Stay in Sestri Levante to Visit Cinque Terre?

jeff,

I've only passed through Sesti Levante and haven't stayed there yet, but it looks like a nice town. Travel time from Sestri to Monterosso (the closest of the Cinque Terre towns) ranges from ~20-30 minutes, depending on which train you choose. For information on the beaches and other aspects of the town, have a look at.....

http://www.sestri-levante.net/

Jeff,
You can visit Cinque Terre via train as it only takes about 30 minutes or so.
If you want to stay closer to CT, you may prefer Levanto, as it only takes 5 minutes by train to reach the
most northern village, Monterosso.
You can travel to all the villages in CT via train as it takes less than 5 minutes to travel from one to the other & trains come by frequently.

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

I have only stayed in Monterosso so I don't know how the beach is in Sestri Levante, but judging from the photos I've seen, it looks like a nice place... I'm sure others will chime in with more information.

i stayed in levanto. it is a very short train ride away from monterosso and the rest of the cinque terre. levanto has a terrific beach. it is larger than the monterosso beach and less crowded. it is friendly and you will not see another american tourist in town! i took the train to monterosso and did the cinque terre hike to the last town. you can hike from levanto to monterosso, but i hear that it is arduous and you must be an expert hiker. i really enjoyed my stay in levanto. it was tres relaxing!

sorry, i should also have added i have stayed in monterosso and vernazza on separate trips. i found levanto to be extremely convenient, authentic and relaxing.

you could also look to the south. the train goes to la spezia. i am not sure how long the train ride is because i took a boat trip. la spezia is on the poetic golfi de poeti. porto venere is also a small town on the gulf. so charming and pretty. le richi is also on this gulf. these gulf towns are connected by short ferries. i seem to remember that the boat ride to the cinque terre was long and not convenient for commuting, although very pleasant. i don't remember a good beach on this gulf, either.

i do not have any information on sestri levante.

Hello Jeff,

My vote goes for Levanto as well, for similar reasons that Carmen gave. The CT towns are beautiful but difficult to negotiate with your luggage, whereas Levanto is not so steep and there is car access to all parts of the town unlike the CT towns

The CT card is available at Levanto train station. Some of the boats that cruise the CT coast start & finish in Levanto, which gives you an advantage seat wise on the boat. We took the boat from Levanto to the far end then caught the train back – an easy day out.

We also did the walk from Levanto to Monterosso, well worth it and not to daunting.

Levanto is a great town to base yourself – from here we did a day trip to Portofino, caught the train to Santa Margherita Ligure then the bus to Portofino, the bus leaves from outside the tourist info on the beach front.

Levanto has a good beach compared with the rocky inlets of the CT towns. You’ll enjoy sitting beside it with a drink in hand after a hard days hiking.

We've been to both Sestri Levante and Levanto on day trips - have never stayed. We did, however, stay in Bonassola, the next town north of Levanto, and recommend it highly. Not nearly as slammed with tourists as Levanto and I think the beach is good. You can walk from Bonassola to Levanto through the old railroad tunnel. And easily take the train to Cinque Terre (CT). BUT I will say that the CT trains are SLAMMED with people during the best travel months. We were there in mid September and wished we hadn't even gotten on the train (we were headed to Portovenere). So, depending on when you are traveling, this may be an argument for actually staying in one of the CT towns and not having to day trip as much.

I'll echo Carmen a bit here. Though I didn't stay in Levanto, I did stay in Bonassola for 3 nights. So relaxing with a stunning beach. We fell in love with the it and the food. If Levanto is filled give it a look :)