Has anyone any recent advice on finding a private room for two in Monterosso, such as best approach to take when arriving by train. I have R. Steves book and he mentions the TI at the train station any other advice?
Peter, we came into Monterosso a few years ago and were greated at the train by a man that offered us rooms. We were a bit tenative and tried to find our own place...ended up going back to the train station, found the same guy and he got us a couple of great apartment rooms for 3 nights at a great price.
Depending on the direction you are coming from....either Genoa or Lucca...you take a local train to get to the 5 towns.
Peter,
We just returned from a recent visit to Cinque Terre. (Highly recommended.) We stayed at Via XX Settembre, 19100 La Spezia". It was a very pleasant hotel with helpful staff. It is located less than a kilometer south of the La Spezia train station. Just turn left when exiting the train station and follow the road in front. The street names change every block. Look for via XX Settembre. You will pass a tunnel on your left which goes under the old city wall. The hotel is ahead and across from this wall on your right. The train to Cinque Terre picks up in La Spezia. La Spezia is a nice place to visit too.
Other advice... Be polite, take your time in Cinque Terra, bring good walking shoes, take half as much luggage, learn some phrases in Italian,
Enjoy!