Parking in Manarola

Rebecca, Which airport are you arriving at? If you decide to rent a car there, my suggestion would be to park it in La Spezia and take the train to Manarola, as it's only about a 12-15 minute ride. I believe there's a new car park near the station in La Spezia, but I don't have any details on the costs (check the Guidebook). As you'll be driving in Italy, are you aware of the usual "caveats" and things to be aware of. If not, post another note for further information. Happy travels!

If you check AutoEurope, you will see that the La Spezia downtown office is closed Saturdays and Sundays, but the two " city" offices ( Via Della Planta 6/8 and Viale San Bartolomeo 515) are open on Saturday, at least in the morning. The Manarola parking lot can fill up. We were walking up there late one afternoon and several cars were turned away because it was full. One guy asked us where else he could go but of course we did not know.

Rebecca, Driving in Italy has some "unique aspects", so here are my usual caveats on the subject.... It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which in some cases is offered at the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at This Website for more detailed information on driving in Italy. You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities ( especially Florence!). EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket! There's also the issue of parking tickets and the possibility of having "The Boot" applied. There's also the issue of high fuel costs, tolls, etc. A GPS along with a good Map would also be a good idea. Be sure to also give some thought to the question of CDW. If you accept the CDW offered by the rental firm, it will be expensive but will provide "peace of mind". Some "premium" credit cards provide rental vehicle insurance, however I've found this to be somewhat complicated so I just accept that offered by the rental firm. Check the Car Rental section in Europe Through The Back Door for further information. continued......

Rebecca - Part 2.... I don't know how much extra gear you're packing for the baby, but (IMHO) it would be much easier, faster and more efficient to use trains for at least part of the time. For example, there's a direct train from Rome to La Spezia with a travel time of ~3H:45M, which is considerably faster than a trip by car. It's difficult to offer more specific suggestions without more information on the overall specifics of your trip. Cheers!

Hmmm. The La Spezia avaiablity may depend on th etime of day for pickup, and th elength of rental. some sites do not rent for less than 3 days. I used a Saturday in may and pickup at 10 in the morning. Maybe both offices close in the afternoon? I didn't check that. The Pisa airport location has extended hours. You might try there. However, traveling with an infant and all the gear, you may just be happier with a car for the whole trip. Getting on and off trains, with luggage, baby, stroller, diaper bag, etc. etc. could prove pretty tiresome. At Manarola, the train stops only briefly, and if you are at the end of the train you may be far from the actual station. The town is quite steep, and depending on where your hotel is you might have quite a schlep. there are little electro buses, but getting on and off presents more problems. If you are bringing the car and parking at th etop, you might choose one of the hotels at or near the top of the village so you don't have to lug everything all the way through town.

Lola, hotels cannot "book" places in the parking lots. That was the case up to 2006 I guess, but there was legal action against that, and since then those parking lots are open on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Andre, that is good to know. I'll delete that suggestion. All the more reason to look at picking up the car at one of the 'city" offices in La Spezia (open on Saturday) AFTER going to Manarola.

Thanks for the info so far. We are flying into Rome, and because of the baby, we have more gear than we would like to. I did try autoeurope and it said that no cars could be found for us in La Spezia at any of the 3 locations. I will try again though. Also, I would love any info on the tricks of driving in Italy. That is the next thing on my list of questions to research.