Hi, We are planning to spend 2 days in CT this last week of July. I understand weather will be very warm ( Hotel with AC needed ) plus there will be a lots of tourist like me. Is it better to stay in one of the CT village even as far as Riomaggiore ? Will it lessen the wow moment if we stay in another town close by and just take the train? We are not avid hikers and will most likely take the easy l'amore walk ( sorry , can't remember exact spelling) and take trains in between villages as well as take the ferry to see the villages from a different view. Thanks.
Posted by
Boston, MA
1829 posts
I would guess rather than lack of wow factor, if you stay outside the towns you become one of those "lots of tourists"
There are only so many places to stay, so if you stay in one of the 5 towns they are busy during the day when everyone visits but much quieter at night and in the early morning when only those with places to stay are there.
You should know the via dell' amore path has been closed for some years and is not planned to open anytime in 2016.
Posted by
bedford, indiana
459 posts
sally we were in the CT for a week and chose to stay out of the main villages a click or two. We stayed up at Moneglia which was a very easy 10-20 minutes train ride north. I loved our B&B and Moneglia was really a cool place to stay. That all being said, if I was only going to be in the CT for two days I would opt to stay in one of the 5 villages. You will be more likely to hang around later in the evening to enjoy the villages as they thin out of people, a fun time to stroll the area! Because we had a week we learned the ropes and enjoyed being able to get get out of the flow a bit. Two nights/days, I would stay attached to the action (such as it is in villages) you'll have a blast!! Since you are not a big hiker I would try to ride the ferry down to Portovenere one day, its a neat spot that does not require a ton of step hiking and the ferry allows hop on hop off at the 5 villages, this will of course be dependant on calm seas, we really enjoyed the ferry ride!
Posted by
OP
san Francisco
735 posts
Thank you Mreynolds for letting me know that the dell'amore path has been closed . Thank you Jarrardd for your explanation of the 2 days
staying at CT versus in another town. I am incline to stay at CT now. We will definitely take the ferry - heard so much good feedbacks on it !
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
sally,
At this late date it could be difficult finding accommodation in one of the five towns, so you may have to choose another place to stay. As I mentioned in your other thread, Levanto would be a good choice as it's very close to Monterosso and that will make it easy to have a look at the Cinque Terre.
As a previous reply mentioned, the Via dell' Amore is presently closed and that's not likely to change this year. It's been closed since Sept. 2012 due to a severe rock slide, and unfortunately the re-opening date seems to keep getting pushed back. The only two Sentiero Azzurro trails that are currently open are the Monterossso-Vernazza and Vernazza-Corniglia segments. Those are a more robust hike so if you're not avid hikers it would probably be best to use the local trains or boats.
I don't remember if you can take the boats from Levanto, but they do stop in Monterosso (old town area) so you won't have any trouble connecting with them.
Posted by
Mpls, MN
1003 posts
Have been to the CT 4x over the last 14 years, most recently in Oct. 2014, and we have always stayed in Vernazza. Any of the villages would be fine but it is a bit of a hike from the train station up to the village of Corniglia, the only one not right on the water. Can take the shuttle bus up too. Evenings in Vernazza are lovely. We enjoyed taking the boat to Portovenere too.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15835 posts
As Ken said, it's late in the game for booking in the CT for this summer so you may end up in adjoining town. I'd probably go with Levanto as well but even that one can fill quickly so I would get on it.
Ferries do service Levanto but on a very limited basis:
http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/polopoly_fs/1.2918292.1462456848!/httpFile/file.pdf
Here is the schedule from La Spezia:
http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/polopoly_fs/1.2813424.1461143736!/httpFile/file.pdf
Trains are more frequent from either, and take just minutes into the CT.
Posted by
48 posts
I recommend the Park Hotel Argento in Levanto. The hotel is lovely, food is great and it's very close to the train station. It's walkable to the marina as well although we used the shuttle service. It's mere minutes via train to the various CT towns. My favorite view of CT was via ferry to Portovenere. Truly a magical sight. We went late last September and CT was still pretty crowded. I loved all the CT towns but also loved watching the sunset from my quiet rooftop balcony as well.