Cinque Terre- Which town to stay in?? 3 nights
 

I've been reading through a lot of the forums but having trouble deciding which town would be best for us so I thought I'd just start a new thread.

My husband and I will be there in August and are trying to decide which town to make our home base. We are in our mid-30s and while we aren't in to anything crazy as far as nightlife, we'd like the option of walking around in the evenings and not having everything be shut down once the sun goes down.

I've also ruled out Monterosso as we're not looking for a resort-type beach and it looks like the views we're after can be found in the other towns. (Also ruled out Corniglia). Beaches we are looking for are more of the out-of-the way ones, cliffs (to jump from!), snorkeling (?), etc. We aren't sunbathers.

Just want to pick the best place where we can get the amazing sea/village view, good food, with plenty of places to walk around town and look at. I understand that they are all pretty touristy, especially in August, so while I don't want to be right in the middle of the most touristy area, we definitely don't want to be in an area that is too quiet (husband tends to get antsy with too much relaxation time ;))

Thanks in advance, I know this was a long description!

You should reconsider Monterosso.The beach is not large but nice enough. It has what you are looking for in a town.

I would suggest Corniglia. My husband and I were there last May and when I read your post you sound just like us. This town was very calm and we felt like only a few tourists were there so we were able to meet so many locals. The restaurants and shops were still open at night and the town was so pleasant to walk around. We were able to stay at a great apt that Rick Steves recommended and it has an AMAZING view. The picture from our balcony is our fav pic from our 3 week trip!

There isn't a beach on this town since it is up on a hill.

No matter what town you choose you won't be disappointed. We are planning our return trip and just love Cinque Terre.

At this point you may be limited to what town you can find reservations in due to the dates. This time I reserved in Monterosso due to the beach that we found lovely to get in after a long day of hiking. We swam in every town in 2010 stayed in Manarola and in one attempt on going in the water I slipped on algea, hit my head on a rock and ended up the whole afternoon in a Hospital in La Spezia.

Corniglia is lovely, long way and tons of steps to go down to their nice private beach from the middle of town, but such wonderful views.

For what you want, snorkeling, I would stay in Vernazza, great bay to swim, but with the latest flooding I don't know how ready Vernazza would be to accommodate anybody.

Riomaggiore is also very nice town, I would consider that one.

Monterosso has an old town center that is a pea in a pod with the other villages but also a new part along one of Italy's finest beaches - so it depends which Monteresso you talk about.

I recently visited all five Lands and think for what you say Vernazza would be a sweet choice - not much of any beach however but a rugged coastline and things are open late like in all of Europe. Rimoaggiore like Monterosso has vehicular traffic in its newer part - the only two towns accessible by regular roads - the others you can drive to remote parking lots I believe

anyway I though Vernazzo to be both the cutest of the towns due to its smashing seafront where you could picnic or linger at night and not be bothered by crowds - trains and boats links Vernazza to the other five Lands and of course the hiking trails do as well.

I dont know if someone still remember that this past September heavy rains and floods almost destroyed some of CT villages..

I stayed for 8 days in Manarola and loved it every minute!..but that was few years ago.

I loved our stay in there and I used to say that CT was Heaven on Earth.

Here are some photos of the flood.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Cinque-Terr...ing-Monterosso

I've only been to the Cinque Terre in September and early October and even then it's been busy enough - mobbed last September. I imagine August in any of the towns will be very busy indeed, probably at night too. (I stayed in Levanto, which is a pretty nice but conventional beach town just to the north of Monterosso - probably doesn't have the views you want, etc. but not dead at night, either.)

Keep in mind that if you stay in Riomaggiore or Manarola, you can fairly easily walk from one to the other via the famous Via dell' Amore ("Lover's Walk") which should be really pretty at night, too. Manarola is smaller than Riomaggiore.

Did anyone went back since the flood?

Only problem with the lovely Via dell' Amore - the sweet short flat seaside stroll that even baby carriages roll over is last time i was there cost the cost of a day hikin pass to take - about 8 euros for a few mile stroll!

The Cinque Terre is much on my mind lately: I'm finally processing the hundreds of photos I shot there in September. Vernazza seems by far the most photogenic and/or easiest to photograph - wow! So many great photo ops there. I hope the area is recovering well after the catastrophic floods last fall - so sad...

PalenQ, I'd guest most people will buy a park hiking pass when visiting the CT, won't they? That would cover the Via dell' Amore and all the other trails in the park. Anyone staying in the Cinque Terre in August should expect to pay a fortune for lodging, anyway; the cost of a park pass will probably seem insignificant.

We visited Cinque Terre last September and as we had a car (this was the last week of a month long trip) we decided to stay in Riomaggiore. There was an option to get a parking space for 10Euro/night with the place we rented, and we took it. Turned out to be a great place to stay. We hiked much of the trail, and as we started out in the AM, we had the sun at our backs, which made it easier on the eyes :-) Rick Steve's travel page has really up-to-date info on the recovery from the mud slides. It breaks my heart to think of the mess in beautiful Vernazza.

But the Italians have a LOOOOOOONG history of being builders, and if anyone can recover from such a disaster, I give them good odds.

Riomaggiore and Manarola were not terribly impacted, so you may want to get your lodging reservations as soon as possible. The place is as gorgeous as everyone says.

Andrew - there are folks who just do not want to do the much more rigorous other hikes and only want to do some simple stroll they are capable of. In my case I was on a day trip and visited all cities by train and just wanted to walk this famous stroll - but to pay 8 euros no way jose.

Are hiking passes could be for only one day - if so many folks will not hike the whole 7 miles between the 5 villages in one day - perhaps the passes are good for more but when I was there they told me each day 8 euros (or so - not sure exactly how much).

But it seems there should be a segment fee for folks who just want to do the Amore putz.

Hiking passes have options. We bought a 3 day pass, but I believe there are for 3, 5, 7 days. I may be wrong, but as I remembered we used the pass to hike all the towns the 3 days we were in Manarola.

I found this blog by some Americans living in Vernazza.

http://savevernazza.com/latestupdates/

I found this one for Monterosso

http://www.rebuildmonterosso.com/

Rentals in Cinque Terre, I found the apartment in Monterosso with this agency

http://www.myfastway.com/casa_vacanz...que-terre.html

Thanks everyone.
When I started my planning, I was definitely leaning toward Vernazza until I read about the flooding. It's my understanding most things will hopefully be up and running by August but it looks like I won't be able to book anything now. It seems the trains make it pretty easy to go from town to town, so I'm sure we'll be able to spend time in each place even if we're not sleeping there.

I think I'm leaning toward Riomaggiore. I found a hotel called Casa Lornenza that looks appealing. Anyone have any specific thoughts on Riomaggiore and/or this hotel?

I'm really glad I stayed in Manarola - stunning views from my room at La Torretta

http://www.torrettas.com/

a few great restaurants, a bit less mobbed with tourists during the evening than some of the other villages....

But it was quiet, so I can't say whether it will suit you or not.

Enjoy!

Vernazza 20 days ago:

http://savevernazza.com/vernazza-january-21-2012/

It looks a long way from being ready for tourists.

Finally narrowed it down and requested a couple places (Casa Lorenza and La Torretta) and they are already booked! So since we really want a balcony and sea view, I'm expanding my search to include Monterosso. It's appearing that with it being high season and rooms already being booked, I don't have the luxury of being so picky about everything! :)
But like everyone has said, no matter which town we stay in, it's sure to be gorgeous.

Do the Amalfi Coast instead. You'll be glad you did unless you prefer tourist zoos.