Riviera towns to Stay? Camogli, Levanto, Manarola, Moneglia? Help!
 

We want to spend 3- 4 nights exploring not only the Cinque Terre, but the hiking area between Camogli and Portofino, a boat to Portovenere possibly and Moneglia also seems like a possible hidden gem- I really wanted to stay in the Castle associated with Villa Edera, but it was booked. We are off the beaten path, hidden-gem seekers. My husband paints- he's preparing for an art opening in July and is looking forward to doing a lot on this trip! I love the idea of a beach if I'm feeling tired- a place for a nice swim but not resorty- authentic perhaps like Portofino was oh so many years ago. Thanks!

We stayed in Camogli a couple years ago as a base for the CT and that area and loved it. I personnaly enjoyed Camogli more than the CT towns. I highly recommend it.

Hi

We also stayed in Camogli as a base for exploration of the area. It is a genuine Italian beach town. It is about 45 minutes to the CT from there by train. That said, I think the next time we will stay in Santa Margerita Ligure.

We stayed in Levanto, which is a small, Riviera feeling resort town. It's only a 5 minute ride to CT from here. The best part is the hiking trail from Levanto to Monterosso is very untravelled, and just as scenic as the actual CT trails. Levanto has a nice beach, some very good restaurants, and even a small casino. Lots of Italians vacation here (it was Musolini's favorite), but almost no Americans.

I liked Santa Marguerita Ligure. Convenient location, nice atmosphere, beautiful vistas and plenty of decent hotels, restaurants and cafes. But it's not a "off the beaten path, hidden-gem" by any means.

Liked Levanto too, and especially the hike between it and Monterosso. Not as crowded as the other hikes.

We have stayed in Camogli and S.M.L. and in our opinion SML is by far the best! If we go back we will definitely be staying in SML.
It is a beautiful small town but has choices for restaurants, hotels etc.

We stayed in Camogli because Portofino was so expensive. We loved Camogli so much that we never made it to Portifino anyway. We stayed at the Cenobio Dei Dogi Hotel right on the waterfront. 4 star and very nice. We took day trips to CT like others and did the hikes. Camogli was one of the least touristy cities I visited in Italy. It was more authentic in my opinion.

thanks, everyone. those of you who stayed in levanto, which inn did you stay in?

we are thinking this would be a better base than camogli, though we may go there for a night or a full day trip- i want to do that nice long hike around to portofino.
thanks again, kelley
ps- is there a decent beach in camogli?

Hi

We also stayed at the Cenobio Dei Dogi Hotel. While they have their own beach, there are a couple of 'beach clubs' there. You might have to pay for entry but, they will give you chairs, changing areas, showers and probably a snack bar. Remember, the beaches have small rocks not sand. Bring your water shoes! You'll love the Riviera, enjoy.

We stayed in Sestri Levante, and liked it very much. You may want to try Portovenere as well...it is quaint and beautiful.

Stayed in Santa Marguerita 2 yrs ago at Hotel Continental and loved it. The town was the perfect location for Cinque Terre and there are many choices for hotels,b&b---a friend of mine stayed at Villa Gnocchi last year and said it was great.