Lerici or Monterosso in Cinque Terre for two nights?

I've stayed in Lerici twice and would highly recommend it, if it fits into your itinerary. Lerici is a lovely beach town on the Gulf of Poets (Golfo dei Poeti) with easy ferry service to Portovenere and Cinque Terre.

Will you have a rental car or traveling via public transport? Coming from Rome, I believe La Spezia (five miles from Lerici) would be the nearest train station. Reviewing the train schedule, it appears there is a direct train, which takes almost 4 hours, and then bus or taxi to Lerici. I had a rental car during both of my stays in Lerici and parking was not too challenging in September, but July will probably be more crowded. Once in Lerici, you will not need your car.

I stayed at Hotel Florida both times with a beautiful view of the bay and Portovenere and easy walking distance to many wonderful restaurants!

Lerici is an excellent choice for a family like yours. It not only has a charming character, beaches, and lots to watch, but also an imposing castle that is now a museum heavy on dinosaurs. Brenda's recommendation of the Hotel Florida is a good choice and next door is the Hotel Venere Azzurra. Both are overlooking Venere beach and the Gulf. At San Terenzo (a part of Lerici) there's a nice beach that is popular with families. Both of these beaches have large free areas. Bus service from the train at La Spezia Centrale is good, and a larger taxi could also be arranged (base fare is 30E). The ferry to Cinque Terre and Portovenere has 2 or 3 departures daily and is about 35E pp. Descriptions and some useful links here:
http://www.apathtolunch.com/2011/06/castle-to-castle-along-gulf-of-poets.html

Thanks so much for the input. I saw Lerici mentioned in the National Geographic guide book and it got my attention, and so I started reading about it and haven't found anything to turn me off to the idea yet.

We have a rental car, so we'll be driving instead of taking the train for this portion of our trip.

Another great local resource is Megan McCaffrey-Guerrera with Bella Vita Travels.

https://www.bellavitatravels.com/about-us/
https://www.bellavitatravels.com/blog/
I had the pleasure of taking one of her custom one-day tours of the Cinque Terre about ten years ago and would highly recommend her services. She lives in Lerici and is a wealth of knowledge about the area and beyond.

Mike's recommendation of San Terenzo is spot on for a great family day at the beach! We went while visiting Leirici in 2010 and it seemed to be mostly Italian families.

Enjoy!

Scully,

With such a very short trip, I'd suggest staying with the lodgings you've booked in Monterosso. I doubt that the beaches in Lerici will be less touristy in July. The other issue is the fact that Lerici doesn't appear to have a rail station, so transport will be via Bus or Taxi. Monterosso has a good rail station so getting there and leaving after your visit will be easier.

Hopefully Roberto will spot this thread, as I'm sure he will have an excellent perspective on the question.

I think we will stay put in monterosso simply because I couldn't find reasonably priced lodging in Lerici anywhere near the beach, with air conditioning. It was $1,080 for two rooms for two nights. Nothing that looked nice was anywhere close to what I'm paying in monterosso. I looked at vacation rentals and hotels.