option.

Monterosso is at one end of the C.T., so it would be a great location to take the boat in one direction and then return by train. As you'll be there in the very near future, I'd recommend getting a hotel booking SOON! You might try Villa Adriana, as they have limited parking on-site and they're also not far from the car park mentioned above. You could also check THIS list.

Buon Viaggio!

You guys are the best ! .Thanks for all the suggestions.

I booked my hotel in Riomaggiore. We will park our car in Le spezia and take ferry/boat/train anything available from there to the hotel.

Don't know if they would have available rooms at this late date but the Locanda del Sole in Riomaggiore has its own parking area right in front of the hotel. A simple but comfortable place.

We are staying at an airbnb residence.

Very reasonable accommodations and can book online. The web site is airbnb.

We will be visiting CInque Terre mid-June , and while it looks like Vernassa is the best central location,

We have been looking at both airbnb and trip advisor, but not many coming up on airbnb, though.
We have been contacted by several hotels: Air Piau and Gianni Franzi, and do not know which to choose.

Questions:
Is it common to send visa information in email or fax to confirm rooms. This does not feel very secure.
How can we be sure these are legit places to send visa info to?
Do we need to book this early? or can we continue to research for several weeks?
DO we need to have a view of harbour or are there other suitable places outside the harbour area/
Could you suggest any clean, safe hotels in Vernassa.? price range ( 100 - 150 cdn)

Kavya,

Monterosso is a good place to stay. Its actually the furthest north of the five towns and thus further away from Pisa. Driving in the Cinque Terre is not typically recommended as roads are narrow and parking is slim. Monterosso does have the biggest parking lot of the five towns but, spots are not guaranteed. Our tour buses park in Levanto and train the rest of the way to Monterosso. This might be easier. The drive down to Levanto is also breathtaking.