We will be in this area for 5 days and have probably decided to stay in Vernazza, but open to options. Recommendations for B & B type lodging, rooms etc would like to keep our lodging at no more than 100-125 Euros We will be going in May of 14

Are you sure there is 5 days worth of stuff to do there?

Getting around - trains trundle thru and stop at each village - in season there are also boats serving the four seaside village - Corniglia is perched way above the sea - mini-buses meets trains at Corniglia's sea level train station to scoot up to Corniglia itself

and there are the famed hiking trails - 7 miles altogether with various degrees of difficulty between the villages - the Viale d' Amour (sp?) between Riomaggiore and the next town is a flat esplanade along the sea that even baby carriages can easily do - the rest involve actual trails with some serious ups and downs.

There is definitely enough to do if you like hiking and boating! We were just there for 4 nights and wished we had one more! I definitely recommend the place we stayed, Arpaiu, overlooking the water!

http://www.arpaiu.com/english.html

I just wrote the Cinque Terre part of my trip report. Scroll almost all the way to the end to Oct 23...I put all the CT info in at once:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-florence.cfm

Yes we do a lot of hiking! Which village is Aripau in?

Don't be discouraged by the comment about not enough to do there. The Cinque Terre is unique and can be crowded in the summer but the lifestyles and options will make you want to return as well as stay. To each his own but in three visits, I have settled into the easy and comfortable rhythms the area present--especially if you have time to relax. We enjoy Vernazza--Albergo Barbara (not a B & B) and Monterosso. Arpiau is in Manarola. Enjoy the hiking. Paul

and you can do some lovely day trips from any 5 Lands town to nearby places of great interest - all up and down the coast - Portofino is one.

We stayed in Arpiau in manarola in 2010 and loved it!

jamikins! Did you stay in the apartment or in a room in the main building? We just loved our apartment with its 2 huge windows overlooking the water. I'd definitely stay at Arpaiu again!

By the way, if you look at the website for Arpaiu, the Ondine apartment has one major difference. Instead of the fold out couch, there is now a real bed sticking out from the left hand wall. The left window would be across from the bed (with plenty of room to walk between the two). All I had to do was open my eyes in the morning and there was a gorgeous view right in front of me without having to move!

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

Enjoy!

My sister, brother-in-law and I spent a week in the CT and could have spent more! We did a couple of day trips from there (Pisa and Lucca by train) and then took time to hike, explore several trails besides the main ones, poke into a few art galleries, took the train and boat around. And it was perfect for us. My BIL has a high pressure job so it was the perfect start for our trip.

some folks, like me will be bored with the 5 Lands after a day or so - folks who like bigger cities and cities that do not 100% gravitate around tourism - places to walk around - longer walks than the tiny cramped villages afford - except for the trails of course - but a stroll at night.

Others will revel in the place with its neat coastal views and not having things that one just has to see - like museums, etc. Indeed they can be a good respite from the rigors of sightseeing that a Florence may require where one is compelled to see everything of interest they've been reading about.