Any recommendations for which of the 5 towns to stay in for 2 nights and recommendation for accomodation. Plan on seeing all towns by combo of walking, boat and train.

Try Vernazza and Albergo Barbara--its simple and quite popular, you'll need a reservation. Its up about 2 floors with rooms on 2 more floors--no elevator. They have rooms with a large window overlooking the main piazza and the water--spectacular and reasonably priced.

I have used Megan at Bella Vita Italia in Lerici for great ideas on the Cinque Terre.

You might consider Hotel Al Terra di Mare in Levanto. It's actually on a hillside overlooking Levanto, but they have a van that takes you into town. Also a nice restaurant for breakfasts and dinner. Trip Advisor has accurate pictures/reviews.
Levanto itself is a nice town -- the main attraction is the beach -- but also that there's easy access to the Cinque Terre. It's a five minute train ride to Monterosso, a good hike (somewhat longer and a bit more challenging than the walks between the Cinque Terre towns -- I think it took us an hour or so) and it is a stop for the boats serving the towns.

For us, part of the "experience" of Cinque Terre is staying in one of the small villages. From Monterosso where we stayed, we visited Levanto by train to see what others had recommended. It's a much larger town, and does, indeed, have a nice wide beach, but it's not as unusual an experience as the villages of the Cinque Terre. So it's all a matter of personal taste, but thought you should know there's definitely a difference.

Monterosso was nice, but for a future visit we'd choose smaller Vernazza for the charm of its multi-hued pastel houses spilling down the steep hillside to the water.

Wherever you end up staying, the walks between the towns are astoundingly scenic, and you'll want to return.

We enjoyed staying in Manarola...at La Torretta. Manarola is quieter for sure..but was nice to come back to each evening..and there were a couple of nice restaurants in town. Definitely stay in one of the 5 towns. Lovely area.
cheers,
CC

I'll be staying in Cinque Terre in late May 2009...fyi...four of the six places I tried to book in Monterosso were already booked, but I did secure a reservation and this will be our home base while visiting. It was tough to decide and I'm too tired to change it now!

We stayed in Levanto and walked to the train station when we
wanted to go to a specific 5T village - very convenient and
fast altho' there were so many Americans it felt like rush
hour in NYC! DH walked the complete trail starting from
outside of Levanto going south.

We liked Levanto simply because it wasn't on the map as far
as most Americans were concerned and most visitors seemed to
be from N.Europe. We could get into some really good restos
every night without reservations - and Levanto does have
some great choices. Over all, touristy, but not jammed!
However, Levanto doesn't have the gorgeous scenery that
maked the 5T villages so memorable ~ it's more like a
typical Ligurian town.

I enjoyed my stay at La Mala in Vernazza. Try to get the room located near the terrace (#26).

http://tinyurl.com/c9jz2e

Riomaggiore is my pick for staying the night. Vernazza would be my second choice. Monterosso is a bit too commercialized for me. We are returning in May and October this year (staying in Riomaggiore).

I second La Mala in Vernazza. Pricey, but wow is that room above the terrace awesome!

http://www.corniglia-laposada.it/ind...d=31&Itemid=40

We stayed here in 2006 and loved everyhting about the apartment and the area.

we stayed in monterroso in sept 08 for 3 nights. it is the biggest town - i think - in terms of nightlife and restaurants - if that is what you are looking for - also the best beach. stayed at la spiaggia which has gotten mixed reviews on trip advisor but we got a room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the ocean. quite nice for the price - but we would rather spend our money on food and wine then 5 star hotels.

btw a fabulous restaurant in corniglia - MUST make reservations as it only has one seating per night and only seats about 20 people max. cantina de mananan.

Vernazza, but not overlooking harbor piazza, might be noisy in summer. My favorite eating place was IL PIRATA, top of the street, next to the small parking lot (not allowed for tourists) train to visit the other townships, no more than 15 minutes between RioM and Monterosso

Manarola. Twice.
In 2006, we stayed at the Marina Piccolo for 4 nights.
In 2008, we stayed at Ca d'Andrean for 6 nights.
We loved every single minute of both visits, and I wouldn't hesitate to return to either inn!
We did visit the other 4 towns, and enjoyed them also. I prefer Corniglia and Manarola over the other 3, but everybody has different likes/dislikes.