azure0327

Hello! My friend and I will be visiting Cinque Terre for six days in late September. We would like to stay in one place/hotel for the whole time and move around from village to village either on foot or by train. Which village and hotels do you recommend the most for our stay? Also -how convenient is the rail system to go from CT to Lucca, Portovenere and Livorno? Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

motor_city_girl

Don't know if you are looking for romance or nightlife, etc. but we stayed in Monterosso in April. We are in our early 30s and found it a good mix. Stayed at Hotel Villa Steno, nice room and great view from the terrace. Breakfast was nice and they also have a terrace to eat outside.

The hiking was fun and beautiful views. It was nice to walk on the beach. I collect sea glass and found a few great pieces to add to my collection. Really enjoyed our lunch at Gambero Rosso in Vernazza.

azure0327

We are in our early 30's as well! Not necessarily looking for romance/nightlife - just hoping to enjoy the scenery, hiking and relaxing atmosphere of Italy. Thanks for the Monterosso tip, I will look into it.

azure0327

ttt

PJK

On our recent trip to the Cinque Terre, we stayed in Monterosso at Hotel Pasquale. It had a five star view. Otherwise, the hotel was three star. The accommodations were certainly adequate but not as nice as at some three stars. The bathroom was miniscule, but that is not all that uncommon. Hiking there is great, and reaching all the destinations you mentioned by train is easy. The hiking pass gives you train access for the five villages. All of the villages are small. There is not much to do except enjoy the scenery (which is incredible) and hike. Have fun. PJK

KayF

We stayed for 4 nights in Manarola at Casa Capellini which had a wonderful view but was pretty basic. There is no train to Portovenere so you catch the train to La Spezia then a bus. From memory, Livorno is the next stop on the train line after Monterrosso. To get to Lucca you'd have to get to La Spezia or Genoa first as the trains that run through the CT villages are local trains.
We visited all the villages and found Vernazza the most touristy and the prettiest, Corniglia the quietest and hardest to reach (lots of steps up from the train station), Monterrosso was the biggest and busiest. We liked Manarola and Riomaggiore was nice too. When we were there one of the trails was closed due to landslide, we heard that was quite common.
Kay

papermoon

Virtualtourist.com has some great comments and photos from these areas.
Including my favorite: Portovenere.
papermoon

Brian_in_Charlotte

Given that you're going to stay put in one place for 6 nights, I'd choose Monterroso as a base. As wonderful as the other towns are (esp Manarola), I think you'll be happier in the bigger of the 5 towns. We were happy at the Pasquale (agree with everything said about it above though I might call it a 2-star) but have also heard very good things about Villa Steno (it was closed when we were there).

mamc

We are going to be in CT for 3 nights in late September and started trying to reserve weeks ago. Almost everything we tried was unable to provide accomodations. We wanted to stay in Vernazza but were willing to stay elsewhere if we could find a place. We finally did after about 6 weeks of trying. All of this is by way of saying, get started asap to make reservations!

chicagolori

Here is a link to some nice accomodations in Monterosso. We stayed at La Poesia and it was lovely and just as nice as a real hotel. Clean, great bathrooms, wonderful hostess, great breakfast. Right in old town. I really urge you to stay in old town versus the newer town. But, its all pretty small so its easy to walk around the town no matter where you stay.

http://www.monterossonet.com/eng/mon.../itinerari.htm

azure0327

Thanks for all the great tips, I can't stay away from this forum, I'm hooked! I just read another thread recommending staying in Santa Margherita Ligure instead of CT. Your thoughts?

bobthenavigator

You will find many opinions on which location is the best base. Most of those are based on one experience. We have stayed at SML, Levanto, and Portovenere to explore that coast. I am not sure why you would want to stay an hour away, which is the case with SML. We prefer Portovenere and access the CT by ferry boat---there is no train to there. It is all a question of style.

Katerbug

We too are staying at Hotel Pasquale, mid-Oct; Villa Steno was booked up. I'm sorry to read PJK that altho the view is awesome you didn't like the hotel. What exactly was only 3 star? The comfort of bed, quietness, cleanliness, furnishings, breakfast? Please be blunt, my husband & I (me 46, he 61-both active, fit but need comfy bed at nite!) would like to avoid surprises and it's not too early to change...Thx all

MRand

azure0327 - Borgo di Campi above Riomaggiore might be worth a look. My family and I stayed there two weeks ago and it was one of our trip highlights:
www.italyby.com/borgodicampi/

motor_city_girl

Katerbug, we were in the lobby of Pasquale and it was very nice. The breakfast is the same as Steno (same owners). It is right across the street from a small beach, just on the other side of the tunnel from the "new town" and train station.

It is also RIGHT under the railroad tracks. I don't think the trains run past 11 PM so it may not be a problem.

zermatt

We stayed in Monterosso at the Hotel Porto Roca
http://www.portoroca.it/
Can't beat the views but Monterosso and the hotel were a little more rustic than we like. The rails were on strike when we tried to use them. The boat was a good choice to Protovenere, but they sometimes stop due to weather. Have fun hiking!

grosenb

Stayed at Hotel Porto Rocco. Not worth the $$$. Beautiful views but the hike to the hotel and the small rooms were much value to me.

If I were to return to the area, I would stay in Santa Margarhita.

Gail

madameX

We enjoyed our stay at the Porto Roca in Monterosso. This place is at the edge of town, perched on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean, just as you might get on the trail to Vernazza. Because it is a bit removed from the center of town, you feel like you are in a private villa, and avoid some street noise. Rooms are a decent size for Europe with spotless housekeeping, helpful staff that is especially charming in the dining areas, etc.

The hotel has its own section of chairs and umbrellas on the pebbly beach (about the only easily accessible beach in the Cinque Terre,) but there is a nomimal charge for a beach towel -- still worth it.

During the season, the hotel may require guests to have half board, i.e. breakfast and lunch or dinner. The food was very good, and the wines decent and reasonably priced. A nice consideration: if you don't finish your bottle of wine, they will put a stopper in and save it for the next day. Breakfast terrace and lunge terrace have wonderful views, but other meals are taken in air-conditioned comfort in the dining room (you'll want it in summer.) Then menu has enough choices to keep most happy, and the daily antipasto bar is its own wonder.


We mostly hiked during our stays, and our trips were fairly close to the hotel, i.e. Portofino, etc. by train or boat.

Monterosso is pretty low-key, except that there are a lot of tourists in season (we went the very last days of August and September, so avoided the largest crowds, but there were still plenty of people around.) Still, there was a wonderful dance on the stone pier on a Saturday night, and my husband and I can still manage a tango accompanied by the accordian-and-violin duo that sometimes plays outdoors around the towns.

Monterosso has the advantage of the towns of having the major train connection, as well as the little "milk run" train that connects the villages. Read: a little easier to get on the trains that take you traveling elsewhere.

If you stay here and arrive by train, let the hotel know approximately when to expect you. They will help collect you and your luggage if you let them know aprpoimately when to expect your call. This is very useful since the last bit to reach the hotel is rather steep. This little hill may also be an issue if anyone in your party does not handle a short, steep hill well.

PJK

To Katerbug regarding Pasqualle--there are many positive aspects of this hotel. The room itself was probably larger than most rooms in Europe (for a 3 Star). It was clean. The owners/operators were helpful and friendly. Breakfast was good. I think I said what I did because, compared to the other hotels where we stayed from Nice, France around the coastline into Italy and then down into Tuscany, Pasqualle cost more than the others and was rather "plain." There is nothing wrong with it, but the furnishings were mundane, and the only place to sit outside was along the busy street. (Still with that great view but busy and noisy.) We walked up the hill to Porto Roca, and it appeared to be a bit nicer and away from the main drag. As I recall it was more expensive. As others have noted, this is a rustic area. The whole area is beautiful, but it is mostly an area for being outdoors. One other comment--in a couple of the small towns, "squatty potties" seemed to be the only options. After trying the train station and a different public option, we stopped in a fairly nice looking restaurant for lunch, and even their restroom had that kind of accommodations. I took the train back to the hotel after our long hike. I am sure I will incur some nasty comments for making this notation to you, but I would not have minded knowing that info ahead of time. PJK

PJK

TripAdvisor and Venere have reviews of some of the hotels mentioned on this thread. PJK