I am staying in Vernazza for four days - we arrive June 27th - We are having a tough time finging a room, as we were told originally that we could "wing it", but I am now getting nervous. Any suggestions of b-n-b's or a hotel that is on the cheaper side?

"Still need hotel in Cinque Terre" > > http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34500284

Cleat? Are you locked into Vernazza?
Due to the short timing, I went on laterooms.com, there are facilities in various price ranges in Tuscany...and down in Sorrento...

Thank you so much for your insight!!!

Don't forget to consider Manarola, Riomaggiore, Corniglia, or Monterosso....we enjoyed five days at La Torretta in Manarola last summer.
cheers,
CC

You will find many more rooms in Monterossa - its more happening anyhow.

I was appalled by Vernazza, although it may be less wrecked by popularity when daytrippers leave at night. Also Monterosso seemed totally uncharming, and of course the trail between them is harsh.

I would shift the focus a bit south. Riomaggiore as sort of the center with the most facilities. The two towns north Manarola and Corniglia are fine although the first more practical as it's just steps away from the facitlities of Rio.

South of Rio, I would add the two very pretty towns connected by boat - Portovenere and Lerici. In a pinch you can probably always stay in La Spezia at the last minute, which is included in your Cinque Terre card for rail passage (you need this card to do hiking anyway).

May'be our Fodorite friend Huitres can give you some advice. I havent seen him online last few days though. After waiting for responses that have not been returned and the attitude of the people at Porto Roca in Monterossio. I did a very detailed search of the nearby Ligurian coast and hinterland. I am very pleased with our choice which seems to get good reports from searches I have also done on this Forum. It is Hotel Clelia at Dieva Marina which is a 17 minute train ride west from Moneterossio and conveniently located also 30 minutes from the Portofino region by train. Have a look at www.clelia.it. Good luck waiting for responses from some of the better known ones in CT.

cleat, you can try Franca Maria for a private room. We found one -- very small but nice, and right on the harborside piazza -- on short notice (although that was in April; June may be more difficult.)

Good luck! Vernazza has a lot of tourists but, IMO, is by far the most picturesque of the five CT towns.

http://www.francamaria.com

SydneySteve: thanks for the plug, btw, I'm a she! cleat: I would not "wing it" in Vernazza, esp in June as it is a busy time there. Vernazza is hit by the most tourists, thanks to Rick Steves, so the prices and accommodations will be more there than in the other 4 towns.
While Vernazza is considered the "Portofino" of the CT, don't overlook the other towns as they have charms of their own.

I am biased to Riomaggiore...you could stay at the Villa Argentina (011-39-0187-920-213 email: [email protected]) and check out their website for futher info:
http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Liguria.../index.it.html They have seaview rooms with a terrace at very reasonable prices, including an ample breakfast. The hotel is up on the hill overlooking the castello and town (but not that far up), and there is a local shuttle bus that can bring you up from the train station area to the hotel.

Also, as stated before, there are a lot of hotel options in Monterosso, both on/near the seaside and in the centro storico (town). Everything is so close to the water anyway, the towns are so small. Check out the other thread re: "Huitres hotel needed in CT", I gave a list of hotels with detailed information, prices, etc. I will be back in the CT in Sept - can't wait! Good luck and buon viaggio!

Sorry Huitres ! My Encyclopaedia corrected my understanding in any case. I now realise that there are male and female huitres. I commend for your reading the educational site www.hsrl.rutgers.edu/sex.html. Now tell me, what do you think of the Deiva area and Hotel Clelia. I like the idea of riding mountain bikes in the hills behind Deiva and across to CT on the higher tracks.

SydneySteve: I just like huitres, and that is the plural name for them, non-gender specific to my knowledge! I am still surprised that you didn't inquire further at Hotel Baia in Monterosso, I thought for sure you would have liked that seaside property. Other posters concurred too...Anyway, I have been through Deiva Marina on the train but I have not explored the town, etc. I am sure it will be nice. As I mentioned, the entire coastline is lovely, you can't go wrong. Have a great time!

For me the best scenery is the rugged coastline rather than the beachscape. Our beaches of white to golden sand are just too good here and I did not want to become comparative. Also I thought it might become a bit crowded down in the town close to the beach at that time of year. Not really a crowd loving person otherwise would have gone for Venazza. Therefore we tried to get something with views and location a bit further up a hill with good access in all directions. Also increased our stay to three days so in the end could have gone with Porto Roca. Previous Dieva and Clelia Hotel posts that I have read sound good and the attitude of the people when we contacted them was outstanding by comparison with some of our other experiences. Our only difficulties arranging accomodation i.e. getting responses, have been CT and Ipanema Brasil. We really look forward to the CT region and also being able to travel to and walk in the hills and park of Portofino.

Hi SydneySteve: Frankly, you are going to be disappointed by all the sand in Liguria from Genoa to La Spezia. The western coast of Italy does not have fine grain, white sand - it is pebbly, gray, and downright rocky in places. The eastern coast of Italy (Senegalia, Ancona, etc) is the side known for the fine white stuff. The CT beaches will not compare with your nice, smooth sand variety of beaches Down Under. That aside, the scenery is breathtaking, esp when walking up high along the hilltops, looking down on the sparkling Mediterranean - truly wonderful! Also, try taking a boat up or down the coastline, viewing the towns from the water gives them a different perspective and is a great alternative to the normal train ride. I am glad that the Hotel Clelia in Deiva Marina was able to accommodate you and that they were friendly about it!

The Marini Family from Clelia have been writing to us about their visit downunder several years ago. On their website I can see some Australian influence in the way they have promoted their business and particularly their restaurant. Your point about the scenery is spot on. That is what we are there for - not the beaches. The marine environment, seafood, boats etc are relevant to the beaches of course. Many years ago we visited Big Sur in California and sat at the at Ventana Inn looking out to sea from a high vantage point with a harpist performing. The food and Californian chardonnays were great too. Most of the action in CT is down low to the waterfront. I think Porto Roca does well because it has a good vantage point with elevation. I am possibly dreaming, based on the pictures I have seen, but for me there are some wonderful locations way up in the hills looking out to sea. That is where I would like to discover CT and it would be a great bonus to find a restaurant there too.

Big Sur is the perfect description for the rugged coastline of the CT and adjoining areas. The nice thing about the high coastal views of the CT is that it is still relatively remote and there are not too many places, restaurants, etc up there. IMO, that is a blessing because the coastline is not glutted with over-priced restaurants with seaviews, as points further south (i.e. Amalfi Coast). It is still so "rustica" in the CT that it's a pleasure to stumble upon a small, roadside place high up in Volastra, etc. that hasn't been rated by the restaurant books.

I told you there were a lot of Aussies that visit the CT, you will be warmly welcomed and will probably see quite a few of your countrymen while there! The Hotel Clelia will be a delight for you.

If you will have a car, I would suggest driving into Genoa one evening for dinner -- we went to a restaurant that specialized in focaccia (it was invented there in Genoa). It is not the typical thick focaccia bread, but has a very thin, thin crust, akin to Italian style pizza. They usually put 4 different type cheeses and herbs on it -- delicious!

Hi Huitres. Now please tell me about the place for food in Volastra and we will go there on mountain bikes. Some of us Aussies prefer not to mix or even be seen with other Aussies when away from home ! We arrive by train from Barcelona via Milan on the Salvador Dali Express and leave by train to hotel Belvedere in Bellagio. The only drive segments of this two month holiday are from Las Vegas to South Rim then North Rim of the Grand Canyon and on to Bryce Canyon, as well as two days on the Romantic Road in Bavaria.
Interestingly we fired up the backyard pizza oven here tonight in Sydney and made a number of pizzas including the quattro frommagia that your comments inspired me to experiment with. We make our own focaccia here too. The Italian immigrants to our country have enriched our culinary landscape. We are now producing significant quantities of olive oil varieties and are also producing a wide variety of Italian grape types for wine production. I have been studying the wine industry of Liguria over the last few days and hope to try some inteesting things while we are there. I totally agree with your point about the Amalfi Coast. Here in our own country some coastal areas have similarly been spoiled by over-development and poor planning.

SydneySteve: I don't remember the name of the place in Volastra. We just started walking up the main road from Manarola and it winds up and up, passing the Cinque Terre Co-Op area, several vineyards, etc. When you get to Volastra, it is just a small town of old houses and a church or two. You would never know where a restaurant is because all the houses look alike. We went walking and my (ex) fiance went over to one of the places that turned out to be the restaurant - which was closed that day! Anyway, it was a nice journey to see the place with great views of the coastline below.

While on a seafood theme, I commend the CT site www.fishnet.it for your review. There appear to be some new B&B mentioned there. I have contacted Gigante in Monterossio to check rates and availability for September. We will find the food in Volastra.

How about the Trattoria Gianni Franzi? Yes, it is a trattoria that serves wonderful local cuisine, but it also rents out guest rooms! A double with private bath costs about $90.
website: www.giannifranzi.it
address: Piazza Marconi 1, Vernazza 011-39-0187-823-003. Vernazza is my favorite of the CT, it has quite magical views.

As to the other villages in the CT-friends have recommended "Il Maestrale (Via Roma 37) in Monterosso, which is a romantic, inn with but 6 rooms, but has an open air breakfast terrace AND lovely ceiling murals. A double runs about US100 in low season.
website: www.locandailmaestrale.it/site/indexe.html

As far as restaurants in Monterosso, I can recommend two: Il Pirata-serves great seafood and pasta, and Ristorante Ciak La Lampara-the latter located on Piazza Don Minzoni.

Quite frankly, I'm not a great fan of Cinque Terre, it's been overrun by too many English-speaking tourists- in fact, you can go hike through places along the CT without hearing a word of Italian, or even seeing Italians, for that matter! Not my cup of tea. Do try the local wine though-Sciachetra-CT's sweet white raisin wine-wonderful, as only local Italian wines can be!