We are senior citizens who like the freedom of a car rental and no hastle of train or bus schedules. However, we plan on spending about 3 days at cinque terre in Oct and would like some help about parking our car for that period of time. Are ther any B&B's that have parking available?
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
Parking is very much at a premium, and remember that Monterosso al Mare is the only town where you can actually bring your car through the town. The other towns have parking areas located up at the top of town, but in some areas you have to have a spot in a private garage, but still you need to get to/from your car, which will be parked way up at the top of the hill.
There are some private garages located in Levanto and La Spezia which can be fairly easily reached by train. If you do want a spot available right in town, the only one place I know of off the top of my head is Mar Mar in Riomaggiore, which is not a B&B but rather they are an agency that rents out private apartments. They have limited spots available if you book well in advance.
Although I understand your desire to have the flexibility of a car, I hope you mean to leave the Cinque Terre and explore other nearby areas. If you plan on using a car to get between the different towns then be advised that is probably the worst way of travelling as the parking costs will add up very quickly and you will do far more walking up and down hills rather than just to and from the well-located train stations.
Posted by
Pine River, MN
8 posts
Hey Bob,
We drove there a couple years ago and stayed at Il Gigante in Monterosso al Mare. The have some phony planters and bike racks on the street in front of their B&B that disappear when you arrive to make room for your car. Once there we left the car for a few days and trained, hiked and ferried between the towns. It was free and easy.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Bob, except in rare circumstances, tourist cars are not permitted in the CT towns. Exceptions are the parking lots in Monterosso and certain hotels that provide parking for their guests. You won't be able to drive around. For the other towns, the parking lots are high on the hill. During the busy season these lots are full. They will even close the roads to them. You may like the freedom of a rental car but they are useless in the CT. For the CT, you will find more hassle with your rental car than you will with the very frequent trains. The trains go right to the center of each town. They also take you from town to town in minutes. You can't do that with a rental car.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
I was in CT in last half of October. We stayed in Vernazza. At that time of year we could have parked in the small parking lot at the top of Vernazza but I wouldn't even try in the summer.
As senior citizens, you may prefer Monterosso depending on how you are with lots of stairs. Monterosso is a little less steep and has significantly more parking than the other towns.
Have fun.
Posted by
Mansfield, GA
850 posts
If you park at the parking lot above Vernazza, providing they have space and the chances should be decent in October, they will permit you to drive your wife and luggage down to the area where the post office and shuttle service is located. You can then drive back up and walk down the short walk to your wife. When you get ready to leave you can wait for the shuttle bus to carry you back up the very narrow road to your car. The parking was 12,00 euros per night in May 2007 so it is possibly a little higher now. You have other options for parking your car as mentioned by others. If staying in Vernazza I would have no problem driving to the parking lot above the town. Be aware however the road up to the parking lot is narrow and curvy. Most people advise against parking there but we did it and also are senior citizens.