We stayed in a lovely apartment rented by Cinque Terre Riviera in Monterosso al Mare in January 2025. However, we give this apartment rental company a low rating because they gave us a non-existing address to go to at first. We only found out after walking, with several suitcases, for about 20 min. on a cold winter day with stress from the LA wildfires threatening our home. We then had to call the company for instructions and walk 20-25 min. back the same way! We got to the apartment, where the heater did not work. We were instead given a FABULOUS apartment with a view, so that was great, but the initial troubles were a lot. We tried to check out early as our home was located very close to the Los Angeles wildfires, but were only told "safe travels". No understanding. No response to simple request to mail forgotten glasses to a local address. Company NOT recommended. Go with another reputable one. read more

The Cinque Terre Riviera is comprised of 5 beautiful small coastal towns nestled between the mountains connected by hiking trails, train stops,and boat ferry stops. I highly suggest the train as its quickest if you wish to see all 5 towns in 1 or 2 days but if you have a couple days, I highly recommend the hiking trails as you can catch some beautiful mountain views of the towns and work off all that amazing Italian food! It takes between 3-25 min to get between each of the towns via train. Trains leave about every 30 min. Here are my rankings of the 5 small coastal towns from least favorite to most favorite: #5 Corniglia is the smallest town of Cinque Terre. She's built far above the ocean on the cliffs so it's a bit harder to get any good scenic photos of this location unless you can snag a shot from a distant hiking trail. To arrive in Corniglia you've gotta huff up the 365 steps to reach the center of town. If you have excessive luggage my advice is to not stay here. However, you should come here if you want to get away from it all. #4 Riomaggiore has one main street, a small harbor, a rocky beach, a castle, a church, a pharmacy, and a handful of restaurants. It is the closest to the main city of La Spezia where you can catch the train and has plenty of train connections to the different towns. #3 Vernazza is the beauty queen of Cinque Terre. She's incredibly photogenic! From the hiking trail you can get an amazing shot of Vernazza surrounded by water. Vernazza is a one-street town with a church built on the water. It has a castle, the remains of the old wall that protected against pirates, and a gorgeous waterfront piazza. #2 Manarola is the second village, just north of Riomaggiore. It is also a one-street town, with a small cove in the harbor where you can swim. It is where the most famous Cinque Terre photos are taken from with a view of the cliffs and the water. It's very similar to Riomaggiore, but has a more grown-up, chill vibe. This is by far my favorite town as I loved the feeling of the one street leading directly to the water with its cobblestone streets, small vendors and colorful homes clinging to the cliffside. #1 Monterosso al Mare is the northernmost village of Cinque Terre. She's the biggest kid in the family, and has many streets and even a few cars driving around there. Monterosso is made up of an old town, a new town, lots of sandy beaches, some larger hotels and a long seaside promenade suitable for strollers too. If you want to avoid stairs and have a more resort feel to your vacation, then you should stay here. Cinque Terre has a national park, is considered as a protected waterway,a Unesco World Heritage site, and vehicle traffic is restricted inside the villages. There are no big hotels in any of the 5 towns, only small inns, bead and breakfasts and rentals. If you're in Italy and love hiking and quaint walkable unspoiled small Italian towns, Cinque Terre Riviera is a must see! read more

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Absolutely no hot water and no remedy to the problem, no plumber not new accommodations or offering tontake showers elsewhere. What a disappointment. Wish I could give no stars. read more