Has anyone stayed in this area? Looking at trip next month and can't decide on which town to stay in. Looking for sea side and photographic areas. Like Vernazzo, Manarola and monterossa (probably have the spelling butchered in all of these but have been tasting Italian wines all night so not motivated to look them up for correct spelling). Any area you like and why? Any lodging rec? We have a car but don't plan on driving after we park it at hotel as we enjoy the vino. We also still need to book room in Venice and outside Milan near airport area so looking for suggestions. Got Sienna covered. Thanks.

Has anyone stayed in this area? Looking at trip next month and can't decide on which town to stay in. Looking for sea side and photographic areas. Like Vernazzo, Manarola and monterossa (probably have the spelling butchered in all of these but have been tasting Italian wines all night so not motivated to look them up for correct spelling). Any area you like and why? Any lodging rec? We have a car but don't plan on driving after we park it at hotel as we enjoy the vino. We also still need to book room in Venice and outside Milan near airport area so looking for suggestions. Got Sienna covered. Thanks.

The only area you're going to where I have stayed in a hotel is Venice. There are a multitude of great hotels there. It really just depends on what kind of price you are looking for. My Italy experience in hotels is limited to Venice, Florence, and Rome.

Hard to go wrong it that area - the towns are all pretty well connected. If you're staying very long, consider an apartment. You can get really exceptional accommodations for less expense than a hotel, particularly in Italy.

If your flight schedule permits, you should really consIder staying in Stresa. Beautiful town on Lake Maggiore. You can hire a private driver to transport you to and from the airport in Milan. If I recall correctly, it's less than an hour. Plus, staying in the lake region is a far better experience than Milan, which is a pretty typical big city.

I would recommend staying in Vernazza.

I'll look up where I stayed there and post later.

I thought the towns didnt allow cars. I believe I stayed in Manarola, cant quite remember. But it was in the middle and had the most beach of all the villages. But when I say beach it is really small pebbles, no sand. I recommend hiking to and through all the towns as that will give you the most picturesque scenes.

As for lodging, I think I booked through hostelworld.com

The food (pesto, seafood) and wine is amazing there.

The only area you're going to where I have stayed in a hotel is Venice. There are a multitude of great hotels there. It really just depends on what kind of price you are looking for. My Italy experience in hotels is limited to Venice, Florence, and Rome.

I am fairly flexible on price 200-600 night range. Can't decide where to stay as far as area. Close to Rialto bridge and St mark's area or further up the main canal. Off canal or close to it. I like this one:
Ruzzini Palace Hotel Venice, Italy - Hotel Deals, Reviews and Photos | Venere.com (http://www.venere.com/hotels/venice/ruzzini-palace-hotel/?sd=11&sm=6&sy=2014&ed=13&em=6&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1) Ruzzino Palace but looks like it is a ways off the main path but also says only 300 meters from Rialto Bridge. This one: Hotel Carlton On The Grand Canal Venice, Italy - Hotel Deals, Reviews and Photos | Venere.com (http://www.venere.com/hotels/venice/hotel-carlton-on-the-grand-canal/?sd=11&sm=6&sy=2014&ed=13&em=6&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1#location) also looks good (Hotel Carlton) but is on the far end of the canal away from everything. At least I am assuming everything...I have never been there. Is all of Venice a great area to be? Is it really easy to get around no matter where you are at?

Definitely not staying in Milan. Am looking at other towns in area. We have rental car and flight isn't until 1030 am so as long as in the area...no worries. Will look at Stresa.

Cinque Terre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre)

You really can't drive a car into there and I don't know where you'd park it if you did. I'd highly recommend taking the train not just here, but everywhere in Italy. A car is more of a liability than anything else and the train will take you everywhere you want to go.

Monterosso is the farthest north and most commercial of the 5 villages, but also IMO the least charming.

I stayed in Vernazza which has several small restaurants and shops -- just enough but not too much. The three villages to the south are smaller and don't have as good of beach access as the two to the north.

I remember I got my room just by showing up in town and asking around. There is one main "street" leading from the train station to the cove and everything is along that little route. I absolutely loved the place I stayed... Modest but clean and up one of the many ancient, tiny alleys.

You can take the train or ferry between the five towns but I highly recommend taking the hiking trails that link them all. It's narrow in parts but absolutely gorgeous. You can hike to the end then take the train back.

From there, it's easy to hop the train to Pisa, which is worth a brief visit.

What time frame are you going? Keep in mind that most Italians take vacation during the month of August and a LOT of businesses, etc. shut down. Keep in mind that the hot season is not the most enjoyable season in Venice smell-wise.

Venice is very compact so anywhere you stay it's easy to get to the places you'll want to see.

Depending on the time you have available and how far west you are interested in travelling, there's a fantastic Egyptian artifacts museum in Torino (the second largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the world).

Cinque Terre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre)

You really can't drive a car into there and I don't know where you'd park it if you did. I'd highly recommend taking the train not just here, but everywhere in Italy. A car is more of a liability than anything else and the train will take you everywhere you want to go.

Monterosso is the farthest north and most commercial of the 5 villages, but also IMO the least charming.

I stayed in Vernazza which has several small restaurants and shops -- just enough but not too much. The three villages to the south are smaller and don't have as good of beach access as the two to the north.

I remember at got my room just by showing up in town and asking around. There is one main "street" leading from the train station to the cove and everything is along that little route. I absolutely loved the place I stayed... Humble but clean and up one of the many ancient, tiny alleys.

You can take the train or ferry between the five towns but I highly recommend taking the hiking trails that links them all. It's narrow in parts but absolutely gorgeous. You can hike to the end then take the train back.

From there, it's easy to hop the train to Pisa, which is worth a brief visit.

Thanks for link. I was looking at that yesterday. I am leaning towards Vernazza for the photo appeal as I want to do some early sunrise work and that is the main area I want to shoot in.

We looked at the train but wife wants to do day trips and various stops as well as I need the ability to stop and or back track for photos. We plan on parking the car and walking in Cingue De Terra. There are a few hotels that offer parking and it appears there are some car parks outside of town. We are hitting Pisa on way up to Milan area.

What time of the year were you there? My friends did the same as far as just asking around for room but that worries me as we are going in the high season.

I was there in the middle of summer -- their peak season -- and had no problem at all.

I found Vernazza to be my favorite village by far, and there are amazing photography vistas all around, especially if you take the hikes or the ferry.

Here is where I stayed; I scanned this and I was there several years ago, so I don't know if anything has changed since:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/vernazza.jpg

Looks like it's still going strong:

Trattoria Gianni Franzi (Vernazza, Italy - Cinque Terre) - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187822-d309912-Reviews-Trattoria_Gianni_Franzi-Vernazza_Cinque_Terre_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html )

And here are all the top rated Vernazza accommodations per Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g187822-c2-Vernazza_Cinque_Terre_Italian_Riviera_Liguria-Hotels.html

You are going to love the Cinque Terre, my wife and I went in '08 and loved the swimming, hiking, and of course, eating. We opted for Manarola since it offered restaurant options (just a very few), affordable accommodations and a place to access the water. Here is the place we stayed, a little apartment Arpaiu, 5 Terre - rooms, B&B, Hotel (http://www.arpaiu.com/english.html) Would for sure stay there again. Vernazza is very charming, I could see staying there as well and might next time.

Exploring the towns via hiking is great and moderately challenging. It can be hot and dusty in the summer, but the views are terrific. We hiked from Manarola to Monterosso, took the ferry back to the first town in the east, Riomaggiore, and walked the very easy paved path back west to Manarola. It was one of our best days in Italy. Have fun!

I am fairly flexible on price 200-600 night range. Can't decide where to stay as far as area. Close to Rialto bridge and St mark's area or further up the main canal. Off canal or close to it. I like this one:
Ruzzini Palace Hotel Venice, Italy - Hotel Deals, Reviews and Photos | Venere.com (http://www.venere.com/hotels/venice/ruzzini-palace-hotel/?sd=11&sm=6&sy=2014&ed=13&em=6&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1) Ruzzino Palace but looks like it is a ways off the main path but also says only 300 meters from Rialto Bridge. This one: Hotel Carlton On The Grand Canal Venice, Italy - Hotel Deals, Reviews and Photos | Venere.com (http://www.venere.com/hotels/venice/hotel-carlton-on-the-grand-canal/?sd=11&sm=6&sy=2014&ed=13&em=6&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1#location) also looks good (Hotel Carlton) but is on the far end of the canal away from everything. At least I am assuming everything...I have never been there. Is all of Venice a great area to be? Is it really easy to get around no matter where you are at?

Definitely not staying in Milan. Am looking at other towns in area. We have rental car and flight isn't until 1030 am so as long as in the area...no worries. Will look at Stresa.

This is where I stayed in Venice.

Hotel Londra Palace Venice - Relais & Chateaux near San Marco Square (http://www.londrapalace.com/en/)

It's in a great location. Rates could start at around $500.00 per night.

Got everything booked and head out Monday morning. Here is what we ended up with. We are flying into London and spending the night there. Not what we planned but I used miles to upgrade and there weren't any upgrade tickets into Venice or Milan. No worries as London is one of our favorite cities so we will go visit my wife's bridge (Tower), get a kebab and a decent pint. The next day we Easyjet to Venice where we ended up booking a private apartment for three days. It is between St Marks and Rialto Bridge. Then we get the rental car and head to Siena for three days. Booked a all day wine tour through the Chianti region with a driver so I am not drinking and driving. Then off to Vernazza in Cinque Terra for three days. Thanks Pete and Celebrator for the heads up on Vernazza. It looks like the perfect place to get photos and stay for a few nights. (Please feel free to pm me any more tips on the area). For the last night, we head up to a small village two miles from the Milan airport.

I have been a big fan of traveling light for years but trying to do this trip with basically a carry on. Three sets of quick dry no iron clothes and that's it. Will fly on the plane with clothes that I don't wear anymore and they will be disposed of in London. Bought a good pair of Keen hiking shoes that do not look like sneakers and can pass for a casual dress shoe if we go for nicer dinner. My camera gear will weigh more than my clothing. My wife is trying it also. I told her when we got married that I would take her all over the world but as far as luggage...if she couldn't carry it, it didn't go. She has gotten pretty good at traveling with just one small to medium size bag.

Safe travels and have a great time. Ciao!

Sounds like a great trip - enjoy!

[QUOTE=Jeepnokc;796366I have been a big fan of traveling light for years but trying to do this trip with basically a carry on. Three sets of quick dry no iron clothes and that's it. Will fly on the plane with clothes that I don't wear anymore and they will be disposed of in London. Bought a good pair of Keen hiking shoes that do not look like sneakers and can pass for a casual dress shoe if we go for nicer dinner. My camera gear will weigh more than my clothing. My wife is trying it also. I told her when we got married that I would take her all over the world but as far as luggage...if she couldn't carry it, it didn't go. She has gotten pretty good at traveling with just one small to medium size bag.[/QUOTE]

Jeep - what is the typical daytime attire you see around Cinque Terra? Short of church touring limitations, did you see a fair amount of shorts / t-shirts on guys?

Jeep - what is the typical daytime attire you see around Cinque Terra? Short of church touring limitations, did you see a fair amount of shorts / t-shirts on guys?

Hi Positano

I went a few years ago.
During the day shorts' t shirt. At night shorts and polo.
Laid back type of place. Make sure to take shoes for hiking from town to town.
It's beautiful!

Have fun

Jeep - what is the typical daytime attire you see around Cinque Terra? Short of church touring limitations, did you see a fair amount of shorts / t-shirts on guys?

We get there tomorrow. One last night tonight in Siena. I have basically worn short sleeve collar shirts day and evening. Shorts during the day and long pants at night. No issues anywhere. However, most Italians do not really wear shorts so definitely look more like a foreigner in shorts. You will see them in capris or as they would say on friends.....manpris

Haha experienced the same in London a few years back. They were having unseasonable weather near 90 in April and people were dropping like flies in their wool slacks and whatever else they like to wear. I was in cargo shorts and Merrell trail runners and stuck out like a sore thumb...but eff that. Shorts it was.

Be wary of the Tren Italia service connecting the five points! Make sure it's functioning before you buy the day pass.

If you get a chance Genoa and Milan are really cool, bustling, urban cities. There is so much in Northern Italy.

Thanks folks! Consistent with what I have experienced in other parts of coastal Italy. I'm sorry, and I know they are popular (and I'm not judging!), but me and the capris just don't quite work.

I have been a big fan of traveling light for years but trying to do this trip with basically a carry on. Three sets of quick dry no iron clothes and that's it. Will fly on the plane with clothes that I don't wear anymore and they will be disposed of in London. Bought a good pair of Keen hiking shoes that do not look like sneakers and can pass for a casual dress shoe if we go for nicer dinner. My camera gear will weigh more than my clothing. My wife is trying it also. I told her when we got married that I would take her all over the world but as far as luggage...if she couldn't carry it, it didn't go. She has gotten pretty good at traveling with just one small to medium size bag.

This. So much this.