My husband, his sister and I stayed for 3 nights in Riomaggiore last October at Villa Argentina. You will love the Cinque Terre - we felt we didn't give ourselves enough time there. Villa Argentina had great buffet breakfasts, lovely, quiet rooms and we had a balcony overlooking the town and out to the sea. They also have a huge terrace with tables and chairs for enjoying a glass of wine and the view. Most of the towns are very hilly with narrow roads, we struggled with too heavy suitcases to climb the hill up to the hotel, in the dark, because we had arrived too late to take the last Parc bus to the top. We did an afternoon boat tour along the coast that stopped in 4 of the 5 towns. That was a great way to see the towns from the water. Most restaurants and shops have staff that understand English even if they don't speak it well themselves.

milo- Would you have wanted one night more, or longer?

I think 4 nights is enough.

Most people seem to like Vernazza, but I found Monterosso to be interesting because it has an old town and new town, and there are hiking opportunities there.

The boat tour is a good idea, plus you can take it to the end to Portovenere, which is worth a visit.

We stayed in Vernazza -Hotel Barbara for two nights. We hiked the 2nd day and did all of the towns. We thought that was plenty of time as there is not too much to do there but that can be nice too!

Vernazza! So, so charming. Check out the small bar near the top, owned by 2 charming brothers. It's been some years since I've been there, but it was by far one of my favorite places. The boat tour is beautiful -- great to see the towns from the water. We only stayed 2 nights of our Italy trip there. If you're adding in day hikes, 3 should do it. The towns are very small and easy to see/do more in a shorter period of time.

I think 4 night will be just right. We stayed for 5 nights and enjoyed it. We stayed in the quieter town of Manarola at La Torretta. One room has a small patio with a nice view and that's the room we enjoyed staying in.
cheers,
CC

We did four nights and included a day in Pisa. We thought that was about right. We stayed in Vernazza and really enjoyed the food options in the evening there.

Don't know your budget, but La Mala is a b&b in Vernazza with sea views. It's directly on the water (no beach, just a cliff).

We loved Cinque Terra, one of our fave places in Italy ( and we have seen a LOT of Italy). We meant to stay a few days and stayed two weeks longer than planned and even then, hated to go.

Portofino and Portovenere are nearby musts as well.

The trains make it easy to get every where easily and the hiking is divine.

WTnow- Can you take a train to Portofino or Portovenier as a day trip from CT?

Another vote for La Torretta in Manarola. I think 3 nights would be enough, but people really differ in something like that.

http://www.torrettas.com/

We stayed in Monterosso in the old town, Il Gardinia Songo (The Singing Garden)I may be wrong on spelling. It was very nice, close to many restaurants, quaint with a great garden for breakfast, very nice owners, and best of all you do not have to walk up stairs or hills to get to the inn. Hiking from town to town is easy and boat rides are fun, you can also take a train from town to town.

Yes, you can take the train to them both very easily.

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2009/07/7-best-reasons-to-travel-cinque-terre-italy.html

We are RVing around Europe ( been doing it for the last 5 summers) so we stayed at a gem campsite with the locals...almost all Italians. They have cottages there but probably not what you are looking for, so I didn't mention it.

We took the train every where..it's really convenient there.

I'm pretty sure you CAN'T take a train to Portovenere. The only options are ferry or car. Portofino is easily accessible via local train, although it's rather upscale.

Our family loved Cinque Terre. We stayed in Monterosso at the Hotel Villa Steno. Just loved it. When I go back some day it will be for at least 4 days to relax, enjoy the water, tour the towns, eat pesto, drink the wine......

Thank you all. I appreciate all the suggestions.

You cant take the train to Portovenere - which is its only downside, or else I would steer most people there. Boat trip is the best way to reach it, The bus trip from La Spezia (the bus stop is quite a distance from the station) is interesting in itself - its full of characters. You can also stop off at a nice seaside village (name escapes me) en route.

We took a day trip a few days ago from Vernazza to Portovenere. Caught the train to La Spezia (included in the CT card) then the bus to Portovenere, which takes half an hour and costs 1.60 euro one way. Very easy to get to the bus - turn left out of La Spezia station and follow the street downhill to the first square then continue down via Fiume to Piazza Garibaldi. Turn right at the fountain into viale Garibaldi and after the first set of lights the bus departs on the right hand side of the street. It took about 10 minutes walking at a leisurely pace.

Portovenere was a lovely town to wander around. If you want to visit the castle it's closed on Monday and Wednesday.

We then took the ferry back to Monterosso.