We need your input...we are planning to visit the above in early April or mid-June, 2005. What would be the better time of year? Would appreciate tips on hotels, restaurants, etc.as well. Thanks for your help. Justine

I've only visited at either end of May. June has the advantage of the ferries mostly running, whereas early April should have nearly none. But June will be hot and so miserably overcrowded that I might chance the weather in early Apr.

What is your expectation? That will determine your location, which is key.
They are more than an hour apart. Early April can be iffy and the seas can be rough.

We were thinking of staying somewhere in the middle of these two places...maybe take day trips to Portofino and Cinque Terre. What about Santa Margherita Ligure? Or Sestri Levante? As we are Florida folks, we don't want it to be too cold, as it might be in April..ha. As for expectations, we just want to explore this area of Italy....a place we don't know much about. Also, we don't want it to be crowded, as it might be in June! Thanks, Justine

Having been in the Cinque Terre year-round, YES you can take boats in April. They run nearly year-round (with the exception around Christmas and the winter season). I specifically took a boat last Easter (March) from Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre and there were several boat options going out that day and every day. April should not be a problem. The weather in February and March is cool and windy but certainly a nice respite from the hotter month of June. My vote would be for early April = less tourists and better weather!

P.S. Meant to add that boats don't run when the waves are too choppy, and in cold season. April is spring time and the boats do run then, as mentioned above. Whatever you decide, have a great time!

Ah, yes... I also wondered where to stay along that long stretch recently...

SML is pretty good, although may often take a train change to get to southern CT. Portofino is overpriced and doesn't appeal to me anyway except for it's shoreline trails.

I took a quick look at Rapallo, which looked pleasant but not much more central than SML and possibly more down market.

A few moments in Sestre Levante left an impression of a hideous town (WW2
damaged?) but a very pretty section on distant shore.

From the train station, Levanto looked spread out and not so walker friendly. The northern 2 towns of CT are famous, but I would avoid their crowding in June. The lower towns seem more attractive but the furthest from SML, etc. I might expand the range north to charming Camogli. You may want to break it up into 2 hotel bases anyway.

On the ferry schedules, the web pages say Easter weekend is a special case with full service. There are other spring weekends with partial service, but advertised service only slowly ramps up thru May and June, with some routes only starting July/Aug. But reality can give more or less ferries than scheduled. I have experienced no-show scheduled ferry days in perfect, smooth weather in May. April shows very, very few runs scheduled except around holidays.

We have decided on Deiva Marina in September - 17 minutes by train to Monterosso and about 30 to Ste Margherita. As well as the well known CT walks we will walk St M to portofino and the Portofino Park area. I understand there is a cable car that operates from Rapallo to a point where you can hike along a great trail back toward CT. We are arranging detailed maps of the area.

Justine,

I would opt for April! June will be very crowded, and even April on a pleasant weekend can be wall-to-wall Italian "daytrippers".

We went to the CT in March (not over Easter)several years ago, and arrived on a Sunday afternoon---what a mistake!! Monterrosso al Mare was so crowded that you had to wind your way through the hordes of humanity on the boardwalk and in the small streets of the old town. There was barely room to stand on the train platforms without being jostled about.

By Sunday night, the streets had cleared and the CT of Rick Steves' descriptions was back --- peaceful and almost undiscovered.

If possible, I would recommend timing your visit during the week and avoiding the crowds of Saturday and Sunday. (The same applies for Portofino)

When we visited in March the weather was very pleasant;however, there were no ferries running between the villages.

A previous poster's recommendation for Camogli sounds like a good alternative base.

In Monterroso al Mare, we heartily recommend the Il Pirato restaurant. Filled with locals at dinner and very reasonable prices--lovely dining room and outdoor patio seating. (Directions:
With your back to the entrance ramp to the parking jetty located at the shoreline, walk straigt up the street directly in front of you for about 50 yards. The restaurant is on the right.

I think you'll really like this area. We went on our first trip there with friends from Germany. They had a friend who had an apartment up in the hills above the town of Lavagna. The house was built originally as a small house for the people who mined slate, and was built of stacked slate covered now with stucco. The veiw from the patio (covered with kiwi vines and fruit) was incredible, from the Portofino Penn. to Sestri Lavanti.

The next time we went (to take the children), we stayed in the town of Lavagna which has a train stop so there was easy access to all other seaside towns. We were the only Americans in the town as this area is mostly a tourist destination for Italians. We stayed at the Hotel Tigulio which was a very nice, older hotel run by two sisters. There's a very nice restaurant on the 'square' with wonderful local dishes including dishes with pesto - my favorite! In fact, the pasta store in town sold pesto so we would buy a pint of pesto and a pack of crackers and were in heaven!

Our favorite local outing was going to a local 'Communist Party' Party. It cost $5 to get in which included a wonderful dinner, all the local wine you could drink, and a dance with a local band. It was held outside in the woods and there were lots of men grilling meat out back on hand-made spits. It was a wonderful evening (even though I'm sure the FBI has us on file somewhere!).

Ciao . . .

Further thoughts on my favorite coastline:

I hate to contradict my hero huitres on ferry runs; there must be some explanation that accounts for both sides of story. Maybe the ferry crews decide whether to go somewhat on an opportunistic basis. If the fishing is good, skip the ferry run. If fishing bad, run the ferry even if unscheduled? huitres Italian info is normally the most on-target I've ever seen (especially opinions on what's best).

Also if visiting during June, suggest including Portovenere and Lerici which is convenient only by boat. Lerici is like Portofino before it became a caricature of itself.

To confuse you, I would vote for June. The weather will be better and it is not that crowed. I have been there twice, both times in June and it was quite pleasant. Two years ago we did the hikes between the towns and there were not a lot of people hiking. April can be rainy. Have fun.

Hi Viking: Thank you for your compliments! Re: the boat runs, I would have to concur with your reasonings. I think it is the typical Italian "do-whatever" m.o. I am speaking from experience as my Italian ex-fiance who lives in the CT owns several boats and is out on the water all throughout the year (good or bad weather). At Easter (March), we hopped on a '5Terre' boat from Riomaggiore to Portovenere, then took it back up to Monterosso al Mare. The weather was very windy and the seas choppy, but the boats felt like running that day - go figure! They aren't very consistent, but isn't that how all things are in Italy anyway? We still love the place and the people nonetheless. As a default, one can always catch the local CT trains if the waters are too rough for the boats.

Lerici is a great place to visit and is also accessible via bus and walking (not just by boat). We took the train into La Spezia, caught a local bus outside the station to Lerici. After getting out at the waterfront, we proceeded to walk the entire length of the curving bay to the other end. It was lovely. I think Lerici has remained unjaded - I agree with you -- so much different from what has become of Portofino.

Have a look at www.fishnet.it and follow the links to the boat schedules and timetables as well as the other great links that appear on that site.