3/nights accommodations in the Cinque Terre
4 women over 60
with budget of $100-150 USD per night per double rm
we plan to day trip from Portovenere to Portofino
Traveling Sept 26, 27, 28
I would appreciate suggestions for accommodations. Thank you

Try Albergo Barbara--they have a website. Its in Vernazza, three floors up w/o a lift. Get your reservations soon as it books up. Pretty much everything will be "upstairs".

I was in the area at the same time this past September. One tip is to plan your day trip to Portofino on a day when there are no cruise ships in port in the area. Portofino is tiny and will be overwhelmed if a horde of cruise ship passengers descend on the village.

I don't know how you plan to get there from Portovenere, but do be aware that there is a lovely path along the sea from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino. It passes the village of Parigi, with one of the most idyllic Italian beaches I have ever seen..no wonder Berlusconi has a castle there! So you could take the train to SML, explore that town, and walk (or take the local bus) south to Portofino.

I would plan on eating lunch in SML and not Portofino.

..sorry for the spelling error; the village is Paraggi and here is a photo:


http://www.bagnifiore.it/img/sez_pho...ggi3_large.jpg

I also recommend Albergo Barbara in Vernazza. We stayed there last September and can say that the place is clean, comfortable, and in a perfect location right on the harbor. Since rooms are limited, they probably are booked well in advance. The owners are friendly and helpful and speak fluent English. I think we paid less than $100 per night.

I HIGHLY recommend
http://www.cinqueterre-laposada.com/...partments.html

email and ask for Sole y Luna Apt. 2 bedrooms + futon in living room.
The views from balcony are out of this world.

With 4 women in their 60s I would not stay in the vertical villages of the CT but at either end. Monterosso is the main hub and flat. The best way to see the villages is from the water on the hop on/off ferry. With a car I would stay in Portovenere which is my favorite location on that coast. Portofino is an hour away and not easy to access. Have fun !

Having visited CT as a daytrip I agree with Bob's recommendation not to stay in the CT villages themselves (with the possible exception of Monterosso).

Bob, we are planning to stay for 3 nights at the Royal Sporting in Portovenere. Do you have an opinion about this hotel?

Thanks!

Excuse me Bob !!

My sister and I,both in our 50's, did just fine staying in Corniglia. Although they did have a bus that hauled our old rearends up to hotel from train station..

Crusieluv, yes, I know that hotel and it is fine except it is a half mile walk into the village. My son liked it one year--it does have a pool.
We prefer the GH Portovenere for location and views. The Albergo Paradiso is a nice 3 star.

We really liked Hotel Baia in Montorosso. It gets so-so reviews and is fairly basic but you can't beat the view. It is on the beach about a 5 minute walk from the train station.

Although I am not yet 60, and I am an American raised in car-loving California, I have to say that I find these concerns about verticality in Cinque Terre sometimes disconcerting. I read a warning the other day about a hotel with "70 steps" the front door. There are 106 steps to my office door -- to which I just carried two bags of cat litter plus my laundry and some groceries, and there are more than 300 steps from my residential apartment to where I put out my garbage. It's really not that tough to climb stairs, even with luggage.

I always recommend arriving in Portofino by boat -- and you can get boats from Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli (all on the train line). A walk back to Santa Margherita Ligure is indeed pleasant. But in general, the tourist-cruise ship impact on Portofino has meant an awful lot of ridiculous stampedes into brand-name designer boutiques that overwhelm the town.

My biggest hesitation about recommending a stay in Cinque Terre is the hordes of foreign tourists who go there. If you would prefer a quieter, much less foreign-touristed Italian town, try Moneglia or Bonassola on the train line, near to Cinque Terre, or the always fun and yummy Sestri Levante.

David Downie has just written a new book to the best food in Liguria, and it is a fantastic treat, well worth the investment. You can buy it on Amazon.

sherry,
Do try Anchovies while in Liguria.
No resemblance to the pizza ones we know.

I have to respectfully but adamantly disagree with those who recommend not staying in the villages.

I have been to CT twice since 2006. Both times, we stayed in Manarola; both times we ended up extending our planned stay because we loved being there so much! It's almost impossible to really get a feel for what the CT is if you just daytrip in and out...it's a completely different place after 5pm and before 10am!

Of the other 4 towns, I'd stay in Corniglia. Vernazza and Monterosso, whiie lovely, are overrun with Rick Stevesians!

Two places I would highly recommend based on our experiences at both:
Hotel Marina Piccola http://www.hotelmarinapiccola.com/
Ca d'Andrean http://www.cadandrean.it/

I agree with LucieV..

We spent 8 days in Manarola, my daughter and my 9 years old Grandson, in a large apartment facing the village Main Square.

In the evening is so peaceful, all the day trippers are gone and the village once again belongs to the people that live or spend few days there.
I loved CT ..

kismet, me, too: lovelovelove. My husband and I want to move there, live there in the winter, and become full-fledged Cinqueterreans.

But I understand how daytrippers would have a very different impression/perception of the place.