Le Cinque Terre

Close to Milan? There's Lake Como but it's also going to be expensive and crowded in August. It's about an hour north of Milan, Rick recommends Varenna and there's also Bellagio (expensive) and Menaggio (not so expensive). But the Cinque Terre would still get a lot of votes here. Suggest you research both and then decide.

Anything along the coast will be expensive in August. I don't know how attached you are to the Rick Steves book, but would you consider going futher west and into Liguria? It is close to CT, while the coast line will be very similar, and above all very beautiful. However, if you just want 5 or 6 days to hang out at the beach, Italy is full of wonderful places, don't feel you have to restrict yourself to the area around CT.

Remember that August is "vacation month" for Italians (and many other Europeans). If you're looking for peace, quiet, and cheap, you're probably out of luck. Although I've heard cities can be less chaotic at that time because everyone is at the beach. I also vote for Lake Como for the beach-like experience but close to Milan. If you can rearrange your schedule, I'd try to get to Cinque Terre in September.

If you're willing to go for a hostel, Ostello Cinque Terre in Manarola is 25 euros/night in high season. It's nothing special, 6 to a room, bunk beds, but it does the job. Rick lists the website under "hostels" in the favorite links section. Either way, it is still definately a worthwhile place to visit, crowds and all.

we just returned from italy and loved cinque terre..it wasn't too busy now but not sure about august..we stayed in monterosso at La Spiaggia by the beach and it was great. jo