Cinque Terre
 

I'm interested in going to Cinque Terre in the middle of April and was wondering if anyone knows how the trail conditions are during that time of year. Also, how easy is it to find accomodations without reservations?

Christine, <BR>I can't help you with trail conditions in April; I walked the villages in late July, but there was an informative article in the travel section of Sunday's NY Times about the Cinque Terre. The author stayed in Corniglia, and I believe, found his/her (?) accomodations in a private home upon arrival. <BR>www.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.html <BR> <BR>Also you might scroll down a bit for a thread on the Forum yesterday with the title "Places to stay in Cinque Terre w/ a car"

We visited there last May and found no problem with finding a room without reservations. Besides the hotels, there are rooms for rent from private individuals that you find when you arrive. Most of the time they find you. Some are better than others but they were available everywhere we traveled in Europe without reservations.

As of early March, the only trails that were open were Monterosso-Vernazza and Vernazza-Corniglia. There were a couple of dicy spots, but it wasn't a major problem. <BR> <BR>The locals seemed to think that the rest of the trails would be open in about 2 months.

Hey Christine! I thought the trails from Monterosso to Corniglia were the coolest. You can take the train between all of the villages and boats to all except Corniglia (I think).

Perhaps my favorite place in Italy!! <BR>April is not as busy as July-August, so finding a place shouldn't be that difficult. (But the area is becoming increasingly popular.) There are lots of private residences where the owners will rent out rooms. Do check out the NY Times article. The author listed some phone numbers for lodging.

to the top for Christine

Be advised Christine: April 15 is Easter! <BR>Most Italians are on vacation, from thursday before easter until tuesday 17 there'll be a lot of traffic and hotel reservation con be an issue.