Tough Question: Vernazza?

Kellie, A few HelpLine members have travelled in Vernazza recently, and hopefully they'll spot this Thread and offer a few comments. Based on the reports I've seen recently, repairs in Vernazza are coming along well, but some parts of town still resemble a "construction zone" to some extent. The town will be different than you remember it, however I don't think you're "making a mistake". The residents and business owners will need as much support from tourists as possible in order to restore the town to the way it was. Happy travels!

We were in Vernazza a few weeks back. We visited it all five towns. Vernazza is under construction. There are some resturatants and stores open but much is being rebuilt. The mud is still being trucked off the beach. Some people would not like me saying this but it would not be my first choice to stay in. It is a nice gesture and you should visit and spend some money but I would stay in another town. Even if there wasn't the flood it wouldn't be my first choice. I like the larger towns with a wider choice of stores and resturants if I am staying for a few days.

I appreciate you frankness. Which town and where did you stay instead of Vernazza?

I'd not stay in Vernazza, but in Riomaggiore or Corniglia. Vernazza is effectively a work zone. I know the "help the locals mantra", and as blunt as I might sound, while I sympathize with their tragedy, I don't think it is the traveler's obligation to downgrade his/her experience just because they locals need the money. In 2006, would you have visited New Orleans barely drained out after Katrina, with most services closed, just because locals needed tourist money? I'd cancel my booking and reserving a place nearby in one of the other villages.

In the CT area we choose to stay in Levento which is just a stop away from the CT. We stayed there because prefer to stay in apartments instead of hotels and found a nice one in Levento. If you are looking for a town a bit larger with more hotels you might want to try Monterosso. It looked to me to be the larger with more hotel space. The old town was flooded but to my eye it was all cleaned up. But I really did like Levento. It was pretty, had lots of resturants, beaches (and cafe's to get drinks on the beach) and easy to train to CT.

We cancelled our reso in Vernazza and are going to stay in Monterosso. Found a lovely place! Thanks for your input!

We are staying at: www.anticaterrazza.com
Looks simple and cute. Looking forward to trying a new town! We'll of course, visit Vernazza too.

Kellie, I haven't been there but am going soon. I too wanted to stay in Vernazza but since this is my once in a lifetime opportunity, and I couldn't find satisfactory accomodations for our dates, we are staying in Monterosso, also hit by the flood. Where are you staying? We found an agritourismo. We plan to travel to Vernazza and spend some $$ there.

Kellie, Just curious, which location will you be staying in Monterosso? That's been my favourite location in the C.T. lately, and I think you'll enjoy your time there.

Kellie, I've never stayed there, but it looks like a great B&B, right in the middle of the "old town". There are lots of nice restaurants within easy walking distance. Hope you have a great trip!

Thanks Ken. We're excited to try somewhere new!