surfdog

im spending a week in venice at the end of September then I'm considering flying from Venice to Genoa and then spending at least one week in the region of cinque terre. possibly two.
First of all is it worthwhile hiring a scooter. or is it mostly best to walk everywhere.
is it best to settle in one of the villiges and just do trips from the one hotel or apartment and thereby eliminating the need to pack and unpack each day or every 2nd day.?
does someone have a recommendation through experience. is there such a thing as 'central' location to achieve this. i will be with my wife and we prefer an apt or 'other' to a hotel. we prefer 'local style' to upscale pretentious style.
any suggestions would be apreciated.

qwovadis

no clue about your budget go a lot

www.metropole.it my fav location right at the

ferry dock to all the 5 villages and portofino

I train around in Italy cheaper better than rental

car or flying usually www.seat61.com

In the cinqueterre.com Manarola www.torrettas.com best

www.hostel5terre.com if budget.

Easiest cheapest to train or ferry between towns

MoPeds tend to be quite expensive to rent and a hassle.

Happy Travels,

mamcalice

I think two weeks is a lot of time to spend in the Cinque Terre. You do not need (probably can't make much use of) a motorbike there. You should stay in one place and walk the trails from town to town, use the trains or the ferry. Keep in mind that the ferry does not run if the sea is choppy.

I'm not familiar with apartments in the area but I'm sue many on this forum can help.

surfdog

thanks thats really helpful. one more thing. as i have been looking at your response and the one above i was wondering is it more benificial to stay closer to sea level meaning the higher up one goes the more difficult the day trips down to the ocean and back up again. i just turned 60 and receltly back from Machu Pichu...fitness is not a problem for me or my wife...just thought it worth asking. once again i appreciate it.
surfdog.

Sheila0

It's quite hilly and steep in some of the towns, but many have small shuttle buses up and down the town. I wouldn't stay in any of the towns because of toting suitcases up/down the steep streets - no taxis directly to the hotels. We stayed in La Spezia which we liked because it was a "real" town, not a tourist town. From there you can take a ferry or train to any or all the towns. We took the train since we didn't know about the ferry at that time. We stayed next to the train station for 4 nights & it was about a 20-min. hop to the 1st town with about 5/15/45 min. by train/ferry/walking in between each. I agree that 2 weeks is much too long to stay - 3 full days/4 nights was more than enough. Read "Rick Steves' Italy" for an exhaustive chapter on the Cinque Terre - He's a big fan. I liked the CT, but it's really overrun with tourists, due in part to Rick's book!

nancy1652

I second the choice of Manarola as the town to stay in.
It's true, you do have to walk with your suitcases to your lodging, but it's not a long walk (and we're older than you are). We loved Manarola because it's central to all the towns, but it's much smaller, quieter, and less crowded than the others.

macdogmom

Third for staying in and we loved La Torretta. There is a link above in 2nd post. I believe there are also apartments in town that have wonderful views.

macdogmom

"third for staying in Manarola" -oops, left out the town.

Also, flying seems more trouble than it's worth. We trained from Manarola to Venice and it was a pleasant trip, probably around 4-5 hours.

kja

Another vote for La Torretta in Manarola.

> i was wondering is it more benificial to stay closer to sea level meaning the higher up one goes the more difficult the day trips down to the ocean and back up again

I think you may be misunderstanding the scale of the area. With the exception of Corniglia, the villages spread from the coast uphill, but even the higher reaches aren't far - maybe 15 or 20 minutes by foot going up if you are fit, less coming down. Staying higher up is not an obstacle to day trips.

> spending at least one week in the region of cinque terre. possibly two

I also think that's a long time for the area. A fit person can visit all five villages, walking between them, in just a day or two. Add a few days to do so at a more leisurely pace.

Hope that helps!

marty

We stayed in Levanto at The Garden Hotel. We had a little balcony that looked out over a park where local children played and old men sat on benches. We could see the sea one block away from the hotel. The train was very close by, and it took just a few minutes to get to the Cinque Terre towns. We spent our days in the towns hiking, exploring, and having long lunches and spent our evenings in the quiet little town where we stayed. We loved it.

VeeBee

OKay.. I'll vote for a new town.. we stayed in Vernazza for a week in an apartment a few yrs back and loved it. central enough to take the hiking trails from town to town or the local train 10 min to the next village for better beaches/swimming or the ferry to Portovenere one day. We found our apartment on one of the vacation rental by owner internet sites and the only downside was that it was REALLY tiny for our family of five - but also pretty inexpensive.. like $800/week for a "studio" type apt with a rooftop deck. We were right in the middle of town with a 5 minute walk to the ocean or the train. I'm sure Sept will not be overly crowded.. we were there in June and it was not bad at all.

surfdog

thanks a lot everyone. this is the first time i have tried one of these forums and it has been rewarding and i have read quite a few other reports i found helpful. finally did anyone ever see anyone actually surfing (yeah i am an onl longboard surfdog) in this region...im only wondering because one accommodation site i looked at they also said 'surfing' was an activity avaiable???? cant imagine it but who knows?

surfdog

thanks a lot everyone. this is the first time i have tried one of these forums and it has been rewarding and i have read quite a few other reports i found helpful. finally did anyone ever see anyone actually surfing (yeah i am an onl longboard surfdog) in this region...im only wondering because one accommodation site i looked at they also said 'surfing' was an activity avaiable???? cant imagine it but who knows?

bobthenavigator

I saw surfing one time in Levanto, but I am sure it is not common.