where to stay Cinque Terre
 

Hi,
We are planning a trip in June to Italy and we would like to explore Cinque Terre. We are planning three full days and would probably want to do some hiking everyday. I need some advice on where to stay. I'm looking at air bnb/homeaway and don't see much in the villages themselves but more in surrounding areas like La Spezia, Dosso, Levanto, Lerici, and Casa VanCanze. Any advice would be welcomed!

Most of those seaside towns are really neat too and no doubt less mobbed than CT - I've never stayed in CT itself but on three occasions day tripped in by train and it was fine. But, some folks like to savor CT towns when day trippers have left. No doubt you can more for your euro outside CT. Anway trains are the way to get there - check Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia for schedules - general info www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. If driving Monterosso has the best access and parking lots in town.

I enjoyed my stay in Monterosso very much. The train station is well-located near the town center with no huge hills to lug things up & down. I found the town very pleasant with seemingly more in the way of shops & restaurants than the other villages I saw as we went from village to village along the paths. If I went again I'd stay there again.

I enjoyed Manarola, but wasn't looking for an apartment.

Corniglia (quiet) or Monterosso (the best of the 5 towns).

"Best" by what criteria?

Monterosso is certainly with Riomaggiore which few talk about but can make a nice place to stay too the most commercial towns of the 5. And with direct trains a convenient railhead and with large parking lots good for motorists and it also has the best (well about only sandy) beach - one that was once named one of the best in Italy by some rating (not sure it lives up to that however but is sandy.

Though I have not stayed in CT but just done day trips there Corniglia seemed inviting because it is kind of an Italian hill town that spills down to the sea. In think Vernazza and Manarola are the most popular and crowded perhaps. But you can't go wrong.

When I said "...with no huge hills..." I meant between the center of town and the train station. There are certainly hills, our apartment was up a wide public stairway but still close to the center, I thought a perfect location. One cannot avoid hills, obviously, but getting to the train to get from one part of the coast to another from Monterosso is a piece of cake, all things relative. It is also, I believe, the largest of these small towns, I thought a definite advantage. For just a day, it might not matter much, but I think for 3 days it has advantages.

Manarola is my favorite

Thanks all for your input.. it seems Monterosso and Manarola deserve a closer look!

We ate the best there. There's more to see (it's a bit bigger). We enjoyed hanging out there after dark. Each town has its own character (though the 2 southernmost towns, IMO, you could just give a miss). The best hike is Corniglia to Vernazza. But I felt the dining options in Vernazza were the most tourist-trappy.

@ ibobi -- thanks for clarifying! I suspect that many of our reactions depended on when we were there (year, time of year, time of day) and where, exactly, we ate. I had two excellent dinners in Manarola (which I thought very charismatic and more "classically" representative of the region than the other towns because of its geography) and an extraordinary late lunch in Vernazza, all in October of 2002. (OMG, it's been THAT long!!! :omg: )

We hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia. I loved it and so glad we were able to do it on a sunny, not hot day. Slippy when wet. We had a long flight into Florence and then took the train to La Spezia where we stayed in an apartment. Hotel Crismar, we had the two bedroom apartment. Four of us and we loved it. We took the ferry in the morning and stopped where we wanted but at that time the trail was open from Vernazza so went there, ate lunch and hiked. We took the train back. La Spezia was a good place for us and we enjoyed the port area at night.

Is the Via dell'Amore Riomaggiore-Corniglia open yet - seaside walkway that is broad boardwalk and closed recently?

One must think most restaurants in CT villages tourist-oriented because of so few Italian there? does not mean not good.

Day tripping CT is big mistake in my opinion, but that has been argued many times

I would be happy with any of the five villages, I'd base my decision on accommodation.

We stayed here in Vernazza, if you want a water view you couldn't ask for more
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1155779

Same place, more pictures
https://www.cinqueterreriviera.com/d...talin-terrace/

Mediocre video I shot from balcony

I would not want to day trip to Cinque Terre but stay in one of the five villages. What each like is subjective. For example Monterosso and Riomaggiore are my least favorite. Monterosso is too flat and not as beautiful in my opinion. But it depends what one is looking for.

Hi all,
I ended up booking in the village of Riomaggiore heeding advice about staying in one of the villages. I will probably do a bit more research since we have a window of time to cancel. We are a family of 6 so that limits us as well. La spezia seems to have the most choices with more bang for the buck.and several of those places are a very short walk to the train station. I would welcome any input on Riomaggiore or La Speczia. Thanks again for everyone's advice!

If you have any young children, Manarola has a nice playground near spectacular views.

Hotel Crismar, I posted above. We wanted room for four adults, we had a two bedroom apartment in La Spezia. We got the 9 am ferry, we were able to see the villages from the water, were able to get off and on again when we wanted till we hiked and then missed the last boat back but no problem as the train was close by. I would just do train next visit but still didn't mind staying in La Spezia as we were training from Florence. We stayed two nights so was enough time. They might let a family of 6 stay in the two bedroom apartment. Plenty of room with nice kitchen, close to train and places to eat in the village.