Where to stay Cinque Terre?

[tassietravellers]

Prior to starting our cruise from Venice in June next year we would like to stay 4 -5 nights in this area, but so many towns..wheres the best, would love suggestions please.

we are also planning a few days in Florence as well.

thanks Deb

[kuldalai]

Whilst you can stay in one of the five villages of the CT you will end up lugging bags up some pretty steep streets and steps .

 

Best bet is to stay in La Spezia . We like Hotel Firenze & Continental opposite the station . Book a room in the old front section . From La Spezia by train you are 10 minutes to the nearest village Riomaggiore and 20 minutes to the furthest at Monterosso on the CT. Also based in La Spezia you are 30 minutes by bus P from Portovenere, and within easy short trip distance by train to Pisa, and Lucca (requires a change of trains at Viareggio).

 

Book direct via Hotel website to avoid paying middleman commissions .

[tassietravellers]

Whilst you can stay in one of the five villages of the CT you will end up lugging bags up some pretty steep streets and steps .

 

Best bet is to stay in La Spezia . We like Hotel Firenze & Continental opposite the station . Book a room in the old front section . From La Spezia by train you are 10 minutes to the nearest village Riomaggiore and 20 minutes to the furthest at Monterosso on the CT. Also based in La Spezia you are 30 minutes by bus P from Portovenere, and within easy short trip distance by train to Pisa, and Lucca (requires a change of trains at Viareggio).

 

Book direct via Hotel website to avoid paying middleman commissions .

 

Thanks so much, this is exactly the sort of information I was looking for

[CruiserBruce]

Agree with the advice if you are lugging a lot of bags. We went with carry on bags only. If you are doing that, lots of places to stay. Depends on your tastes and budget.

[Hlitner]

So, consider the pros and cons. La Spezia is the closest real city (as opposed to a small village) with its share of hotels and inns. But (the big but) you are not staying in Cinque Terre but rather in a nearby small city. Staying in one of the villages of Cinque Terre is something special. When most of the day trippers are long gone (and some back in their hotels in La Spezia) you can roam the village with no crowds, enjoy a lazy dinner at a locally owned restaurant, etc. But the downside is you do not find large hotels (perhaps that is a plus) in these villages. Many of the inns in the villages are quite small, owned and operated by local families who have lived in these villages for many generations, and can enhance the entire experience. But as has been posted, you are going to be dealing with steps (no elevators) and probably having to carry your own luggage. As to which village, our preference is Riomaggiore because it is easy to get to (you can drive and park at that village) and it has a good choice of accomodations and restaurants.

 

Hank

[tassietravellers]

Thanks Bruce and Hank

 

We don't mind having to carry our luggage, we try to pack reasonably light, we will only have to carry them to and from the train, I'm sure it'd be worth the effort.

 

We very much prefer the small family run hotel experience, over the large big name ones. Especially the small European ones!

 

Having the place to ourselves after all the crowds have gone sounds good to me :-)

 

Its been somewhere I've wanted to go for so long, I think if we don't stay in one of the villages it'll be something I'll regret.

[maryann ns]

We drove to Vernazza in 2011 and parked at the top of the village. There is a road up there between most of the villages. We rolled our luggage down the hill into the village and stopped at Il Pirate which we had heard was lots of fun and they could help us find a room. They did just that and flagged someone to lead us on down the hill to a lovely room (yes up a flight of stairs) overlooking the main street. It was wonderful to be there late in the evening and early in the morning.

 

http://www.ilpiratarooms.com/eng_home.html

 

We got there early enough that if we could not find a room we could have gone on to another village. As you can tell, it was a memorable evening.

[slidergirl]

I stayed in Vernazza with a BFF and her hubby back a few years. She booked an apartment for us. It was on the 2nd floor (3rd to the US folks) of a building right on the main walkway. It was across from the grocery, salumeria, and bakery - made for a very easy shopping trip for dinner!

I would not hesitate to recommend staying anywhere in Vernazza! When the daytrippers would leave, the town was very enjoyable - sit outside on the breakwater for a late afternoon sharing of a bottle of wine, unrushed dinners, and quiet. In the daytime, easy to hit the train to another village for more adventure.

We enjoyed Il Pirata. Good breakfast (the hubby liked his full breakfasts, my BFF and I would just do espresso and one of their excellent Sicilian pastries), and we had 2 nice dinners there (go for the food, NOT the atmosphere, as it is at the top of the hill next to the parking lot and has no view of anything). Also enjoyed a good lunch at Vulnetia (our apartment owner was part of the family that owns Vulnetia) - turned my friend onto risotto for the first time and the hubby had an excellent place of trofie e pesto (the local Ligurian pasta and "sauce").

[mocrimlaw]

I would HIGHLY recommend the Hotel Porto Roca in Monterosso. It was our absolute favorite hotel of our 2 week trip to northern Italy. The views are spectacular of the sea. The restaurant has an antipasta buffet for 10 euros that was plenty for your whole meal and was so delicious! I still dream about that hotel and would love to return.

[marazul]

We stayed at the Hotel Palme in Monterosso. About half a block back from the "giant." Four stars. Great location and parking on the premises. It is on the Fegina side of Monterosso which means you can drive straight down to the hotel.

[tassietravellers]

Thanks so much everyone, you have given us plenty to think about :)

[houtbay]

Thanks so much everyone, you have given us plenty to think about :)

 

We stayed in an apartment on via Roma in Vernazza across from the bakery.

Night time is amazing and to wake early morning before the crowds arrive and enjoy a walk is worth the effort with your bags. Actually the guy who owned the apartment we stayed in met us at the train station and carried our bags to the 3rd floor and on leaving carried them back to the station. We set off for our hikes at first light to visit other villages. Enjoy

[tassietravellers]

We stayed in an apartment on via Roma in Vernazza across from the bakery.

Night time is amazing and to wake early morning before the crowds arrive and enjoy a walk is worth the effort with your bags. Actually the guy who owned the apartment we stayed in met us at the train station and carried our bags to the 3rd floor and on leaving carried them back to the station. We set off for our hikes at first light to visit other villages. Enjoy

 

thank you, sounds great, I will check that out :-)

[paluni]

We stayed in Vernazza at a little pensione not far from the station. Vernaza was the least steep of the villages (not counting Corniglia on the cliff, which we didn't see). I didn't think it was particularly steep. That would be my choice. Or Monterosso, which also wasn't so steep. I loved the whole area and would be happy to go back.

[milolii]

We stayed in an apartment on via Roma in Vernazza across from the bakery.

 

Night time is amazing and to wake early morning before the crowds arrive and enjoy a walk is worth the effort with your bags. Actually the guy who owned the apartment we stayed in met us at the train station and carried our bags to the 3rd floor and on leaving carried them back to the station. We set off for our hikes at first light to visit other villages. Enjoy

 

 

Great information, everyone. Do you have information on this apartment? Thanks.