I am confused.We will be in I.R. in August with our two teenagers and we do have a car. We want to have a base home that enables us to explore the region. We don't want to be in a very quiet village because of the girls. The more I read the more confused I get. Please help. THANKS

Adeleh,<BR><BR>We were in this area last May with a car and stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure. I'd recommend it as a good base unless you are trying to use it for visiting the Cinque Terre - in that case I think SML is too far away. <BR><BR>The town is a nice size with a good selection of hotels and restaurants but it's not so big that it takes a long time to get yourself oriented. There's a lovely marina area and the city center is very pleasant for walking around. We were able to find street parking by our hotel (sometimes a couple of blocks away). There's a movie theater in town and there was a street fair one night while we were there. <BR><BR>We did day trips to Genoa, Camogli, and Portofino, very easy. Let me know if you want more info and I'll check my notes for more details.<BR><BR>Maddy<BR>

Any other suggestions? We definitely want to see CT.

Hello Adeleh,<BR><BR>If you don't want to stay in a village, my choice would be between Santa Margherita Ligure, as Maddy suggests, and nearby Rapallo, which would be quite lively in summer I think.<BR><BR>Either of these would be good bases, giving you options south to the Cinque Terre (- though these are best visited by train or boat rather than by car) and north/NW to Genova and beyond, should you wish to visit resorts west of Genova.<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

I also recommend Santa Margherita, and I think it's a good location to visit the CT towns. Just a short train ride away.