Help! Need a place to stay in Cinque Terre

David is correct. While his system seems to be too easy, it really does work!

In Vernazza, try her: http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

september shouldn't be sold out, so i wouldn't worry about it too much. i've been to the cinque terre twice and stayed in monterosso both times (stayed @ manuel's guesthouse & albergo marina; both were very good & can be found online; manuel's guesthouse cash only). don't know if you have rick's italy guidebook that has tons of other options for sleeping in the cinque terre, but if not, go to your local bookstore and read and take notes the sections on sleeping in the cinque terre villages, even if you don't want to buy the book. if all else fails, i'm fairly certain that you can still snare a room in the cinque terre in september by just showing up without a reservation (preferably by late morning) and asking around; most locals/tourists will know someone with rooms available (probably easiest to do this in riomaggiore, but any of the towns will have rooms that get filled by tourists who show up without a reservation). as a back up plan to the back up plan, if u can't find a thing in the cinque terre (highly doubtful), try doing the same in the nearby riviera town of levanto (5 minute train ride from the cinque terre).

just pick a town you like and go into any gift shop or coffee shop and ask the owner. they'll call their relatives or neighbors to find you a room, should take no more than 10 min, the owner will come to get you.

Bob & David, Thanks for your replies. That is what I read in Rick's book, but do you think it's really safe to wait until I get there? It seems everyone I contact is already sold out.

Mark, thanks for the info. I've already tried Manuel's, and he is sold out. I haven't tried Albergo Marina, so will check there.
Otherwise, I have looked at every place Rick suggests in his book; most are sold out, the remainder are just too expensive (ie. 160+ euros a night). I really wanted to stay right in CT, but will look elsewhere if necessary. I know everyone keeps saying to just show up and ask around, which is what I had planned on doing, until I started researching places, and found that so much is sold out. Now I'm nervous :/

" but do you think it's really safe to wait until I get there? " Melissa, life is an adventure. Go for it! My sweet bride often says, " we've done WAY more stupid stuff then this! "

Bob, I love it! You just brought a smile to my face! And you know what? You're right. ;)

Try Mar-Mar Rooms (Recom by RS) in Riomaggiore. They have about 30 rooms and they also run a hostel. I stayed in Babo, a small apartment in May this year. It is fine. They take your CC for reservation, but only accept cash like most of the room service.
Have a good trip!

Melissa
We stayed in Vernazza- it is by far the most level of the 5 towns and the Room we had was looking onto the fishing boats on the shore of the town. Franca Maria rooms (Room #1) reasonable rate and only 8 steps up to the room. Try [email protected]. You'll love all the towns and the walk between them is fun.

I suggest you try to secure lodging before you leave home. If you're not able to find anything, then do as David suggested & ask around when you get there. September is a popular time to visit Italy and I disagree with Marc that you shouldn't have any trouble! We were there in Sept '09 & met a couple from close to where we live. They hadn't secured reservations prior to arriving in the CT & spent all afternoon trying to find a room. They ended up having to stay in a larger, non-CT town & were disappointed that they wouldn't be able to stay in the CT towns themselves. Have you tried Hotel Margherita in Monterosso? We stayed there and enjoyed it. It's rated well on TA & is clean and modern. They have an excellent breakfast buffet as well.

If you arrive without a reservation, try to start looking around 10 am for best results. Also, weekdays are easier than weekends. La Spezia has hotels and is not a bad first night stay for the area. I've stayed there, across from the train station, several times when arriving for a CT stay.

We are going to CT in late October and made reservations with Mar-Mar ( info in Rick's book). I think there were rooms still available. We rented Babo. Have fun!

Thanks for all your help, everyone! We finally secured a place in Vernazza - so I am relieved.

Melissa,
Where did you find a room? My wife and are will be there and need a room for Sept 15 and 16 (Thursday and Friday). Like you, we have been looking and emailing. Still waiting to hear from one more that has not responded but would love to know what you found.