I am staying traveling to CT with my boyfriend for 2 nights. What are your opinions on accomodations in the area? We are 22 years old and are flexible when it comes to price (up to 200 Euro/night)We will be taking the train from Rome, and we do not have a rental car. What are our best options?

depending when you are going....you might be able to walk into town and rent a room from many of the families there. My favorite town is Riomaggiore, and there are many rental offices in the 5 towns that rent rooms at a reasonable price.

how do i contact the rental offices? is there a website online?

Check out Hotel Villa Steno in Monterosso. We stayed there last April and really liked it.

Go to www.cinqueterre.it.

When you click on the town names across the top of the page, a list of hotels in each town comes up.

In addition there is plenty of information about the CT.

It's a beautiful area.

Byrd

Personally think Monterosso is the ideal base for CT and just lively enough. Try http://www.monterossonet.com for accommodation. We have stayed at L'Antica Terrazza and could not praise it enough. Have also stayed at Villa Steno which is really excellent but more expensive.

I also stayed at Villa Steno and it was very nice. I think it was about 125euro. But, if I were to go back I'd check into their sister hotel, Hotel Pasquale because it was right at the water. Villa Steno is maybe a 5 minute walk up a steep hill from the town center. Here is the website.http://www.pasini.com/

Jillyp,

You can try this one. I rented an apartment from this website and it was great. But they also rent rooms, but again you could very well walk into town and rent a room right there

http://www.arbaspaa.com/

Jillyp,

By the way, the train from Rome doesn't take you directly to the Cinqueterre. You will have to get off in La Spezia and take the local train. From La Spezia to the first town, Riomaggiore, it's approx. 20 min train ride. By the way, the local trains are never on time, so if you missed one, you can always catch the next one. OH....and don't forget to stamp your train ticket outside of the train station. If you are traveling with a railpass, then don't worry about it.

Have fun!!!

Carlos

We've just returned from the CT. Stayed in Manarola for 4 nights at the Ca'D'Andrean. It's plain and simple but very clean and costs 90 euros per night. We found Manarola and Vernazza were our favourites of the 5 villages that make up the CT. We did 3 walks- Manarola to Vernazza which took 4 hours with stop in Corniglia for frullati; Manarola to Riomaggiore (easy 15 min stroll) and then boat to Portovenere which is lovely; Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza (took train to Monterosso 10 mins from Manarola) and walked back to Vernazza (train from V. to Manarola). The last was the toughest but spectacular views worth every bit of exertion!

bellini:
Knowing what you now know--would you stay in Manarola or in Vernazza?

Hotel Pasqual is very nice but we heard people complaining about the noise from the train. The hotel sits right under the track.

bat- I would say that if one was looking for a dead quiet town (except for an occasional cat fight in the middle of the night) then one would want Manarola. We loved eating dinner on our patio high above the town watching everyone go about their daily duties like tending the terraced gardens and sweeping their patio. Vernazza is busier. During the day there are scads of tourists but by the same token there are a lot more kitschy shops and services. At night, there are more things to do- so I would say the best is in the eye of the beholder. lynclarke

thanks lynclarke--good information upon which to make a decision.
BTW, where did you stay?