Do I need air conditioning in Cinque Terre in August?
 

I'm nervous about not having a/c in Cinque Terre in the middle of August and so far all of the hotel suggestions (Albergo Barbara and Camere Elisbetta) for Vernazza I found are without a/c. Any suggestions for other places to stay with a/c in Vernazza or comforting thoughts about the heat? We (2 adults) plan on hiking 3-5 hours per day.

Italy in August ?
Hiking 3-5 hours ?

Sounds like a good idea to have a/c.

Where have you looked for recommendations?

I searched these forums for cinque terre... So many suggestions came up, but most are for Montorossa which of the hotels I checked, is full. Albergo Barbara is the first hotel with availability. Vernazza seems neat though and I would like to make that my 2 night base location.

Cinque Terre in August sounds like a total horror to me to begin with, but if someone put a gun to my head and made me go, I'd be darn sure I had a hotel with A/C!

You need air conditioning any place in Italy in August. It is very hot and humid (even in the mountains it can be unpleasantly hot).

a/c for sure - but the best places w/ a/c are very likely booked up. And 3 hour hikes are best undertaken in the very early a.m.

How about someplace in Santa Marqherite for A/C? You will be miserable without it!

The Chicago Tribune's travel section today has a huge article on Cinque Terre (July 1st) if you are interested checking it out online.

Definitely get A/C for August.

You've probably already checked these, but both these places in Monterosso are great options and come with A/C http://www.pasini.com/

To be fair, this also depends to a degree on what you're used to.

If you're someone who LIVES with AC, then you'll miss it a lot. If you're more old-fashioned in that regard (after all AC has been available for far less than the past 100 years, and civilization survived) and can take the heat now and then - well, don't cancel your trip for lack of it! There is always the cool shower followed by an electric fan aimed at the bed ...

Tom's advice is right on target. I've been to Tuscany in August and didn't miss a/c at all. It really depends on the weather, which is impossible to predict.

Living in Switzerland, only few homes have air conditioning. We don't like the idea of freezing in the summer due to air conditioning and find it a wasteful and expensive use of energy.

Many other Europeans think the same way.

But, as Tom wisely said, it's what you're used to. Having no a/c in Cinque Terre wouldn't bother me one bit.

If you're very lucky, you won't need it. If not, then you won't be able to sleep at night--if you can do with a few sweaty, sleepless nights and still enjoy your vacation, then you won't need A/C. Personally, I'll pay extra and get a good night's sleep. I never saw my vacation as an exercise to prove how tough I am or to be miserable in order to show how ecologically sensitive I am. Costs me too much in time and money to get to Europe, so I'm not going to degrade my experience for the lack of an air conditioner.

Thanks for the advice, but unfortunately I'm not willing to pay double the price for a/c. The place I decided on (Camere Fontanavecchia) has fans in the bedrooms so hopefully that's enough!

Thanks again for your input!

Dutyfree: That was a great article in the Chicago Times! (http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel...&cset=true) Thanks!

I think whether you need AC or not depends on your own level of comfort, what you are used to and whether you have a room which has a sea-breeze, which personally I would prefer to AC, maybe with a fan if the air wasn't moving. Yes it can be hot in Italy in August, sometimes humid, but it is not tropics, like Singapore or Indonesia which can be miserable at night for an un-acclimatized foreigner.

For the last 2 years in a row, the sizzling weather has been in July and not August, both years August was quite pleasant, but who can say for this year.This year in Piedmont where I write from, the days have been very hot, sometimes humid, but nights are quite cool, even need a sweater in the evening.

And funny about the Europe-America AC/no AC debate, last year in the hot 2 weeks of July we polled our guests to see if they would pay 20% more for AC, Americans all said yes, Europeans no.

Interesting poll.

What percent of your guests are European?
What percent of your guests are American?

I agree it depends on what you are used to. We live in florida and just returned from a trip which included the Cinque Terre. We based in Lucca and Rapallo and did the CT5 as a day trip. Although there was low humidity, we found it was much warmer than we had expected. We were very glad we did have AC. I think however if you have windows which would allow in sea breeze and perhaps a fan, by evening it cools down. Our daughter stayed in a place without AC in Lucca and found it bearable with a fan however the mosquitoes were a problem with open windows. Hike early!!

I was in Cinque Terre last August. Stayed on the island of Monterossa, it was the highlight of our trip. We stayed in two different hotels, one looking out to the sea and another off the main street. I too agree with Tom. We are not AC nuts, so the ceiling fan was fine for us. Enjoy. It's no wonder that the Italian's go up there for holiday.

I don't know where you are looking, nor for what dates exactly...

...but on a quick search of www.venere.com for August 14-16, the first hotel on the list (i.e., _with_ availability)...

Hotel Ghironi - La Spezia

...at 119 euro per room per night says that they have...

<< The hotel offers 52 spacious single, double and triple rooms, featuring private bathroom with hairdryer.

The rooms are furthermore equipped with <b>individually controlled air conditioning</b>, satellite and Pay TV, VCR, mini bar, desk with Internet and PC plug, balcony, a complimentary daily newspaper and direct dial telephone. &gt;&gt;

(<u><i>their</i></u> <b>bold</b>, on their venere listing).

Best wishes,

Rex

I was in Italy when it was 100 degrees in June and didn't have any A/C. When in Europe, live as the Europeans!

Hey,when its soooooo hot that you can't drink the red wine then you know that you are going to be miserable trying to sleep without A/C. Just my take!

The Italian houses I have been in dont have a/c and the Italians seem to survive. so long as the hotels have opening windows and fans you will be okay. generally you are out sight seeing in the heat of the day anyway so have to cope. Pesonally I hate to sleep with a/c on- it's not good for the sinus' But I come from hot Australia....

I've found that as long as it's not humid, you can survive in Italy without A/C. About 5 years ago I was in Umbria during the middle of a June heat wave -- daily highs were 95-100 -- and although it was hot, it was bearable if there was air circulation. That does <b>not</b> mean a fan, but rather good air flow through a room.

After going to Umbria, I went to the 5T (Riomaggiore), where it was less hot, probably upper 80's-lower 90's, but infinitely more humid. The hotel did not have A/C. I was taking 4 and 5 cold showers a day, and the ceiling fan, even when producing hurricane-force winds ;-) was useless because there was no air circulation in the hotel room. A similar siutation occurred in Venice a few years before that, with the same result.

I grew up in steamy, sultry, swampy South Georgia, so I was quite used to humidity. But I went to Italy to see fun stuff, not to shvitz in a steam bath. Go for the A/C.

One word of wanring though: the Italian hotels with A/C that I've stayed in have been hit-or-miss. Sometimes the A/C works well enough to hang meat. Other times, however, it just produces less-hot air than outside but certainly not enough to cool the room off.

With all the expense involved in an overseas vacation, I want to do more than just survive! I want to enjoy myself, including sleeping well even if it is hot and humid outside.

I've just come up with a grat idea. Space suits for american tourist. White, climate controlled suit fully isolated fron the environment. Built in windscreen wipers. And no need to ever worry again what to wear or which pair of shoes. Battery operated of course, rechargable on 230V.
Brilliant idea :D

Windshield wipers! It wouldn't rain during my vacation, would it?

I stayed at Albergo Barbara in Vernazza for a few nights in August 2002. The CT definitely gets hot during the day, but a cool breeze blows in off the sea in the evening. I wore jeans at night.
Albergo Barbara is situated in the square just off the tiny harbor. If you request a room with a view, you will get a room with a window opening up to the square/sea and the breeze should cool you off comfortably at night.

DH and I have returned to the CT several times since 2002 and we always stay with Carla and Matteo at Hotel Villa Steno in the old portion of Monterosso. They do have A/C but since we go in May or early June, we haven't needed it.

I think you'll be fine at Albergo Barbara if you get a room with a window facing the square.

I just got back from vacation and I didn't need a/c in Vernazza. It would have been nice...but the fan was plenty. I definitely wouldn't pay extra for it. As others have mentioned, it gets cool at night.

It did rain one night and the power was knocked out anyway. :-)

I stayed at: Camere da Annamaria aka camere fontevecchia and had a wonderful stay!

We are also going to Cinque Terre in May 2008. How did you go at Camere Fontanavecchia. Was it expensive? We cant wait.