Vernazza Apartment/rental recommendations

Have you tried La Marina Rooms?

http://www.lamarinarooms.com

The apartment description says one bedroom, but the photos show two, plus the sofa bed in the living area. You could ask about that. If not enough privacy, there are two more double bedrooms in the structure, not directly connected to the apartment but close.

Thank you! Yes I tried them and they only have 3 out of 4 days available and it is over $300 per night :(

The second apt they have listed I wanted with the sofa but they said i cannot rent it for 4 people this is what he said which I do not quite understand why it was an issue...
" No possible stay 4 person by the Apartment Piazza Marocni, to small for 4 person and we can not take it also for italian low
for 4 person I do have availability only for 3rd oct 4th 5th october by the Apartment with private terrace , 3nights 822,00 total for 4 person"

I think he has left out a period and also meant to say he cannot rent the smaller one for four persons under Italian law ( not low).

Did you try some of the agencies that handle apartments for Cinque Terre?

Would you consider reducing your stay to three nights to get the larger apartment? I know that is more than you wish to spend, but maybe you can make it up elsewhere.

While I know you said you would rather not use booking.com, I would reconsider it if you're having a hard time? We've use it many times - abroad as well as in the U.S. - and have never had a problem. It would help to widen your search.

You may also have to consider other villages besides Vernazza, or even look at Levanto.

The LAW ok i get it now, wonder why so many other places are small but allow 4 people and his does not? Oh well!

We would consider a place without a kitchen if we have to do with out something.
What agencies are you speaking of? I am not sure if I have or not.

We really want to stay 4 nights so have time to explore so would rather not reduce it.

Even booking.com was low on inventory for those dates. We also wanted to try to pay in cash when we arrive instead of pay all up front now, I believe booking.com requires full payment? I may be wrong but thats they way it looks like when you go to book.

Some listings on Booking dot com require full payment in advance, some you pay at the time of check in or check out. Some are non-refundable, others have various less restrictive refund policies. You have to look CAREFULLY at each one. But it certainly is not true that all of their listings require prepayment.

Check out Monica Lercari apartments. [email protected]

We walked 200 steps to get there, but 4 of us stayed in her suite with a breathtaking balcony !

We have stayed on the square, but the noise from the restaurants was a turn off. This was quiet and gorgeous for morning coffee viewing !

We've yet to have a reservation on booking.com that asked for any sort of payment upfront as I always choose the free cancellation option should something go wrong. It usually costs a bit more but would save a bundle should we have to abort the trip at the last minute.

Ok thanks for the info everyone I think the issue is I am only finding two places available on there for my dates for 4 people. There is not much available so hoping someone may know of a place that isn't listed or as popular. Good to know on the fees though so thank you for that info!

Homeaway and Airbnb are other options as well, if you are nervous about booking.com (and forgoing the booking directly option). I had really great success with Airbnb in Manarola.

Hi,
You may have to switch towns. We are going in July and found what you are looking for in Riomaggiore. The apartment is called AllaMarina.com We are staying at the Atlantis apartment. We searched extensively all over and everything was booked. The owners are two brothers and they respond quickly. Let me know if I can help.

Hello, Yes you may be correct, but i want to wait a few more weeks to see if anything turns up, I already stayed in Riomaggiore before so want to try a new town but also want one of the towns with nightlife. . It just hard to believe our dates are 6 months away and there are such a limited amount of places open. How far in advance did you book?

Yes I have tried AirBb and homeaway and booking and VRBO and not much on there for 4 people, kitchen in town. Again hoping someone may have some insight on places maybe not listed , I read that there are lots of places who do not really advertise more so are word of mouth. I may be wishful thinking though ;)

I would definitely look at airb2b and homeaway and agree to expand the search.
Each of the 5 towns is so tiny and Vernazza smaller than Riomaggiore or Monterosso so options are limited to start with.
Finding large places that also have a sea view terrace in the town will be hard, just don't think many exist in Vernazza.
I think that could be found without too much difficulty a little up the hill from the town in Vernazza or if you are willing to look at all of the villages and have a little walk. Or stay in heart of Vernazza but lose the terrace requirement.

Always a good idea to look at the bigger folks like booking to see what is available and then you can google for individual websites or listings by owner of the same property listed on booking and reach out to them via email directly.
Booking in particular has some apartments and houses now, they are not just hotels and B&B's.

Going in Sept myself and wanted a sea view balcony room in Vernazza for 3 people (2 adults and young child) and found virtually nothing when I looked and booked 10 months out, so think it is more about what actually exists vs. everything is booked. I found places for 2 but not for 3 or 4. I originally choose a sea view room by the tower in Vernazza (windows but not balcony) at more of a hotel type place but since cancelled that for a studio right in town by the train station without a view as I decided the added hassle of all of the stairs and accessing the room was not worth the benefit of the view from the room. Would rather have easy access to the room from the town and the train station.

We booked 6 weeks ago. Our goal was to find a 2bed/2bath apartment for 5 girls and must be on the water. After an extensive search we found AllaMarina.com( also recommended by Rick Steves book on Cinque Terre). I agree, that Riomaggiore was not our 1st pick for a town...but we have 5 girls to keep happy and could not find any apartment with 2 bathrooms. Also, try GlobalFares.com for your airfare. We are paying $1,600 for round trip ticket from St. Louis, Mo to Pisa( cheapest we could find). Ask for Gene(ext. 102). Hope this helps.

try http://www.elisabettacarro.it/

It's not Vernazza but the couple who own/run excellent Cantina di Miky in Monterosso have a 2-bedroom, sea-view apartment they rent:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1001935

Christine is an transplanted American and Manuel is a local. I haven't stayed here but thought I'd throw it out as we met them and they're lovely people.

You might be able to reach them via this email address if you didn't want to go through airbnb:

[email protected]

I wouldn't wait around to see what turns up: the longer you wait, the more will have been booked up. The scarcity of accommodations you're seeing is indicative of how popular/busy the CT is.

Sounds like a lot of money. We have rented an apartment for 2 weeks and we are paying 420 Euros total. 2 bedrooms, kitchen , bathroom and a balcony. Granted its not luxury but we will be mostly gone and just sleep there.

We used arbaspaa.com for our two stays in CT. You can send them a message telling them what you need, where you'd like to stay and your price range. They do everything from private rooms to B&B's to apartments and hotels. They have (or did in 2012) a storefront in Vernazza and also arrange scenic flights and boat rides along with hiking excursions, wine tastings and more. We actually staying in Corniglia both times, in the exact same place (only a different room). They were always very quick about returning emails.