BarbaraMH

Hello friends! We are spending 5 days each on the Italian and French Rivieras in late-June / early July. (Two of the 4 of us are teachers, so we have no say in our vacation schedule!) The French part of our stay is booked, but trying to decide on the best place to stay in Italy. I’m leaning towards Camoglie or Santa Margherita, but it’s my sister and her husband’s first visit, so I feel like they would love to see the Cinque Terre. I’ve not visited this area in years, so am not sure if CT is too hard to include if we base in Camoglie or SML? Should We spend 2-3 days in one of those and 2-3 in one of the CT? Any recommendations for hotels in the $300-500 range? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

bilboburgler

I like Imperia and Sanremo.
Genoa is an interesting mix of tough commercial shipping centre, ancient almost Damascus like ancient centre, hidden city walls, and modern blocks of flats. (don't mention the autostrada bridge).

5T is going to be expensive and very very full of tourists. I think the villages are best seen from the sea

neckervd

There is no problem to reach both, Genoa and 5Terre by train from Camogli, Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Chiavari or Sestri Levante.
Small places like Camogli have only 1 train to 5 Terre every hr (1 hrs journey), whereas Rapallo, Santa Margherita, Chiavari, Sestri and Levanto have at least 2.
So, I would just stay for the whole period at the place you like bests and day trip to the others by train.

raincitygirl

I love Camogli and this is the hotel we stayed in, it was fantastic. We stayed five nights, took the train to Genoa for the day, ferry to Portofino, bus from Portofino to Santa Margherita Ligure, train home. I would spend all your time in one place, If you really want to you can take the train to CT or better yet a boat trip but personally I avoid CT like the plague, it's way too crowded and the scenery is just as beautiful in Camogli, Santa M L, Rapallo etc.

Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi

[img]data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACAAAAAgCAYAAAB zenr0AAAIf0lEQVR4AZ1XBVibSxZtoGmahhjBQzZN8aXYYyENs mlwikMtBHcI7u7uUnfH3eG51X3d3Z+78GXP9OO5Qfi+2Awzc/577znnzhaVSkXZ7GvLli2aTMZ2pjLSMyRT4RlCp21jkHG19vqh gzQ0KHRToR57x3YqnfxeH6flxflK703U/f3ueO2fMyI9JRijfraGQd/GsNplyMNi+tatGppqASAHV2UEe0cG7glbPJ0/qIz0CIkKlphto27VJAAGKhWxN0eq37g7VvtOd4lcQQCQwxVBEu vS5MDYZy4UzydEuMubcvd7a2pS6BsGYLnLkIZDcIyG/vzJvPnrQ5X/xVOu4bB/XmhNLmBp0akEAF+fa321I/WFsT7lbQMdltVnAI5Vx+Q9nKp/C2tUt0dr3proz7qKvXS5LAbtJzYixg8C6Co5LLvcntLQVx7ZNN qrfAZhXrs/Wa9aOVt038fF2hGRoeEg+sm6uORH0w1rP59rUnWWHI6mYAwhp0 mdLByXThfcJmsA4pOpoznXT9bHDUwMZA70lMmlPwhgn9TO8HJb StV4f+bgQFVU14WWpOlbI9Xv1ShDcnrLIyUDlVFmpSkBJp6SH4 sXTxXcXjlb+NDXzca1JjPU4kp7qs3x2hjv0uSAnDtjNR+cqI29 2l54sOJyR8rREwBsY87n/SAAEka8qBTKFvKk7FP1cUdfuFz2a4m9iWNUkAu/o/iQCKF3Koj3c58YyFqePZbzUllKgOxCS7JddrQ3Xya20vXYY+V6 e7T6vz1lkS1kj8/SQ14bLkLyz0a6HN2Fk/kvvHy1/LcuDqZ2JPfrLzqPoyUY6c2Ynzqa/ZwOlykkY+sH0X3ddrvfGa99bbRPOYmaYavFAgLAz93GDkX4x+c ulfwW1R2Cmggz0uMwT9XHe3cWH1LeGK76983h6jf6yhVFXaWHP a1MjJiTA1lyMEeBon3tuUulj12fMjMje6kDgBYb5haEiv7g2Qs lv0+XeyiWzxTmCI147JFeZWJjTkT8RH/mS7PHc+92l8qVZxoTFPaWP2KvnisqiA93SwS41xCF/x70c5KSyKihAxrMvgpFxcPpBtWrgxV/dXc0F2uzGUwNCoXKZu5gmO/Ut1g4lX8dKbouMOCaINQMMITKZTPYSIEnGPAWmPBJeWpgPIVCY WwaABRMd7wvc/LBVL0Kafirh9jScfs2KjmYt51GZQZI7SQI/9+vD1f9NcTTQQI5ZpqLDLh0GpURsNeOqORbZO2FlsQ+TU0N7qY AkJzpcLVECOfP70/WqRDOv6OynQ75O/NvDlddDPdytGjJi1A+mKxfezzTqKpMD0qOggKCrqcP7xMLAvfa ybDuHcyrpo9mLwOw4aYBJB+Q+iP0rxEAN0eq/gneO6EACS0lxgZcwzMN8S2PZhpUjwAAY03Qfv7phngnE4EeN9j DwRPr3iNrIcm/lTlb2ZE9NwOA2pgbnoc8foRQAkD1vxEByZeoxmvMCS9BgapIBC rSgvLI2PocAynxxeEfkLWIyjtKOOamALC0tjPPNSedJjJMNnnl WsW/K9OCUlMO7rXGZsLqjGD/a51pg2SOvIa7M0ab8/YHERXNjfF2rEoPzoMPvEfmyEO05h8oIqzaEACC1NZCIFw+U3D9 swOev1z6T2jA6daCA0GQV1coYR3Cfpkw5OFUA0nBMOjYk37Yww YuGY358zeGK99bX792rTP1sj6Pxd0oAKr/T22dXkXlfwbg9ljNG6CWL+jHI1TcZaxrMdKjnCZVTl5gy7I2h0 GoyAQNdaEfcqTgk8/Wr54vumljbizckBSTUMHD5ffGP9sAL1R0sIe9Jzgthf1mQfFMY EI3ieOR19KZgpsCQ23R1JGsLOIRGXKPQ4Qhn60HXf8pD9gj3ig AKvIte/FK2WM8+RMQpKAO+jv7F8T5OiG8hyxEBqj4uKPEbsnrVEP8UaGR jiHq4gDS4JAf56sgFFyvgbVXByt/nXxQ6rBhM2LQaXRjNByDXWlPhAi+/0lcqJs/uhQGCpQwgbFPaiu7Bce7NVrzWqjXU75kDCmgQXSYAHCA9AkkOr D1ZT83GwnW0jelhLBjRmG8f/RDHI4CewHmk1OY4O/akB1uc745Se6DmrgzVvvfO6iPMC/HABSiHJ4gRgrEncWH84a608cB/iOsiSZ7qWNG1AN+zmI44XXZHit3iExijTLUHSZkN9yTHu+5x8r 7MwAQnoALrYnR/RUK1/KUQNdTdXGp5jsNHJ45X7yKvlA9MyL5CpTZ82dP5A4EedhL0APy 9XVYPH1tFk9Pm2mIsSCIzGvg+xuhXg4RfH2OQGCgbSgy1hHsNu OblacFRSycyjse4uEgUMuOyYu4W1NuhC/k9Pjc8dyOkZ6MimtdaUWojTo0IrPrRbg2cyx3dvJIdg/RAnTQx5+9WHJx8VR+T060t+NnT68WAPJCR0sTCXQN0eeJ0XgEo ScMaYMg1WeHxYMpt6GS99ErRBQl+rs35ITL8sAU9AUmQiNtHrF u9S8mX0vH116kbWfInC2F8AghqfCvzX895OoD+K7NNnugWkXIY e2gQ9WscENy1dpBe8LznXwdNvp7b3ORvj7maTocLbqTjYjfkB0 m5aBT4jDpNLwY9VlhMkRHoMdj0tQCgLBSe8sivVFY0yiol7pK5 SFoUg0v4nYEc/o57gAdCfvdLeqyQsW4dFxE83IbRhW719mSd6IuNvnp88UP0TWf bsnf77BVU3PzLMAfFbdfMXqBP4LvxI5D8MS655oSqiBOHy2eLl h0tBbyfVx3m710pfzh/Ym693BniEUrx+0plSdDit974VLZXbRuJhQ1u2LNmBBX0fmWpBy oXE5urI81xuiw26Cu4sOkC07dbWbMBM/1L7UlZ4EhWVBAV/I/sG333orILFzxsoJk9vrfl4L/A0cXPB2C8vYbAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC[/img]
cenobio.it
https://www.cenobio.it › ...

HappyTrvlr

Both Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli are wonderful places to stay.Consider a day trip to the Cinque Terre from one of them or spend a night in Monterosso.

macdogmom

I ❤️ Camogli. We’ve stayed at the Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi right on the water and Villa Rosamarino located slightly uphill from town. You can take ferry to Cinque Terre, Portofino and San Fruttouso (wonderful monastery and small restaurants).

ekscrunchy

I, also, stayed in Camogli at the Cenobio. I thought Camogli was more lovely than Santa Margherita. It's smaller and gets fewer tourists, I think.
If you book that hotel, make sure you look at the various rooms on offer, as there are several different types and they vary quite a bit. In Sta Margherita we stayed at the GH Miramare, which has a heated pool, if that is important. But again, Camogli ice more charming and you can get a train to the 5Terre.

KayF

We had 5 weeks in Italy a long time ago and stayed 4 nights each in Manarola and Santa Margherita. Enjoyed both but I'd suggest staying in Santa Margherita. It's a bit bigger and you could visit the nearby villages. The Cinque Terre hiking trails seem to often be closed due to mudslides, maintenance etc, that may affect your plans.

HappyTrvlr

Camogli is lovely, stay there. Where are you staying in the Crench Riviera?

bvlenci

One of the most popular trails has been closed for over 10 years because of the danger of mudslides. I just checked the trail map and see that all of the sea level trails seem to be closed at the moment; I'm not sure if this is temporary. Here is a trail map that is updated almost daily:

https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/...ri-outdoor.php

The trails marked in black are closed. Those in blue (of which there is only one open at the moment) are considered "tourist level". The green trails are "excursionist" level; you should be relatively fit and have good hiking shoes.

I myself will never return to the Cinque Terre. I've been there twice, which was once too many for me, but we were with friends who wanted to go there.

If you want to do some serious hiking, it might make sense, but there are great hiking trails elsewhere in Italy. There is a mountain range right down the middle of the country, and splendid hiking in all those mountains.

​​​​​​​The towns themselves are usually unbearably crowded. (I was there on a drizzly day in October, and it was already past my comfort level.) There's absolutely nothing to do indoors: no interesting churches, no museums.

I would follow the advice above and stay in one of the other towns on the Ligurian coast. A boat excursion along the coast of the Cinque Terre might be nice; the first time we were there, we took a boat from one town to another, but I don't remember which two towns. We walked between other towns, on some of those trails that are now closed.

BarbaraMH

Grazie! I was worried about the crowds in CT, so based on your feedback, we’re going to stay in one place and maybe do a boat trip to CT. Now to decide which town! I’m going to check out H. Cenobio. Any other hotel suggestions for the area in case they don’t have availability ? Thanks again!

BarbaraMH

Villefranche (Welcome Hotel) and Nice - not booked yet… Any favorites to share there?

BarbaraMH

Any other hotel suggestions for Camogli (Cenobio booked!) or one of the other lovely towns in Liguria. Grazie!

happy_traveler_too

We’ve stayed in Bogliasco, usually at a friends apartment but there are multiple hotels and airbnbs there too. It’s a lovely small town and part of the Ligurian Golfo Paradiso. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed. The beaches are rocky and small but get pretty hot. The water, obviously, is sublime. We’ve been there in July and then September one year. Definitely less crowded than other towns but then again the last time we visited was in 2012.

HappyTrvlr

We enjoyed Hotel Continental in Santa Margherita Ligure. It is directly on the waterfront with no road between them like most of the other resorts..

Larsay

Santa Margherita is your usual big sea resort ; no charm ! stay in Camoglie and visit the fantastic Cinque Terre (and taste its famous dry white wine)