Relaxing in Cinque Terre

If you want to relax at the beach then Monterosso is the best. Another good beach is Guvano at Corniglia. From the train station go to the old train tunnel (no more in use) and after walk through the tunnel you arrive to the secluded beach. The beach is clothing optional.

Carol,
Monterosso is a great choice as it's the only village of the Cinque Terre with a sandy beach.

It's also the largest village of the CT & therefore there are more accommodations, restaurants, etc...

You can easily travel to the other villages via train as they are very close (within 5 minutes) & the trains travel frequently.

You don't need to book your train tickets for CT in advance, as these are Regionale trains, & there is no advantage in price by buying them in advance.

You may choose to buy your train ticket for the Monterosso to Milan leg of your trip in advance if you want to save some money.

There are several options in terms of train travel form Monterosso to Milan.

The best option is to book the Intercity train that goes directly from Monterosso to Milan which takes about 3 hours.

The other options will require 1-2 Regionale train(s) from Monterosso to Sestri Levanto or Genoa then transfer to an Intercity train to Milano Centrale.

You may check train schedules here: http://www.trenitalia.com

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you can also take the ferry (more expensive than train) from one village to the next except to Corniglia which does not have a ferry dock.

You can take the train to Corniglia but will need to climb many (300+) stairs to get to the village.

This is the website for the ferry schedules:http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/home.asp?lang=eng

carol,

Monterosso would be an excellent place to stay in the C.T. It's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other tourist amenities and also the best beaches.

In addition to exploring the towns, you could take day trips to Porto Venere (boat is the best option), Levanto (also a beautiful beach) or even further to Santa Margherita Ligure or Portofino (not much to do there, but it's fun to look at the posh shops and the yachts docked in the small harbour).

Were you planning to go directly to your flight from the C.T., or spend the last night in Milan?

If you decide to stay in Monterosso, it would be prudent to get a hotel booking SOON! September is usually busy in that area.

Thank you, all. The train information is also useful. I will post another question on trains. There are so many kinds, it is so what confusing for me. Monterosso it is. I will definitely book today. We will stay in Milan one more day before going home. Thank you.

Carol, Monterosso would have been my recommendation as well so good choice.

Just to note? A large amount of visitors will not be on the trails: all the little villages may still be very busy during the day. Also, most of the large beach at Monterosso is private - meaning you need to rent a spot anywhere but the small bit that's public.

The trains are very easy and inexpensive to take between villages, and as it's only 7 miles between the first and last of the C.T. five, journeys take just minutes. Schedules are posted at the stations: just remember to validate your tickets before boarding as the chance of those being checked in the CT is far more likely than for many other regionale trains in Italy, and fines are steep if you haven't time-stamped them in the little machines near the tracks.

There are a few trains which don't stop in all of the villages so reference the schedules at the stations.

Ferries will also still be running in late Sept, unless the weather is very bad. I don't recommend these as the best way to visit ALL of the villages in a day as they take too much time (and they don't stop in Corniglia) but you could take one from Monterosso all the way to Riomaggiore and work your way back by train, or the other way around. The ferry will stop at Vernazza and Manarola to load/unload passengers along the way.

You do not have to climb the steps to Corniglia: there is a little green bus that runs between town and train station, and is usually timed to be there to meet the trains. The bus is free if you have a park pass, and somewhere at or under 2 euros if you don't. The schedule is posted at the train station and bus stop in the village. The stairway is fun to walk down to the train station after your visit to the village! I usually recommend seeing Corniglia early in the day before the day-trippers descend. It's so tiny that it can easily be overwhelmed.

End of September should be very nice indeed but you could also see some rain so beach time may not be a given.

Thank you. Actually, I have been reviewing Levanto. I am considering staying there. Levanto has a bigger beach and the train ride is only 4 min to Monterosso (In a previous post in this forum, I believe it was Ken who said he timed it before). Hopefully those are public beaches and we won't have to rent a spot there :) I also read there are less tourists and mor locals. I am all about that. I will definitelt book tonight. Thx.

carol,

"Levanto has a bigger beach and the train ride is only 4 min to Monterosso"

I have timed it, but that's the travel time only for the train. The station in Levanto is a bit of a walk from the town (although not difficult), which could be 10-15 minutes each way depending on where you stay in Levanto. The station in Monterosso is in the "new town" right on the main street, so it's much easier to access.

Levanto does have large beaches but I prefer the "more compact" beaches in Monterosso (this is in the "new town" and there's another in the "old town").

This is what Rick's guidebook says about Guvano beach, nowadays:

The infamous Guvano beach (a bit along the coast toward Vernazza) is now essentially closed down. Notorious throughout Italy as a nude beach, Guvano was accessed via an unused train tunnel and attracted visitors with an appetite for drug use. Now the tunnel is closed, and the national park wants people to keep their clothes on and forget about Guvano.

Guvano Beach: "notorious for drugs and nudity."
Hmmmm. I always had a feeling that the CT was more than just great hiking and fantastic views.