Cinque Terre - which town has best swimming?

I was wondering the same thing. How crowded is Monterosso?

Beverly,

I'd also suggest the beach at Monterossa al Mare, as it's sandy and has more of a gradual "drop-off". Some of the other beaches have deeper swimming areas, which might not be as safe for a ten-year old.

Vernazza has a small protected harbour with a "breakwater" and a small beach, so that would probably be a good second choice.

Happy travels!

What about dangers in the water? Anything to watch out for? Like here in Florida I have seen rays in the water and they recommend you shuffle your feet when walking... and then the shark danger... is that a worry in Cinque Terre or Sorrento/Capri?

My kids enjoyed climbing on the rocks around Vernazza and took a dip off the end of the breakwater.

The best swimming is the beach at Monterosso because you can wade as far as you want. There are some waves but not big.

Follow this link to an interesting article on CT, including some "hidden" beaches few people know about. We're going in June - can't wait! :)

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/travel/05hours.html

Beashes are overrated-

Vernazza's protected lagoon is an easy swimming spot. It's relatively calm, and a shallow walk out into deeper water- with minimal traffic.
For myself, jumping in from the rocks surrounding the Riomaggiore harbor has always worked- we've tried wading in over the rocky Riomaggiore official "Beach"- that was a sprained ankle looking to happen situation.

I have never heard of sharks in the Mediterriean , I have swum off many beaches in the Greek islands, and frankly, the water seems fairly dead to me,, I am used to more life in the water, oh well, at least it must be fairly safe.
I guess there are always ocean currents anywhere to watch for, but in touristy areas I bet they would post signs.

Why not just google " sharks in the med " and see what comes up?

I realize that your question was about beaches in the CT. However, Conde Nast has an article in the March 2008 issue titled "12 Affordable Beach Escapes". One of the 12 is the beach at Viareggio which is about an hour south of the CT. You should see this beach. Better looking than Monterosso. Same water.

That being said, I can't imagine anything in Conde Nast being inexpensive.

The beach at Monterosso is your place. There are much smaller beach areas at Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore but these seem to be primarily for launching and recovering the local fishing boats. At Monterosso, they have rental lockers and umbrellas and it's set up quite well.