Three to Four Nights in Cinque Terre

I am going there in May, for my 5th time, because I love it so much! I am sure you have read by now, Monterosso is the most modern town and, I feel, is the most touristy. But the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza is spectacular! You can start and end in either town.

I always stay in Vernazza, and while it gets touristy by day, by late afternoon it is quite charming. I would recommend Francamaria rooms, a little more expensive, but not the hundreds of steps to climb! If you don't mind steps there are so many other places to choose from.

Riomaggiore seems to be the next best town, I have never stayed there, but I have friends that live and work there, so I just go to visit, very charming.

Don't know much about staying in Manarola (smaller town) or Corniglia (not on the sea so less scenic).

All the towns are approx. 5 min train ride from each other so you can see all of them easily. Have fun!

The Cinque Terre is packed and touristy during the day, so it is best to get up in the hills hiking.

I really enjoyed the ferry to Porto Venere, in particular the approach around the promontory and the church.

I prefer Vernazza, but then again I don't mind the steps.

gd,

Most of us here have a favourite of the five towns, and my preferred location is Monterosso. It's the largest of the five and therefore has the greatest number of accommodation choices, restaurants and other tourist amenities, along with the best beaches. It has an "old town" and "new town" areas so it's possible to find quieter areas. It will probably be a bit quieter in October but still vibrant in the evenings.

ALL of the towns are "touristy" to some extent, but more so in the "high season". I suspect that "touristy" won't be as much of a concern in October.

If you want "less touristy", then Corniglia would be the obvious choice as it's the least favourite of the five, mostly due to it's location. It's on the top of a high bluff which means visitors have to either take a shuttle up from the station, or climb hundreds of stairs. One important point to consider is that some/all of the tourist facilities there may be starting to close for the season in October.

I've never stayed in Vernazza or Manarola, but those are also good possibilities. Riomaggiore is nice, but it tends to be somewhat "quiet" in the evenings (probably more so in October).

There's little point in offering hotel and restaurant suggestions before you've decided which of the five towns you'll be staying in. I can only offer suggestions for Monterosso.

A few final points to mention.....

• Depending on when in October you'll be there, weather could be an issue.
• I'm not sure when the Ferries discontinue operation for the season, so those may or may not be available while you're there. Their operation is dependent on weather, so if the weather is bad they won't be running.

We stayed in Manarola for 3 nights last spring. Manarola is not as touristy as Vernazza and Monterosso. The evenings and mornings are quiet. We stayed at the Affittacamere San Giorgio. Very nice, big rooms, convenient. No breakfast but there is a nice place right next to it that serves breakfast, Aristide. Best place for lunch or dinner was Il Porticciolo. We ate there 3 times. We also ate at Trattoria da Billy but found it didn't live up to the hype. There's also a new place overlooking the water that serves drinks and light food, Nessun Dorma. It's along Rick Steves vineyard walk. Perfect place to watch the sun go down. The hike to Volastra is less crowded.

We like Manarola and have stayed there 3 times now, out of 4 trips to the CT. It's pretty quiet at night. Also love Trattoria da Billy adn find it worth the effort, but make a res!

To get away from people durin gthe day, head high in the hills. If you wnat to hike up, great. If not, take the shuttle to Volastra and walk to Corneglia. This hike to the Santuario above Vernazza ia also lovely and uncrowded. the ferry to Porto Venere is terrific. We waited 4 years to do it, so if you ahve a nice day, go! See the blog "A path to lunch" for some great ideas in the area.

We've had 2 visits to CT and both times stayed in Corniglia...because it was the smallest, quietest and 'least' touristy. We caught the shuttle bus from the train stn to the 'center' of the village, avoiding the steps, then it was a quick walk to the room. Both times, we booked thru arbaspaa.com (they have an office in Vernazza and also put together tours and such)...the room we had was called 'Corniglia Dreams'. First stay we had the room with the bathroom down the stairs. Second stay, we had the room next door with a little bathroom/shower. The views from the window were lovely...the view from the roof terrace (over to Manarola I think) was so relaxing. Not a hotel or a B&B, just a room rental. I think it was 80 euro a night (this was in 2012, so prices could be different).

I'm trying to find a link, but I think before I had to contact them thru their website and that was how I found 'Corniglia Dreams"

(re: avoiding the steps...when we were leaving in 2012, there was a problem with the shuttle bus and it wasn't going to be running until after we had to catch our morning train. Luckily, we saw the sign posted in the square, and made sure to give ourselves enough time to get down the stairs to the train...never have I been so glad that we only travel with carry ons!)

Just to expand on "those steps", they are 382 steps in 33 switchbacks: nothing I'd attempt with anything bigger than a carryon! I love Cornigila but the poor little thing was completely overwhelmed with tourists during the day when we were there. I'd been warned in advance so we'd purposely did that one early in the morning so we could escape when it got to the sardine point. It's lovely before the hordes descend and after they leave, though!

We were there the third week of sept both times. I imagine October would be a little quieter then sept. Our first time was there thru the week and the second time was on a weekend...the weekend was nutso. Our first trip thru the week was much more enjoyable. If I ever went back, I'd def avoid it on a weekend if I could.