treble

DH and I going in May, that is if we can find an acceptable hotel! I have spent all day reading trip advisor reviews and attempting to make reservations. Our requirements include great a.c. and nothing shabby. I was focusing on Monterosso, and was considering changing trip dates just to get the Porto Roco, but then I saw some reviews that knocked it...And I looked at some others in Monterosso but was turned off by the Rick Steves tour group places. I do not have the same tastes as R.S. though I do appreciate him and find him entertaining. Budget is flexible, but can't stomach Hotel Splendido in Portafino. Any other ideas?

IdyllicItaly

The Hotel Marina Piccola and its restaurant have been favorites since our very first stay: http://www.hotelmarinapiccola.com/hotel/en/

I recommend that you read reviews to see if it appeals to you. All rooms have air conditioning.

The hotel is well managed. We have rented apartments on more recent, longer stays. When staying at the Marina Picola, if we needed assistance, we could always find one of the owners or a staff member in the restaurant. There wasn't any sort of concierge service or manager on duty all day long.

The Hotel Marina Piccola is in Manarola, which doesn't have a beach but it does have a swimming area and a place where people sunbathe and little children can go into a shallow area. There is also a walkway along the side of an outcropping with a stainless steel ladder attached which you can use to get in and out of the water. There is a public outdoor shower where you can rinse off and look up and down the coastline - heavenly!

Even if you don't stay there, I recommend reserving a table by the rail for dinner. Delicious food and lovely views. It's also fun to watch the little fishing boats being hoisted up from the small harbor below.

isabel

If you are just looking in the CT towns themselves you might have better luck if you expand your search to neighboring towns like Camogli and Rapallo. Last time I was there I stayed in Camogli and found it to be a very cute little town in and of itself plus the train to the CT was not long. I am going again this coming summer and am staying in Rapallo. I can't recommend anyplace there as I have not yet actually stayed there but I'm excited about the one I did book - it looks good and gets good reviews. I used booking.com, they had a decent selection. I did find things are already starting to fill up.

kja

I thorougly enjoyed La Toretta in Manarola:

http://www.torrettas.com/

tower

http://www.villasteno.com/en/index.php

stayed here in 2002..rates have gone up, but seemingly competitive..excellent location, very accomodating family-run..large rooms (#5 has it's own terrace). Great views and easy walk downhill to the sandy beach and starting points for village walks... train station right there.

treble

Thanks all, we have decided to stay in Genoa...and take a boat out to see the villages.

amer_can

Hope you don't run into winds which get the seas very high and the boats don't go. Can you do the train from Levanto? It is a hop on hop off deal that allows for time in all the villages.They run very frequently.

treble

I definitely dont want to go on scary seas, that's for sure! We are coming from Florence, are there lockers at La Spezia? if so we could leave our carry on size luggage there and spend time in the two easternmost villages, returning to pickup luggage and continue to Genoa toward the end of day. The reason I was leaning toward staying in Genoa was partly because of weather concerns...there just would not be much of anything to do in the CT if it were raining...and especially not pleasant in most of the hotels which do not seem too appealing.

PeaceOut

Santa Margherita Ligure is a nice little harbor town with an easy train trip to CT. Also you can take a bus to Portofino from SML. We stayed at a charming B&B called the Hotel Nuova in SML.

PeaceOut

Correction: Hotel Nuova Riviera

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Liguria.html

goldenautumn

According to previous reports, there is left-luggage storage at La Spezia station.

You needn't worry about being on scary seas (the boats don't run if it isn't safe), but the boat ride from Genoa to le CInque Terre is really very, very long.

There are several places you could stay mid-point between Genoa and le Cinque Terre that would make it easy to get into Genova if it was raining, but also easy to go for a hike, either in le Cinque Terre or around the Portofino area, if the weather was very nice.

In addition to Santa Margherita Ligure, there is also the more village-y Camogli, and Rapall (slightly bigger than Santa Margherita Ligure).

If you use booking.com, you can look at hotels for these towns and read reviews.

goldenautumn

Sorry for my typo:

The name of the town is Rapallo

kja

> there just would not be much of anything to do in the CT if it were raining

You might not be able to hike between the villages (and probably shouldn't if its raining, as the trails can become quite dangerous), but those who choose to can certainly walk around the towns, using the train to go from one to another. When you are ready to dry off, there are some wonderful restaurants where you can linger over a cup of soup or glass of wine, even if you aren't ready for a full meal. And when you are ready for a meal, you can eat some truly delicious things in these villages!

Having been caught in the rain in the Cinque Terre, I can say with confidence that it may have curtailed my hiking plans, but did not keep me from enjoying the area.

Can't say if that would be true for you or not....

treble

Can anyone tell me how long a boat ride from Genoa to Portofino is? I also was thinking about training to SML and then a shorter boat ride to Portofino. I think the shorter walks around Portofino, and maybe Nervi may satisfy the nature urge. And maybe couple that with a few hours from La Spezia.

goldenautumn

I'm not sure the boats run in May except on weekends. I would estimate the boat ride to Portofino takes about 2 hours, but you might want to ask on TripAdvisor to see if you can get a more precise answer.

I concur with your overall feeling that there is nothing to do in le Cinque Terre if it rains. The villages are extremely small. The food is better in Genova. If you go to Nervi, eating foccacia col formaggio at La Marinella, which is right on the seaside near the train station, is a treat. The museums in Nervi are interesting.

There are only a few short walks around the Portofino area. Some people who walk from Portofino to San Fruttuoso don't understand what a huge hike it is.

goldenautumn

treble,

just in case my post wasn't clear, I'm guessing it is 2 hours by boat from Genova to Portofino. If you take a train to Santa Margherita Ligure, the boat from there to Portofino is about 10 minutes.

yorkshire

Ha ha, true, goldenautumn, after reading here about so many people doing the Camogli to San Fruttuoso walk, I was not too concerned, but WOW! I much preferred the walk from Portofino to SF because I did not dig the chains too much (once was enough). The walk above the Camogli-SF path was my favorite. You can do some less strenuous walks, but they lack the great views of the coastal paths.
treble, I visited the area in May twice, and I hope you have weather as nice as I did. I looked up a lot about the neighboring towns, just in case we had bad weather or exhausted our urge for nature, but we never did.

treble

Thanks, all. I did not realize Portofino Genoa boat ride would be two hours! Unless it is a very pleasant/pretty one I am not too sure about that. Would it make us seasick? We are not boaters nor cruisers...though we do fine on harbor cruises. HAs anyone taken the Genoa harbor cruise?

treble

Also, about the boats not running in May? We will be there mid week. And how long is a boat ride from one village to the next in CT? What about the whole length of the boat from Genoa to the easternmost CT? On the boat site with the cute lttle boat graphic it looked short...

goldenautumn

Hi treble,

This is the schedule for boats Genoa>Portofino in April and May:

http://www.golfoparadiso.it/public/index.htm

At that time of year, the operators can't fill the boats except on weekends. Everybody is at work during the week and not many tourists want to take that long of a boat ride.

This is the schedule of boats running from La Spezia and between the five villages of le Cinque Terre. The boats will not run if winds make the water too choppy for the boats to dock safely in the tiny harbors of the towns:

http://www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it/

How much you can tolerate when it comes to motion sickness is hard to predict. My personal max is about 20 minutes on a day that isn't calm. I could never make it from Genova to Portofino, probably not even on a calm day -- but I'm a notoriously poor "sailor."

In le Cinque Terre, if you don't feel well from the time the boat leaves La Spezia to when it docks in the first towns, just get off and use the trains. Rather than take the boat all the way from Genova to Portofino, take the train to Santa Margherita Ligure. The ride is so short, it is hard to believe you would feel ill.

I've not taken the harbor cruise of the Port of Genova, but you might ask on TripAdvisor about it. I doubt it goes out into open water, but I could be wrong. I also think if you felt ill, they could just drop you off at a the nearest pier. But you should ask some locals, and a few post on TripAdvisor

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/liguria/genoa.html