Driving to Cinque Terra-where to stay with car

There's a public parking lot right in Montorosso, it costs around 10 euro a day. We always park there and take the train to Vernazza. There's actually two parking areas in Montorosso, the other one has a small garage and costs 15 euro a day. Both are pretty convenient.

Do you worry about your car being broken into or damaged in the lot? (We won't anything inside it)
Also, do you have one particular place you like to stay over others?

Sheilah, Travel to the Cinque Terre is somewhat easier without a car, as the parking is limited in most of the towns. As the previous reply indicated, there are more parking options in Monterosso than some of the other towns. You could also look for parking in La Spezia, which is the southern "gateway" to the Cinque Terre. It's very easy to get from there to any of the villages (the rail trip from La Spezia to Riomaggiore is only about eight minutes). There's information in the Italy Guidebook not only on parking but also Hotel suggestions in each of the five villages. Happy travels!

Check with the hotel you book with. More than likely they'll provide parking for you at an extra cost. We payed 10 Euro a day in Riomaggiore. Be sure to tell them you want to reserve a spot.

I've never had a problem with anyone breaking into my car and I've parked in both lots in Monterosso. I prefer the one in town, on the water as it's cheaper and there's an attendant on duty 24/7 I believe, plus it's more convenient to the train station. As far as where we stay, I've been going to Vernazza for over 10 years now and I've never made a reservation anywhere. You get off the train and you'll see signs for rooms to rent. Even if they are booked, it's a tiny little town and everyone knows each other so they'll usually direct you to someone else who has open rooms. Even in high season, I've never been shut out. The vast majority of places there don't advertise online so if you want to book ahead, best thing to do is check the millions of threads on CT here and you'll find phone numbers and email addresses of places that people recommend.

Have parked at the lot by the water in Monterosso twice. Convenient. No problems. Consider staying in Vernazza. Re parking in Vernazza: see RS "Italy" guidebook.

Thank you for all the great suggestions! Will make our planning easier.

We've parked in the public lot in Monterosso that's right on the water, with no problem. We do not leave anything in the car. We've also stayed at Villa Steno, a lovely hotel in Monterosso, which has its own parking. That worked ever better than the public lot. We like staying in Monterosso because there's a bigger choice of restaurants.

I think parking in Monterosso would be a good idea. We have been to the C.T. 3 times over past several years. Trained in the first time. The second time we were coming from Southern France (early July)and drove to Vernazza. Once you exit the autostrada and get past Monterosso the road to Vernazza is very narrow with lots of hairpins. I was "hugging" the door the entire drive although my husband said he would drive it again! My kids didn't think it was that bad either. Parking in the lot above Vernazza was not a problem. Upon leaving the drive from Vernazza to LaSpezia was not that bad. In '09 we trained in and that made it very easy and relaxing.

Ive parked in Montorosso and in Riomaggiore and both worked well.If coming from the south Riomaggiore is easy to get into from LaSpezia.Some hotels offer parking and the drive in was easy.The train is much easier however.