June parking above Vernazza

This is the guidance on parking from the official website:"The road to the Cinque Terre is very narrow and has lots of bends. Only a few tourists visit the Cinque Terre by car. Almost all leave their car in Levanto and use the train or even the boat to arrive to the Cinque Terre. In the Cinque Terre towns there are small pay parking lots in Monterosso and Riomaggiore. During the summer, from May to August, the car park is usually full and the roads to Monterosso and Riomaggiore are closed because there is no parking available. The other villages are always closed to cars, except for the residents. Levanto has many parking areas. You can find two good parking lots in Levanto: one near the railway station and the other near the sea. However, in August, even Levanto is crowded and you will need good luck to find a parking spot."Here's that website: http://www.cinqueterreonline.com/tips.htm#parking200 people here will see your original post asking if anyone has pulled this off, so you'll get a post or two saying someone was indeed able to do this--but obviously that will not tell you if you will find a parking place, and in June. If you don't get lucky, suggest you have a feasible plan B? (such as, park in Levanto or La Spezia and take the train in)

In June, you will be facing full parking lots. As Kent says, you will find a few travelers that will say no problem - we found one. But, parking in the CT is very limited. Even the lots in Levanto fill up. Seems so many want to drive to the CT and park their car. Cars are a liability in the CT. If the lots are full, they will close the roads into them. Says so on www.cinqueterreonline.com

We parked in the lot above Vernazza in May but June would probably be harder. We just drove up and there were a few places still available. If you do try it you would have a better chance during the week than on the weekends. If your plans are set on using a car you could also check on finding places at the other CT towns. The charge for Vernazza was 12.50 euro per night 2 yrs ago. It is a narrow and winding road as Kent mentioned so go slow and be ready for on coming traffic.

We debated trying it in September 2008-but we decided to park in Levanto as we had on previous trips. While there, we walked up and looked at the parking area and were glad we did what we did. Parking is very limited, spaces are very small, and it can be a long walk if you don't get a spot close to town. We had a mid size car (2 couples) and it would not have been a good option for us. Levanto was very easy.

According to Rick, the parking fee for the lots near the station have to be paid daily. Aren't the long-term lots a fair distance from the train station?

Jinny

good point. You don't want to park anywhere where you have to return daily-too much time and effort. Weren't there some other options that you didn't have to return daily. To be honest, we have found a free spot both times we used this option. (free in September-short term parking during the summer) However, I'm pretty sure we read about a place where we could leave the car and not pay daily (just in case we couldn't find free parking)

Jinny,

You might consider parking in La Spezia instead, and taking the train to Vernazza. Parking charges in the C.T. villages are a bit "pricey", so that will save you some money.

Check the Italy book, p. 364 in the 2008 edition for all the details.

Happy travels!

When we were there we saw no parking places at Vernazza; so I would plan on traveling there by train because it is so easy and cheap.

The local trains which stop there run frequently. I wouldn't drive there and risk not finding space.