Driving and Cinque

What is the location of your rental closest to the Cinque Terra area?

Stay in Levanto. It's a pleasant little Ligurian town just a hop away from Monterosso and you can be there in the Cinque Terre park in minutes...or you can hike there in a couple of hours. Many of the hotels provide parking and they tend to be cheaper than the CT. You can take a ferry or a train to all the Cinque Terre towns.

Right. Stay in Levanto (at an accommodation which provides parking) and just take the train into the CT; it takes 4-5 minutes to Monterosso (closest town and 13-20 minutes to Riomaggiore (furthest town). Trains to villages in between are only a matter of minutes as well as the whole shootin' match covers only 7 miles from north to south.

Ferries may or may not be running depending on weather, and do not service Corniglia. That one also requires a steep hike up the road or 382-step stairway or jump onto a shuttle bus to access as its train station is at the bottom of the cliff it's perched upon.

I am going to be on a 90 trip to Italy starting April 5, 2016

90? 90 day? Does that count the day you fly in and the day you fly out?

You profile gives nothing away about where you are traveling from, Jeanne, but if I make an assumption that it is either Canada or the US, are you aware of the Schengen Treaty restrictions on travel? That they restrict you to 90 days or parts of days within the Schengen Area without a Visa?

If any of this is new to you please ask for clarification.....

Be very careful using exactly 90 days. If your flight home is delayed you can go over and find yourself on the wrong side...

Thank you all. My trip, including arrival day and departure day is exactly 90 days. I did that because of the 90 rule mentioned. I had not considered flights being delayed, I was actually mainly concerned with using my frequent flyer miles according to their rules and being within the 90 days. I arrive at 4:45 p.m. on day 1, and depart at 10:40 a.m. on day 90.

I have not booked an apartment in northern Italy yet, but have been communicating with an apartment in Verona for the last month. Would anyone have a better selection to tour the north by car?

I like the idea of staying in Levanto for three nights before going on to Verona or whatever apartment I decide on.

I did not realize that planning this trip would be so time consuming, with getting all the little details ironed out to be sure all goes as well as it can. Of course, Murphy's Law will certainly take effect at some points, but at least there is a plan. I am not the type that can just go and wing it!

Thank you all. My trip, including arrival day and departure day is exactly 90 days. I did that because of the 90 rule mentioned. I had not considered flights being delayed, I was actually mainly concerned with using my frequent flyer miles according to their rules and being within the 90 days. I arrive at 4:45 p.m. on day 1, and depart at 10:40 a.m. on day 90.

Jeanne, I'm a little bit concerned about your above statement saying day 1 is your arrival day and day 90 is your departure day from Europe. Don't you actually leave the day before your arrival in Europe UNLESS you are taking a daytime flight from the east coast?

Thanks for the profile update, Jeanne, and welcome to our little family.

I really liked our long stay in Vicenza, somewhat smaller than Verona and a little bit off the main drag yet with a really super centre of the city, good food, lovely people, fabulous coffee, good music, and as the home of Palladio the centre of dozens of Palladian mansions. A lot is very reachable by car, and if you want the train to Venice, Padova, Verona, Bologna, Mantova, etc., it is very easy.

That's not to knock Verona - I have friends there in the hills and the city is fab; a bit overrun by the hordes heading to rub Juliet's statue's breast in the totally fake Juliette's house. I just prefer Vicenza. And the gelato there. and....

If you are renting a car you will need to get your IDP for every driver. Photo and small money at the AAA.

Mona, I leave Denver on April 4th, and arrive in Italy on April 5th, so I count April 5th as day one for being in the country 90 days.

I have not figured out how to respond to just an invidivual, so I am now just hitting REPLY. Is this correct?

You can always click on the responder's name and send them a private message but in this case it's probably good that you responded to the thread because it gives everyone some information to further help you plan. Welcome!

jeanne,

If you wish to stay in one of the Cinque Terre towns rather than Levanto, that is possible. Monterosso has pay car parks available, both at the end of the "new town" as well as the top of the "old town". Some of the hotels there also provide limited free parking for guests, so depending on where you choose to stay you may find that parking isn't a problem.

As Nigel mentioned, you will need the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily obtained at any AAA office for a small fee, and are valid for one year. When driving in Italy, you'll also need to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas as each trip through one of those will result in hefty fines which you won't know about until after you return home. Those are prevalent in many towns in Italy, even in Monterosso. Also, watch your speed carefully, especially on the motorways as there are automated speed cameras including the Traffic Tutor system which not only registers instantaneous speed but also average speed between two points.

As the others mentioned, be sure not to exceed the 90-day rule, which includes travel days.

Can you work out the Cinque Terre between apartment rentals?
How about renting more than just 3 apartments?
With 3 months I'd consider renting a different apartment every one or two weeks. A month from one base is a lot of time and you'll run out of day trips which are short enough from your base. Italy is not as small as it looks on the globe on your coffee table. Once you drive on your day trips from your base, you'll see what I mean. Many roads are curvy, narrow, go through towns, and you won't be able to drive over an average of 25-30 mph.

Using the map tool below, select a radius of 80 to 100 km max and click on any place you select as a base. Anything inside the circle is more or less doable as a day trip from that base location (about 2 hr drive each way max), but anything outside the circle would be better done from a closer base (or by staying away overnight)

http://www.freemaptools.com/radius-around-point.htm

Thank you Roberto and everyone for helping. You have given me much more to think about and I have actually made some changes in my proposed itinerary from this forum. The radius tool is helpful. I have this idea of "living like a local" which is why I was thinking of spending so long (1 month) in each rental. I do not plan to sight see every day, and want to hang out at the square, shops, cafes and get to know people. However, I am not a local, and two weeks or four weeks probably will not make that much difference. Money is always a factor, and it seems that on the rental sites, you get discounts for staying longer. That is another good reason for longer time in a rental. It does make a lot of sense to spend less time in one area so I can see more of the country. Thanks so much.