I'm planning a last minute trip to the Amalfi coast and Cinque Terre during the last week of August / first week of September. Currently, I have a rental car set up, but no lodging. Does anyone out there know if I will have trouble finding accomodations once I get over there at this time of year? Will there be sufficient vacancies in cities such as Sorrento (AC) and Vernazza (CT)? Thanks for any information you can give me.

I would book a hotel in both places PRIOR to leaving....September is still tourist season (up thru and after Sept 15) and the hotels are quite full. I am staying in Sorrento mid-September and booked my hotel back in May, the same can be said for my Monterosso al mare (CT) hotel booked in June.

Have not been to Sorrento, but usually visit Italy in late Sept and rent a car and just take off. After many years we have never had a problem. However you have to be ready to stay in a B and B one night and a 4 star the next. I think it depends on your state of mind and how well you get on with your travelling partner. We like the excitement of not knowing where we will be and also the freedom to stay somewhere we really like. We have actually often experienced getting a super room at standard rates because that was all that was left..this happened in Venice,Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast. Good Luck..whatever you chose to do.

M3, I am doing the same thing during the same time and I booked rooms last week with no problems. I think you will be able to find rooms once there, definitely in Sorrento. For Vernazza you should email a few rooms before hand. Try Camere Giuliano, which is where I'm staying. If you will be in Positano area on Aug. 29th stop by the GTG. Good luck and maybe we'll cross paths.

Thanks for your replies. I know when we visited Rome and Venice there were tourist offices in the railroad station that would aid in finding accomodations. Do smaller cities such as Sorrento and the cities in the Cinque Terre have offices such as this? Thanks again.

Last Sept. I was in Italy and saw many people in train stations with no reservations and there were no rooms available. They had to travel to a different city. Good Luck...
Remember Europeans have holiday in Aug. They will be visiting tourist places as well as Americans Last Sept., everywhere we went was very crowded.

M3: There is a small, newly built tourist information office in Riomaggiore, opposite the train station office. They would presumably have lists of "affittacamere" (rooms to rent) in the town. Monterosso al mare also have an info office at the train station as well; however, I don't know about the other 3 towns. You could certainly wing it, but IMO it is better to have at least secured something. You can always change it when there, if something else (better) comes along.

Sorrento is a much bigger city than any of the 5 CT towns and they have a tourist office there. I have never had to use it because I cull all my information together prior to taking a trip. Also, you might consider just taking the train and local transportation places....it will save you money on a rental and high gas prices and afford you a convenient way to get from town to town. Trains are the way to go - I love 'em!

I'd sure rec you pass up Sorrento and go to Positano, it's unreal! Be sure to take the drive along the coast to Raffelo, etc. too! Ahhh...Positano!!!