We are planning a 3 day stay in the Cinque Terra in October and looking to get some current opinions on which town to stay in. We were thinking Vernazza just because it is centrally located and we could spend a day exploring in each direction from there but now are thinking possibly Monarola?? We keep vacillating... Would appreciate any opinions on which village and the lodging there. Not high end hotel travelers. Prefer a more authentic setting but with private bathrooms.
Also, We are hoping to hike the trail between all the villages. Have been reading that the western most portion of this trail is quite treacherous. Any comments on that as well??

Oh yes, we are 60 but we think, fairly young, capable 60 year olds

Appreciate any input we can get. Thanks a bunch.

It really does not make all that much difference where you stay, because the distances are not great and there is an excellent railway linking all the villages (there are no roads). They are all pretty.
Do you suffer from vertigo? Do you have a fair bit of experience hiking in the mountains? Most normal people would not find some of these trails safe. The first one or two are easy. There are lots of good trails in northern Italy. Why not play it by ear and if it looks daunting (which it did to me in places), move on to another part. Train transport is cheap in Italy.

We split the hike into two days, Monterosso to Vernazza and Riomaggiore to Vernazza. I have a fear of heights and it was challenging at times. However, I am so glad I completed the whole 5 village hike and recommend that you do it too. We wore sneakers.

Be sure to check before hand which trails are open. We were there in August and some of the trails are under repair. We stayed in Riomaggiore and found some wonderful restaurants for dinner. We visited the villages using the ferry and found that very scenic and convenient as well.

Thank you so much for your responses. All are very helpful. We both have done quite a bit of mountain hiking and no vertigo to date so maybe we will be able to take advantage of the whole hike. Sure hoping so! Glad to hear you could do the hike without heavy hiking boots since we were not planning on brining them on this years adventure.
Thanks again!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at La Torretta in Manarola:
http://www.torrettas.com

You don't need heavy hiking boots, but if the trail or weather conditions merit, I believe the rangers will check your footwear to ensure that you are shod appropriately. It had been rainy just before I was there, so rangers were insisting on treaded footwear.

We stayed at Hotel Porto Roca, Monterosso, trail right next to it.