Cinque terre
 

Has anyone stayed in Portovenere? How does it compare to staying in CT? Has anyone taken the boat trips to Palmaria or to Elba?

Several times--it is my favorite access to the CT.

Why Bob? What is the advantage to staying there rather than one of the 5 towns. And do they have a beach?

I find the village has more charm, and fewer back-packers, than the 5 villages. And, the same boat that hits 4 of the 5 villages starts in Portovernere. You can ride it all day and get off at will. Most of the villages are too isolated, Monterosso is too crowded, but Portovenere is spectacular. But, you cannot train there. We always drive. Try the G.H. Portovenere for a nice 4 star, the Albergo Paradiso for a 3 star. If you want a simple room for $45 in a private home, then stay in Vernazza.

Since we are a family of four, we need to find a quad. From the looks of the sites I checked, I haven't been able to find a quad in Portonvenere. Two doubles break the $100 a night goal. We will have a car, so train isn't the issue. How about a beach? Have you been on any island trips? Are they worth the time? Thanks

Look at Villa Margherita in Levanto. They have a beach in Levanto and easy access to CT by train or car. Forget the island boat trips--too much to see at the CT.

Another suggestion is to stay in Camogli. It's close to an hour north by train and that must be why more people don't talk about it. But the train was cheap.I think about 5 euro round trip - and you can get off and on in any of the five CT villages so you can train between them all, or hike between some of them. Camogli itself was my favorite town in the area including all the CT towns. It has a beach, more choice of hotels and restaurants than any of the CT towns and is less crowded. We stayed in a quad at the Hotel Augusta but I think it was about 125 euro - but walking distance to the beach and the train station. We spent two nights, with the inbetween day doing the CT. We were heading north after that so that's why we picked Camogli but I would stay there even if I were heading back south.