Any suggestions as to which town is best to stay in for a 2 days visit to Cinque Terre? Also looking for a reasonably priced (under 100/night) room - ideas?

When? Assume you have already checked booking.com and the "usual" booking sites. As you've probably found, lodgings in the CT can be pricey especially in the summer. Be open to apartments and rooms not just hotels.

All the towns have their appeal. Corniglia has one huge negative: it's up a steep hill from the train station (there are shuttle buses, but they don't run every minute, you may have to wait). Some people might prefer this though because that also means Corniglia is less crowded than the other towns.

I think Manarola is the smallest town, but it's not a far walk from Riomaggiore (or a very short train ride). I've heard people who have stayed over there say Manarola has a nice, intimate feel. Rick Steves prefers Vernazza, but that means many of his fans perfer it, too. Know that lodgings in some of the towns are up some very steep steps.

I've been to the CT twice and have stayed in Levanto both times. Levanto is the town north of Monterosso al Mare - not one of the "five villages" but still in the park. Levanto has some advantages: it's a more conventional beach town than the villages - a pretty nice town, actually, but it's a "quaint town in the side of the hill" like the others. You'll find cheaper lodgings there and conventional hotels. It's a short train ride back to the other towns, and the "Cinque Terre Pass" covers Levanto (trains etc.). I stayed in Levanto mostly due to budget. Personally, I'd probably prefer Manarola or Riomaggiore if price were not an issue.

Trains from La Spezia through all 5 villages up to Sestri (and Genova) run about every 30 min. So, it doesn't matter where you sleep. Sestri has some hotels directly on the sandy beaches. Monterosso is the only 5Terre village where the fast trains running from Milan to Pisa stop.

We stayed in Manarola and loved it. Great restaurants and cute town. I think the town has a good feel to it. We visited all the 5 towns by train, boat and hiking.

We stayed in an apartment for 80 per night.

Love Cinque Terre

On www.arbaspaa.com site you can find every kind of accommodation in Cinque Terre so you can compare prices and also arrange tours and transfers.

I second the agency www.arbaspaa.com The owner was born and grew up in Manarola and returned to that village after attending a university. He and his staff know all the properties they list and are excellent to deal with.

We loved Vernazza and stayed at Gianni Franzi. Depending on when you go, you can get a room for under 100 Euro. Vernazza is beautiful, has great restaurants, and is conveniently located to easily explore the other towns. If you're interested, here is a link to my blog about Cinque Terre.
http://katherinebelarmino.blogspot.c...l-italian.html
Have a fantastic trip!

KBelarmino - How did you like ianni Franzi? I read your blog and I didn't see anything one way or the other about the hotel. I am considering booking a room with them for our trip in October and am curious. I do understand the stairs any other comments?

soccerose We loved staying with Gianni Franzi! It's not a traditional hotel, they have rooms to rent. The room was clean and cute, but really, it's all about the view, which was fantastic (there's a picture of the view from our balcony in the blog article). I hope you stay there!
Katherine
http://www.katherinebelarmino.com/

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