rhkkmk

looking for two rooms for 4 mature travellers for a couple of nites in mid- may?....any fodorite been there recently??....any tips? we will be driving to as close as possible...
please give me any pros and cons of visiting... any suggestions or thoughts...thank you in advance...

Edward2005

I've been there twice, most recently in 2003. Both visits were in May.

A two-night visit is about right. The towns aren't the secret find the used to be, but I think the concensus is that Corniglia might be the least touristed place. I've stayed in Vernazza and Monterosso.

As far as accomodations, I like to let the locals come to me rather than reserving ahead (unless it's May Day or some other big holiday). They often meet new arrivals at the train station and ask if you have a place to stay. Follow them and see if you like their rooms. Often they are in private homes or are apartments.

rhkkmk

other comments??

dina4

I've been doing research on the CT on this website and there's a lot of information. Type in cinque terre in the search box, and you'll get lots of information about everything you need.
Rick Steves' book on ITALY also has a good, fairly long chapter on the cinque terre.
I have not been there yet, so can't really give you advice. We'll be visiting next summer. Sorry...

Val

I love the CT and it is not over rated. Try Antica Terrazza in Monterosso, it is a lovely house with four rooms in a square in the town. The owner is lovely and you have the run of the house including a wonderful roof terrace. Breakfast is taken at a small cafe just across the street and the atmosphere of the place is great. I know all the snobs downgrade Monterosso but it is a great base with lots of character and nice beaches, good transport links, restaurants and access to the trails.

Chiquita

i believe, if you're driving, monterossa is the only village you can get to via auto. i stayed there a couple of years ago, but cannot remember which hotel as it was not particularly memorable. i found monterossa, while a little more overtly touristy than the other 4 villages, to be a convenient stay if you want to hike the trail. most people hike part of the trail one day and use the train to return to their base at night. my time there was a wonderful experience as the weather for hiking was dry and perfect. the views are incredible!

Akin

We were there for 5 days in April 2003. Stayed all nights in Gianni Franzi Albergo, a hotel that Rick Steves recommends. Very reasonable with balconies and ocean view - LOTS OF SPIRAL STAIRS up to room. We loved the towns and hiked or took the train to visit all of them. It rained just once, but not bad. I even was in shorts our last day. Great time

rhkkmk

thanks for the info,,,any more??

dina4

Like I said before, I haven't visited yet, but I've done a lot of resesarch on this forum. We made a reservation at the Villa Steno in Monterosso. It has a lot of good reviews on this forum and on Tripadvisor. We will also be driving, and they apparently have a small parking lot for guests. Below are some quotes from other posting that I cut and pasted onto my own notes, and that you might find helpful:

-While you're in Vernazza, or Manarola, rent a motorboat for a couple of hours. It cost us 35 euros plus gas - a total of 42 euros.

-Gambero Rosso in Vernazza- The best meal of our trip. Our restaurant in Vernazza was on the square--if you were standing on the beach facing the town it would be at 2 o'clock, with Gambero Rosso at about 3:30--and had amazing mussels cooked simply in wine and lemon. I'm probably never going to eat mussels again because there's no way they could compare!

Re: hiking....
--The trek between Corniglia and Manarola is 2nd easiest but the least scenic of any of the hikes (not paved either).
--I would NOT suggest the hikes between Monterosso and Vernazza and between Vernazza and Corniglia for young children. There are a lot of steps and very significant elevation gains--strenuous. We are in our mid-twenties and VERY physically fit and we still find them strenuous. Not impossible or anything, but certainly not a "walk in the park". Lots of sweat Bring plenty of water if you choose to do these.
--the coast trail from Monterosso to Vernazza: It’s a tough, sweaty, hot stretch in the sun climbing lots and lots of stairs to rewarding views of ocean, coastline, vineyards, and ultimately after about 90 minutes, Vernazza itself.
--We started in Monterosso and worked our way to Riomaggiore since we'd be doing the hardest parts first that way. Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia were pretty tough, with lots of stairs, and the M to V trail was very narrow (with a pretty big drop on one side) in parts. The trail was hot and sunny, so dress appropriately, take water and wear lots of sunblock. Sneakers are fine, but I saw people in sandals! In my opinion, the two toughest sections were the prettiest and actually offered shade in parts, while the easiest sections were hotter and sunnier and weren't as pretty. Keep in mind that my husband in I are in pretty good shape and have lots of hiking experience thanks to living in Hawaii, and we found the first two trails tiring, so if you're out of shape or just don't want to put forth much effort on your vacation, don't do those. The hike was probably the highlight of our trip.
--If you are physcially fit, you can do the hike between the towns in approximately 3.5-4.5 hours. But leave yourself some extra time to stop and explore each little town, they are wonderful!
--The section from Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia are pretty similar, by far the best views, but also the most strenuous. Corniglia to Manarola is the least enticing of the hikes (in our opinion)while Manarola to Riomaggiore is easiest. I'd skip Corniglia to Manarola, but if you were worried about time or fitness, skip one of the first two.
--the most difficult was the hike between Vernazza and Monterosso. We did this first. We are in our 50's and I am not in the best of shape but was able to do this hike just by not pushing too hard. The hike between Vernazza and Corniglia was not as difficult as the one to Mont. Scenery was great.

Again, these aren't my opinions or experiences, just quotes from other posters that I found helpful for our upcoming trip. Good luck!

dutyfree

Our family used Santa Marquerita as our "base" and then trained into the rest of Cinque Terre.You could park your car anywhere in town and then just hop on the train to get to all parts of Cinque Terre.( Seriously, when we got off the train in Vernazza-we counted 23 Rick Steves' books in various people's hands-everyone was walking around like "Stepford Wives" quoting what Rick said to do or where to eat....you get the picture?) The whole area is beautiful but what we liked about S.M. was that it had a gorgeous waterfront area that we could walk around and also take the boats up and down the coast to places like Portofino. It is kinda like a "mini" Nice with real people/ stores and then the touristy part. My husband loved getting up early;having a coffee and seeing all the fish come in and the shops setting up everyday.There are also some wonderful restaurants.Hope that you have a wonderful trip!

rhkkmk

any additional suggestions...these have been very helpful....thank you

annabelle2

I was in the Cinque Terre area 3.5 years ago. We stayed in Levanto, which is just minutes by train (or longer by hiking) into the Cinque Terre national park itself.

We were planning to stay in one of the CT towns, but got off the train from Santa Margherita (where we had spent the previous night at Hotel Fasce, very nice) in Levanto to check it out (friends had stayed there and recommended it as a base).

We checked our bags at the train station, walked into town and had a fabulous lunch w/ some delicious limoncello on the house. That did it, we found a hotel (the Europa), got our bags and made Levanto our Cinque Terre base.

It has a beach and waterfront, lots of restaurant and lodging options, some nice little bars, great gelato, friendly people, a good market...and you just get on the train and get off minutes later anywhere you want in the Cinque Terre area to sightsee and hike. That trip was in mid-late May; Levanto was not crowded, mostly Italian and German tourists. The CT towns were packed with tourists from all over, but especially, as mentioned above, w/ Americans w/Rick Steves books in hand (that said, I think his book is great for information on the area).

Now Levanto is in his book, too, so may be more crowded, but I still recommend it as an alternative base and a nice town itself.

Please don't be put off by my (and other)comments about crowds; they are there for a reason! It is beautiful, the people are nice and the Ligurian food and wine are delicious.

mimipam

Stayed in Vernazza at
elisabetta carro's rooms. Great view, very clean. She has a web site. I really really liked Vernazzza and was almost afraid to stay there since so many said it was over crowded and too touristy. I did not find this at all.Gianni Franzi had good food, but I had nothing but good food and drink in CT and Italy.

aprillilacs

Spent 3 nights in Corniglia at the end of May 2005. Delightful! We stayed at Cecio, a rudimentary but clean and perfectly adequate inn overlooking the village, hills, and sea. Spent lovely afternoons lolling about the tiny village square, eating caper berries, drinking beer, and talking to other, interesting travelers. Evenings watching the sunset from the roof of our inn or other wonderful viewing spots. Daytimes we spent hiking the trails among the 5 villages, taking the train to jumping-off points, and boating from village to village and on to Portovenere (worth at least a half day, probably more). It was truly a wonderful part of our second trip to Italy. I had failed to bring a pair of hiking shorts with me so had to do an emergency purchase of overly expensive shorts in a village store, but it was worth it because the temperatures were warm and the shorts made all the difference. A couple of legs of the 5-village hike were strenuous, though short (90 minutes max). If you are at all in shape, you will enjoy them. Especially after they are over (smile). The views were to-die-for, and the cooling off time at the harbor in Vernazza, in particular, was just fine. Because we were spending 3 days on the CT, we tried to park in La Spezia and take the short train ride to Corniglia, but we were unable to find a parking spot so we ended up driving to Levanto (good parking at the train station) and then going back the next day to get the car and drive into the outskirts (i.e., 200 yards away) of Corniglia. We didn't find the drive to Corniglia particularly risky, but people we talked to at dinner one night claimed it was the worst drive they had ever made in their lifetime! All in all, a wonderful place to visit, and we'll be back eventually.

rhkkmk

thank you

rhkkmk

ttt

chrphd

Several years ago I visited Tuscany and used Montecatini as my home base. This spa town in very close to Chianti, Florence, Vinci, not too far from Venice and near the little villages of Tuscany. I stayed at the
Grand Vittoria - terrific spa, food and service. chrphd

denice7

we were there mid oct/05. search my name and you will see the info.

tadaa

Last October, I stayed in Riomaggiore, the southern most village, for a week.

I think that the Cinque Terre is quite lovely and that the Italians were brilliant to protect the place as a preserve. The people are very nice and the water is beautiful.

However...the place is filled with tourists...mostly German and English speaking people and I was put off that there is very little there that is not focused on the main industry of tourism. Even many of the "locals" are foreigners.

If you want to visit a place that looks like old Italy, but don't care if you see Italian culture or not, then go here.

If you go there, go for the hiking and the beauty but do expect something of a canned experience. I hiked, I rode the train to visit the other villages, I took the boat from Monterossa to Riomaggiore...a real highlight and I bought the Cinque Terre card which was a nice little perk. But I didn't experience Italy with Italians. I experience very friendly tourist.

wantagig

Tadaa, thanks for posting. My how things have changed in the last 9 years.

I stayed a few nights in Riomaggiore in late September 1996. It was empty. A few years later, I did a day trip in June and it was packed.

Now you write that in October it's packed! Wow. I would have guessed that it would be a quiet time in Riomaggiore.

Which week were you there? Was there any holiday that would explain the crowds?