Planning 3 nights in Cinque Terre with mom and sister where should we stay for our home base?

Monterosso has decent access to ferries and trains. Train travel is more reliable since stormy weather or high seas can cancel ferries. Trains run every hour or so to the other towns. Monterosso has many hotels; most are within walking distance of the train station and ferries.

Monterosso is also much flatter than the other four towns and it has two sandy beaches. Are mobility issues of any concern to you?

Mobility is not an issue!

Monterosso is a little bit bigger and has more accommodations options and also more restaurants. It has a real beach too. The other towns are really very small villages and the only accommodations are rooms rented in houses.
All of them however are easily reached by frequent trains going back and forth. Just avoid Corniglia, where the station is many steps down the cliff and therefore less convenient.

All of the villages are great! We happen to prefer Manarola because you can get to many places without dozens of steps. The sidewalks are more sloping ramps. Riomaggiore has the same set up in many parts, making it easy to wander. I like to save my energy for hiking the high trails and not spend it on 67 stairs up to my room every time I go there. :-)

Corniglia is several hundred stairs up from the train station, BUT there is a shuttle bus, so don't avoid at least visiting this little town. It is probably not the best base camp, though.

Think about staying in Levanto – it’s at the western end of the CT, only a four minute train ride from Monterosso. You can buy your CT passes at the train station in Levanto, it’s on the main line to all CT towns

As others have mentioned the towns of the CT are quite hilly whereas Levanto is much flatter and has a great beach. You can catch the ferry from the beach that stops at every CT town and return via train or walk back if you’re feeling energetic.

There’s plenty of accommodation in Levanto to choose from – after watching people struggle with their bags in the CT towns, I’d always opt for Levanto – far less hassle. Rates are cheaper because Levanto is not classed as a CT town, even though it's right next door

From Levanto it’s quite easy to catch the train further west to Santa Margherita Ligure (45 mins) then the bus to Portofino – it makes a great day out

We stayed in Monterosso and were so glad that we did. It is pretty flat and has far more restaurants, shops and places to relax at night (loved this enoteca that was in the RS book and went every night). And we enjoyed winding down every day at the beach with a book. It's very convenient to catch the train to the other towns and when you want to leave the area completely.

Monterosso al Mare - Villa Steno - great views, nice breakfast and wonderful staff! http://villasteno.com/
Up on hill, so a minor walk up street and/or stairs, but there is local transport you can pay to take you up. The most Riviera-like town of the Cinque.
Plus, Monterosso has lovely beach to rent chair/towel/umbrella.
Town with very close access to train or boat.
Ciao` Diane

kim,

It would help to know when this trip is taking place. I'd also suggest staying in Monterosso, as it's the largest of the five and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other tourist amenities (as well as a full service rail station).

However during the "high season" it's highly advisable to get reservations WELL in advance. Hotels like Villa Steno will likely be booked up into next year (but you could certainly contact them, or their sister property Hotel Pasquale).

We, two newly retired couples, visited the Cinque Terre for the first time in early May 2014 and cannot wait to return. We stayed in Monterosso for two nights at the Hotel Stella Marina. We couldn't have been happier, Gabrieile was a wonderful host. The terrace has such a wonderful view that we spent both evenings there having wine and snacks purchased in the town. Typical of the town the hotel had many interior steps, but that is what gave us the wonderful view.
It is a lovely walk from the train station along the water and through the tunnel to the old part of town where the hotel is situated. It would be a short walk to the boats.
We took RS advice and each had a small rolling bag with tote and managed the walking and on and off trains just fine.

Vernazza of course...Gianni Franzi

We stayed at Albergo Marina in Monterosso. No view, but they serve a wonderful breakfast and in the afternoon they serve complimentary pasta with choice of sauce. Very nice staff/owners in the old town.