Manarola at the Hostel Cinque Terre

Becky, I've never stayed there, but am familiar with the Hostel as I had a look on one of my visits to the Cinque Terre. It's clean and well run, and therefore good for a family. However, one point to note is that they have a STRICT LOCKOUT in the afternoons (13:00-16:00 as I recall) so you WON'T have access during those hours. It's located on the top end of Manarola, so a bit of an uphill walk (but not too difficult). There is also a relatively new Hostel in Corniglia, but I haven't had a chance to have a look yet. They've only been in operation a year or so, but seem to have good ratings. As you may know, Corniglia is situated high on a bluff so walking from the station with luggage would be a bit of effort. There is a Shuttle though. I had a brief look at their website, and I'm not sure they have any family rooms? Regarding the trails, it's too early to say which of them will be open at the time you'll be there. However, generally speaking they're quite safe but narrow in parts so some care is required. Ranked in order of difficulty are Monterosso to Vernazza, Vernazza to Corniglia, Corniglia to Manarola and finally Manarola to Riomaggiore (this last leg is the famous Via dell'Amore, which is mostly paved and flat the whole way, so not difficult at all). Only you know the hiking abilities of your children, but I wouldn't have a problem with taking children on the trails. If you take it slowly and guide them in the more challenging parts, you should be fine. On the first leg mentioned above, there's quite a climb out of Monterosso and some of the steps have a "high rise". You might take along some "treats" for the stray Cats that live on the trail just above Vernazza. Note that a Park Pass is required to hike any of the trails. Cheers!

Becky, I am not familiar with that hostel, but we loved Monarola and wished we had more time than the 2 nights we spent there. It was much less crowded than Vernazza. We hiked over to there and found it so crowded at mid-day we couldn't wait to get out of there and bak to Manarola. The trail section between manarola and Corniglia was our favorite, but I do not have any information as to what the trails are like now. I believe this is a sction that was closed recently.

Thanks for the information! I did check out the other hostel, and they don't have family rooms. Thanks for the information on the park pass. I'll make sure we have one. I think we need a family pass, from what I could tell. Thanks!

Stayed in Manarola in 2011 and loved it. In fact, we too had Monterosso and Vernazza as first choices, but couldn't find a reasonable place to stay. In the end we decided on an apartment (3 nights) and worked great, as we were able to eat breakfast in and have access to snacks and drinks without the cafe markup. Not sure if you've looked into an apt but for the cost of one typical hotel room $200nt we had a two bedroom apartment in the town with a little balcony and priceless views. Manarola, has indicated is quieter than the Venrazza and Monterosso and in the evening it's just a lucky few visitors and the locals. Really good restaurants and some nice stores too boot.

I have stayed there in the past. It is in my top few hostels I've stayed in but you need to read their info about lockout / curfew carefully. They are very nice guys that run the place but they seem intent on keeping it from becoming a party hostel and in that regard have succeeded. I can't comment specifically on the family rooms but in the room I stayed in there had a wonderful view. I've also found it a handy spot to do laundry. For some, the location might be a slight put off as its about as far from the train station as you can get (and up a hill) in the tiny town. Manarola is gorgeous (but so are the other towns.)