Where to Stay in Cinque Terre
 

We are planning to spend 2 nights in the Cinque Terre region in early August and would like some advice on where to stay. We will be arriving at the Pisa airport in the late afternoon and had originally planned to spend the night and then rent a car the next day and drive to Cinque Terre. We are now considering taking a train from Pisa and spend 2 nights and then train back to Pisa in the morning, tour about and then pick up the rental car. Any opinions on our plans and suggestions for which village we should look for accommodations in? We would like to do a bit of hiking or walking the trails between a couple of the villages and then either take the train or a boat to see the rest.

I agree with the train plan, but which town is a matter of personal preference. We like Monterosso because it has an old town and a new town, and access to hiking trails and the ferry to other towns. Others vow they wouldn't stay any place but Vernazza. Your decision may be dictated by the type of accommodation you're looking for -- B&B, luxury hotel, etc.

The train is a really good option firstly because it runs often between four of the towns and secondly because you will just park up your car when you arrive ( a long way from your digs and seriously uphill for the purpose of lugging your cases around).
We stayed in Riomaggiore for two nights in Alla Marina in one of THE most enchanting locations ever
The town has a number of restaurants and we walked or caught the train or boat to the others

I love Manarola..is a very charming small village.We spent 8 days there and took day trips by train to Pisa, Portofino and other areas not too far from CT.

Consider waiting to rent the car -- it won't help much while you are in the Cinque Terre and might instead be an encumbrance.

I enjoyed my stay at La Torretta in Manarola:
http://www.torrettas.com

A third, very enthusiastic, vote for Manarola. And a second for La Torretta, despite the fact that I've never stayed there; but every time I've been to Manarola (4 times in the last 6 years), I've tried. They are booked months ahead and apparently rarely get cancellations.

That said, we loved both Marina Piccola and Ca' d'Andrean (both of which we have booked last-minute). Neither is fancy at all, but both are pleasant and comfortable. Marina Piccola is right on the water, if that is important to you. Ca' d'A is a bit of a hike from the RR, but that just means you can eat more pastries in the morning at the wonderful Aristide Cafe.

Thanks for the replies!! Glad to hear that the train is the way to travel to Cinque Terre. Does anyone know if there is a place to store luggage in Pisa? When we get back to Pisa it would be great if we could store our luggage (2 carryon bags) while we check out the main attractions and perhaps grab a bite to eat.

We are also considering going to Assisi and Orvieto (we will have 3 days before we need to be back in Rome for our flight home). Has anyone taken the train to either of those places or should we go with our first plan which was to rent a car to visit Assisi and Orvieto with a possible car drop off in Orvieto.

Train to Orvieto is easy as pie; have done it many times. And Orvieto is lovely, especially late at night and early in the morning (i.e., it's a place that you want to stay overnight, not just day-trip).

Pisa train station has a left luggage office, but I don't know the hours. I'm sure you can find out that information by googling or going on Trenitalia.

Marking