Trying to decide on where to base ourselves for 3 days in the Cinque Terre area. There is a room available at Hotel Palme in Monterosso and one at Hotel Royal Sporting in Portovenere. We have to make a decision within 72 hrs. or lose both. We thought Monterosso would be more central and easier access to everything else (restaurants, train) but think Portovenere would be more beautiful. We were concerned with spending more money on buses, trains, and ferries trying to see the other parts of CT if we are farther away in Portovenere.Any suggestions? What about the hotels? Really hoping to have a seaside view, but hard to find.

time is running out!

We stayed at the Hotel Royal Sporting when we were in Portovenere last summer. The hotel is very nice, with excellent views of the water. We had a top floor room with balcony. Nice bathroom in-suite. We loved Portovenere - the food here is fabulous! The town itself is quite lovely, and the scent of jasmine permeates the air - the stuff grows everywhere! We did not make the trip to Monterroso - we just enjoyed Portovenere, but there are boat trips that will take you to the Cinque Terre if you're interested.

topper

second vote for royal sporting in portovenere. it was a very nice little town, the hotel was fine, and it couldn't be easier to take the boat directly from the town dock to the towns of the Cinque Terre.

My experience in late April was that the boat to the CT from Portovenere was not running the day I was there because the sea was a little choppy. I had to take a very crowded bus to La Spezia to get the train to return to the CT. But if you're there for 3 days, I'm sure you'll have several opportunities to take the boat. I personally like Monterosso, and Portovenere didn't really appeal to me that much, though I must confess that I was there for a very short time and was too tired to even visit the castle, having hiked there from Riomaggiore. If you do stay there, do just the start of the hike to Riomaggiore -- some of the best views of the five-hour hike occur right at the end as you approach Portovenere (this would be the beginning of the hike for you).

Hi, Heather,<BR>I'm another one who votes for Portovenere (and Hotel Royal Sporting). July will be very different than April. We were there in mid-July and found it enchanting, while Monterosso was jammed with mostly Americans who were hiking through the C.T. I was happy to return to Portovenere, which had a relaxing air, with more European than American tourists. In July, there is a pretty frequent schedule of ferries that go to the C.T, too. But you should make reservations soon! <BR><BR>Good luck,<BR>Paule