What town to stay in the Cinque Terre

Suggest you watch Rick's video on CT, and then YOU decide.
Stay in one place for both nights.

Once again, by definition, 2 nights in one place is much more productive than another relocation after one night.

Since the towns are all of 5 minutes apart by train, pick one and stay there.

I love the CT and would go there anytime from late April to October. Sorry to say I think March is a poor time to visit. Many restaurants and hotels are closed. Hiking will be hit-or-miss, mostly miss. Go somewhere else in March where you will have a better seasonal experience.

I agree with Laurel in terms of the weather not being the best in March.

You may be interested in reading this thread which has excellent information regarding the CT:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/how-to-explore-cinque-terre-where-is-a-good-home-base

Check these links for more info regarding trail info, weather, etc...

• http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en
• http://www.wunderground.com/travelplanner/index.asp
• http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2

Enjoy your honeymoon EmergencyDoc!!!

Hi ER Doc---I see from your other threads that this is your honeymoon. I generally recommend La Torretta in Manarola for that, but it appears they do not open until April 1. So I would suggest you look at La Mala in Vernazza, also very honeymoon-worthy.

Note that the coastal trail between the villages is closed at this time, apart from the one between Vernazza and Monterosso. There is no guarantee as to when the other trails will open,mas they were apparently damaged by slides. So Vernazza may well be your best choice if you want to do some hiking.

Weather in March is notoriously unpredictable. A famous Italian rhyme says: "Marzo, Marzo pazzerello. Guarda il sole e prendi l'ombrello". (March, crazy March. Look at the sun but take the umbrella).

I would be ready to change plans if weather does not cooperate, because the Cinque Terre with rain would not be very fun.

Any town will do. They are all pretty and You can shuttle back and forth by frequent trains. Corniglia is a bit up the hill, therefore a little distant from the station which requires a very long series of steps to reach (although they have a shuttle bus during the day). I prefer Monterosso, which is a bit bigger and has more restaurant/bars and shops (and hotel) choices. Also it is the only one with a sandy, albeit small, beach, although in March it won't matter.

Roberto makes an important point about the March weather, which you should carefully consider. The CT is not fun with rain because it's an outdoor kind of place.

Everyone here has their own preferences, and my favourite town is Monterosso (the most northerly town). It's the largest of all and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other amenities. It also has the nicest beaches (although that probably won't be of much use in March). The "normal" start of the tourist season in the C.T. is 1 April, so I suspect that more places will be open in Monterosso than some of the other towns.

I don't know if they'll be open, but you could check.....

• Hotel Villa Steno
• Hotel Pasquale
• Hotel Villa Adriana
• Hotel Porto Roca
• You could also check others on THIS list, which should be reasonably current. You may experience a delay in getting a reply, as many of the tourist businesses will be closed now, so probably won't check their E-mail as often.

I agree that La Torretta in Manarola would also be a great choice for a honeymoon, but it's at the high end of the price scale (and not sure if they're open in March - you could always send them an E-mail to enquire).

Roberto had great advice (as always) about the weather, but hopefully you'll get nice weather. If that's the case, you may wish you had booked more time there.

Monterosso was our choice as well for all the same reasons Ken has listed. And although I love the place, Corniglia would be our last choice because of its distance from the train station.

Not all businesses in Monterosso will be open yet in March ( I see the excellent Cantina di Miky didn't unbolt the doors until around April 3 last spring) but you may find more open there than in some of the others simply because of its size.

No, the weather may not be optional but with adjusted expectations and gear for exploring in the rain, you'll have a good time. And who knows? You may just get lucky with a couple of sunny days!

Here is where we stay in Vernazza:

http://www.elisabettacarro.it/