Now, I know I'm opening up a barrel of monkeys with this one! We're planning a 2-night stay in Cinque Terre during our honeymoon, and I'm looking for suggestions on which town (and which hotels, B&Bs etc.) to stay in. We'll be coming from Florence.

We do plan on doing a little hiking and lots of laid-back exploring - by foot, train and boat probably- while in CT. I think this will be the most "kick back and relax" part of our travels before heading to Venice for 2 days and then flying home from Venice. So, I'd really like to find a place to stay that has a little of the romance...maybe a balcony room with a water view, or really cool hill view... something nice where we can say 'yeah, this is another reason we wanted to come to Italy and have to come back again'
Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks!

What is your budget? What time of year is the trip? There is an awesome hotel in Santa Margerita Ligure, with balconies on both side of the room with views of the ocean - hotel miramar - pricey but worth it.

Curious as to why Florence and then Cinque Terre then Venice? Should be the other way around, Cinque Terre, then Florence then Venice (unless you are starting in Florence in which case it makes sense)

If you can swing it, stay at the Hotel Porto Roca in Monterosso. It has everything you're looking for.

http://www.portoroca.it/home_e.htm

Hotel Villa Steno in Monterosso for sure - we stayed there 3 nights on our honeymoon in June and it was perfect! Reasonably priced with private balacony in each room overlooking the sea. There was a little table and chairs on our balcony so we ate breakfast there every morning. The hotel is up on the hill in the middle of a flower garden and lemon grove and is just so romatic. The rooms themselves are not particularly luxurious but they have everything you will need and are immaculate. Great air conditioning too! If you type in Hotel Villa Steno in the search box you will see many rave reviews on this wonderful hotel!

Ah! Sorry, forgot the details! We'll be there Sept. 15-17 of this year (yes, next month...) Budget is around 150E/nt, though less would be much appreciated

And yes, we're starting in Florence - well, starting in Rome, actually: Rome arrival, then to Florence (day trips Pisa, Siena, maybe Lucca), then CT, then Venice and fly home from Venice. We're going pretty much south to north, I guess.

Thanks, TexasAggie - I've seen your previous posts, and Villa Steno sounds great. Do you recommend a particular room?

ez062718,

I stayed at the Villa Steno in Monterosso for 2 nights last year. I payed around $150 (but it was for a triple room). I enjoyed staying in Monterosso, and yes the private balcony (ours was more like a terrace) had great views. The rooms are very bare and plain though. For the money spent it wasn't the best value but maybe I was put off because there was a leak from the roof in my bathroom. Also, I went in November so you will have much better weather. My favorite was waking up in the morning and taking my coffee on the terrace around 7am hearing the church bell. It is an enjoyable hotel, good location since it is not on the train tracks but it is not luxurious by any means.

There are many small, nice hotels and B & B's all thru CT with terrace for under $100 a night! We prefer those to the $150-250/ night some spend. These have the local flavor, etc. and we go back twice as often.

Here are a couple good websites on the Cinque Terre to reference for further information about hotels, suggestions, etc.

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/homepage/...ommodation.htm

http://www.cinqueterre.it/

and
http://www.cinqueterreonline.com/

You can certainly find accommodations for 100 euros mid-September. Have you contacted hotels yet or do you still need to book something?

Thanks - I'll definitely check out those sites. We're still looking for a CT room (trying to nail down Florence hotels, and confirm Venice too), so suggestions are welcome. We've also heard it's common in CT for locals to ask arriving tourists if they need rooms; worst-case scenario, we'll find something on the fly or stay in a nearby town and train/boat to CT to explore.

Day trips to Pisa, Siena and maybe Lucca? Put Lucca on top of the list. Then Siena. You don't need a day trip to Pisa. What you do is you take the train from Florence to Pisa. Put your luggage in the luggage room ($2 I think) and explore Pisa for about 3 hours. Then take the train to CT. You have to switch somewhere to get from Florence to CT, it might as well be Pisa. We didn't stay in any of the 5 towns. We stayed about 45 minutes north of the northern most. An adorable town called Camogli. sigh. If you can take a train from Genoa to Venice, instead of going back to Florence, you would get to see a lot more coastal scenerey.

I have family friends in the CT and while you MAY be able to get a room on the fly, as you say, it is not always recommended as hotels are still very full in September up and down the Ligurian coast. That said, I would recommend booking a hotel now if you can. At least email several properties and have options that you can then choose from.

The best website of the ones I listed above is cinqueterre.it and you can search by village. I am going back to Monterossa al mare Sept 1st, and that town has the most variety of hotel options of the 5 towns.

In June 1999, I got off the train in Vernazza (which I'd heard is the prettiest town, and I just loved it!) and was approached by an old man asking if I needed a room, which I did. I ended up in a cute bedroom above a gelateria. My room opened onto a large, nicely decorated living room with windows overlooking the street and hillside. I think I paid $45 (I did have to share a bathroom). It was one of the best places I stayed in Italy! So yes, as long as you don't arrive late in the afternoon, you can always get an "affite camera" (sp?).

strass: A lot has changed in the Cinque Terre since 1999.....now that it is such a popular American and Aussie tourist spot. For instance, hotels were totally filled up in both Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 (end of Sept), save for 1 place in Riomaggiore. There may indeed be random affittacamere available, but I would not bank on it. That type of lodging is usually more suitable for backpackers and students. I would imagine on one's honeymoon, they would want a rather nice, but not too expensive hotel.

Huitres, I'm somewhat shocked to realize June 1999 was over five years ago!!

I found CT to already be full of tourists back then... sad to hear it's gotten even more crowded. But it's such a beautiful place, and I'm sure in September things will be a bit more low-key.