Hi Christy and others,

As my wife and I will be visiting the Ligurian Coast in 2 weeks, I've read these and other posts with interest. We arrive in Nice (3 days, La Peruse), then train to Monterosso (3, Porta Roca), then SML (3, GH Mirimare), Camogli (2, Cenobio Dei Dogi), then Genoa (2, Jolly Marina).

With 3 kids, we have to travel (together)in the summers, so we are used to, and have no problems with, the heat or with crowds.

For reasons still unexplained to us, we cannot purchase 1st class train tickets in advance from Nice to Monterosso (inter-counry? security reasons? Even our hotel can't get them for us) so we'll try to get them once we arrive in Nice. From there, based on these posts, we'll likely simply take a cab to get to our hotels from town to town, and take ferries to check out other towns while there, i.e., no car rental and avoid potential lines for trains or busses.

Our itineraries for the larger cities (Nice, Genoa) are fairly set with lots to do and see. As for the three smaller towns (and others nearby), our list of "to-dos" is sparse. While both of us exercise regularly, I can't imagine hiking the whole time; maybe one nice hike (wife has a bad knee). We'll likely still walk several miles visiting all the small towns in and around the CT and Portofino area.

Is this what you would recommend, or will all these towns start to look alike after a while? Has anyone rented a motor scooter to zip around, or even venture inland to other 'less touristy' towns?

...just wondering if we're 'overdoing' this area, and if we are thinking of doing the right things while there...

selfishly topping

Mike - the train down the CT coast has no 1st class cars - that may be the problem. There is a town south of Genoa where you switch to this Toonerville Trolley [I'm blanking it's name right now, but someone will know] - I'm guessing you can get 1st class to there.

the road from seaside to clifftop in each of the CT is _very_ steep - I'm not sure if a scooter is the right choice unless it has a pretty good engine and terrific brakes. There are buses that will take you to top and back down - maybe you can rent a scooter to ride around the areas on the top - supposed to be some wineries up there, but in 3 days we never made it to them - too much to do long the seaside.

enjoy!!

I'm going to CT in Sep and have FINALLY found a room at Camere Elisabetta in Vernazza. Know anything about this place?

Check out Rick Steve's sight. He really likes her.

Great, thanks! For anyone looking for a room in CT, I have a link from a local that looks to have a lot of contacts:

http://soggiorni5terre.iclab.it/info...omune_id=tutte

Mike, presumably you are in Italia now. For future reference, the CT has their own line of 5-digit trains (the local line). I was just there end of May and took a train from Monaco to Riomaggiore, stopping first in Genoa. I was able to ticket all the way through and it was still inexpensive (15 euros).

The CT is crowded every summer beginning end of May through September, but is it lovely any time of year. Hope you and others enjoy your respective times there! :)

We were in the CT 3 (or is it 4 now?) years ago at the VERY end of October, I think we actually left on Nov 1.

We had beautiful weather. There were other tourist around (obviously), but it was not crowded by any means. I think that is probably the best time of year to go.

So good to hear from several posters including MadameX and millemar that the Porta Roca is a charm, a bit off the beaten path, in Monterosso. Does everyone who has stayed there agree that the hill situation approaching the hotel is not such a deterrent.

This thread begins to sound alarming at some points to those of us planning visits this fall. Having stayed in Positano, Capri, and Sorrento last year, I am looking forward to this Riviera region, staying in both SML and Monterosso.
But......the crowds/tacky shirt shops/ and busy train platforms sounds worse than I imagined.

I'm reading the thread selectively, though ~ hoping for the best !

>>>
I would never go to ANY European beach destination in July or August)
>>>>

with this preference, i would not even consider going to CT in the summer...although i'm sure in june it would not be as bad as july and aug.

Now I'm a bit concerned. I just booked a trip to the Amalfi Coast for next July. From what I've read in Rick Steves' Italy, I thought the towns there would be touristy in summer, but not jam packed, as one of you put it. And by the way, I just returned from a trip to France and Italy. We stopped in Monterosso for lunch and a walk (the most delicious meal on the trip) and I didn't think Monterosso was crowded at all... I dislike crowds, but it seemed beautiful and serene to me... This was in mid-July, 2005. I didn't go over to the sandy beach, which seemed busy... but the town itself and the walking areas were just lovely. That's one reason I booked the Amalfi trip, which will involve walking from town to town on foot paths. I'm a teacher so the best travel months for me, unfortunately, are July and August.

So happy to hear of your serene stop in Monterosso. One reassuring story!

Which towns on Amalfi Coast will you be hiking between? There last year in May we only walked up high to Montepertuso above Positano and along the waterfronts of the towns, ferrying in-between. But, Capri wonderful for hiking. Hope your trip next year will include Capri ~ many wonderful walks/hikes there.

Thanks for your comments about AC and Capri. Yes, I will be going to Capri. Thanks for the info regarding hikes there. I'll be staying in Sorrento and doing some day hikes to Amalfi, Positano, Praiano, Ravello. Also a day trip to Pompeii and Vesuvius. On one day I will either go to the island of Ischia or Paestum (Greek ruins), though it seems difficult to get there without a car.

The train from Salerno to Paaestum (I have no idea how close the train station is to the ruins) takes between 32 and 42 minutes. I think you can get from Sorrento to Salerno by bus.

Sorry to be a bit vague about this, but I'm not fond of the Amalfi Coast, and the one time I went, it was in a small group with a minivan, which also took us to Paestum.

Yes, there are the blue Lazio busses from Sorrento (leave from in front of the Circumvesuviana Train Station) for Salerno. It is nearly a 2 hour ride. There are organized tours from Sorrento to Paestum and surrounding areas of attraction. You can take a bus from Salerno to Paestum (takes about 45 mins) though, it stops just down the road from the site.

I was in the CT just last week. We stayed in Santa Margherita, which was not crowded at all. Actually, I would have liked a bit more crowd as some restaurants were empty. We took a train to Riomaggiore in the morning to begin our exploration. A large crowd exited and jammed themselves into the entrance for the Via dell'Amore. We held back a bit, bought our CT ticket at the station, and pondered our next step. We decided to follow the crowd and discovered the jam was at the entrance to the via dell'Amore. We had a ticket, so we breezed right by everyone who was stuck at the entrance trying to buy a pass. We were not dressed for hiking, so we walked at a leisurely pace. I noticed that most people just took off at a very fast pace and disappeared into the distance. The walk was very nice and we saw very few people.

In Manarola, we decided to take the ferry to Vernazza only to discover that our CT ticket did not cover the ferry, only the train. We bought a ticket anyway and the ferry was not crowded at all. We decided to eat lunch in Vernazza.

When the ferry landed in Vernazza, I then saw the hordes of people and they were all waiting for the ferry. It seems we were one town behind everyone else. Vernazza was calm after lunch, which is when we were there. Got a table at Gambero Rosso without any trouble.

Took the train to Monterosso and again missed the crowds.

My advice is to let the die-hards hike on ahead of you. They are on a mission and there is no stopping them. I also saw only one Rick Steves book in a woman's backpack.

Duh, I meant the blue SITA busses on my posting (not Lazio)..

Further to CT information, the Via Dell'More walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola is just that - a 20 min walk between towns - no hiking involved. I am not surprised the CT is calmer now, it is mid-September so the crowds have dissipated. Unfortunately, Vernazza will always be popular, it is known as the "Portofino of the CT" and thanks for Rick Steves, will continue to remain a popular town there.

Thanks for the info regarding getting to Paestum by bus from Sorrento.

Sue,
Sounds like you did not visit Corniglia? Was it just the one day you visited the CT from Santa Margherita, and if so, did you find that to be enough?
Also, would you suggest staying in Santa Margherita or one of the CT towns having experienced staying in SML?
Sounds like you chose a perfect time to go, and that you skirted the maddening crowds......

Did not visit Corniglia, We weren't up to hiking (climing those stairs I read about) and the ferry did not stop there. If you are really into hiking, the CT towns were be a nice 2 or 3-day adventure. If you are a shopper and eater like me, one day was plenty to see the sights.

I loved staying in Santa Margherita. It's a bigger town and there were lots of things to do in the evening. People would hang out at the harbor before and after dinner. The CT towns are so small, I think I'd be bored after more than one night.

If you want to see my photos of SML and CT, go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...k1t2u&Ux=1