Italy - Cinque Terre & Lake Garda

olaola

We're travelling around Italy and I've booked most of our accomodation except Lake Garda & Cinque Terre.

Has anyone any tips of where to stay - hotels/B&Bs/towns? Lake Garda seems to have so many little villages and I don't know which one to pick! And finding a spot in the Cinque Terre is harder than I thought

Jumpy

You will understand when you get there

Its not somewhere that you can really stay easily. Its pretty much built on cliffs.
There is one town significantly larger than the others - Monterosso I think, this might be your best bet to find a hotel.
Dont stay at the nearby port city unless you can avoid it I cant remember the name of it, but its a hole, we drove through it.
A b&b might be a good idea if you are looking to stay.

This is about the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) though, I dont know about lake Garda.

Unshelved

Dont stay at the nearby port city unless you can avoid it I cant remember the name of it, but its a hole, we drove through it.

La Spezia - a dump - avoid. Monterosso would probably be your best bet. We stayed in a B&B in Vernazza - just walked into a bar and asked if they knew of any and they took us to one. It was fine - if a bit basic. Cinque Terre is really beautiful and it's great fun walking from one village to the next - or taking the boat if you're lazy. Monterosso would probably be best if you have a car because parking is probably better there - the rest of the villages are tiny. Check out tripadvisor.com or fodors.com for hotels.

Only downside to Cinque Terre is that everywhere closes really early (like a lot of Italy). We had problems finding a bar that opened after 10.30. Food is fantastic though.

dak

olaola wrote: »

We're travelling around Italy and I've booked most of our accomodation except Lake Garda & Cinque Terre.

Has anyone any tips of where to stay - hotels/B&Bs/towns? Lake Garda seems to have so many little villages and I don't know which one to pick! And finding a spot in the Cinque Terre is harder than I thought

Try looking at www.zoover.co.uk. They do very good reviews of hotels /apartments etc as well as giving you a 10 weather forecast ! I stayed in Keycamp in Pescheria Del Garda in July.Its a nice old Roman town with lots of charm ! Has a great market on Mondays !

mountaingoat

I was in Cinque Terre in September and accommodation was plentiful, in that if you arrive there in the morning/early afternoon and have no bother finding a room - ask in a cafe if you are stuck. Vernassa was our favorite town. Monterosso has hotels but it is the most resorty. It is only about €50 for a double room. Scenery, food, swimming, walking, villages are really fantastic - You'll love it there!

random_banter

Havent got a specific place for accom. at Lake Garda but have been to the towns of Desenzano and Peschiera.. they are both on the south of the lake and are gorgeous! And are well connected to public buses and trains if transport is an issue. The town of Garda is at the north I think, its supposed to be lovely but harder to get to. But if youre on a driving holiday this wont be an issue. Both the towns on the south have loads of places to stay, I was going to stay for a night and found lots of places on hotels.com .. you can search there and then look up the hotels/b&b's private site to see if you can get a better deal.

Also i'm not sure if youd be into it but near Peschiera there is a huge theme park which is called Gardaland, and is pretty much the best disney rip off i've ever seen. Has some great rollercoasters, a great day out I was very impressed with the place.

Also Verona is only a 20 min drive from Lake Garda, I spent a lot of time there recently, its a fabulous city so I would reccomend you visit there too

gollem_1975

mountaingoat wrote: »

I was in Cinque Terre in September and accommodation was plentiful, in that if you arrive there in the morning/early afternoon and have no bother finding a room - ask in a cafe if you are stuck. Vernassa was our favorite town. Monterosso has hotels but it is the most resorty. It is only about €50 for a double room. Scenery, food, swimming, walking, villages are really fantastic - You'll love it there!

in your opinion how long would you recommend would be needed to do justice to the place?

I have 3 days to spare on a Tuscan holiday itinerary ( ok i know cinque terre is in Liguria but its close enough ) . would 3 days be more than enough ?

is it somewhere that is more suitable to be visited in a day.

gollem_1975

lake garda is a lovely spot.

i stayed in a 3* hotel in Riva del Garda as part of a package holiday.

a couple came to visit us from Milan on the saturday and they found a hotel in Riva within an hour of arriving that cost them 30€ for the night ( they were Italian though ). but I suppose in summary there is reasonable supply of accomodation in Riva ( we were staying in a place on the road from Riva to Torbole .. a short walk from centre of Riva)

visit Gargnano on the western side. lovely quiet village. relax in a bar looking out over the lake.

there is a ferry that goes from Riva to several other villages on the lake . this is a nice way to get around

malcesine is another village worth visiting . there is a cable car from malcesine to the top of monte baldo which is supposed to be spectacular..visibility was poor the day i was in malcesine so i didn't do the cable car

Torbole ( walking distance from Riva ) is a renowned spot for windsurfing if that tickles your fancy. lessons, hire gear etc.

there is a waterfall about 1km north of Riva that is worth spending an hour or 2 checking out.

I heard if you visit gardaland ( the amusement park ) during the week at this time of year you will practically have the place to yourself ( there are shuttle buses to and from the park from the surrounding villages )

solice

gollem_1975 wrote: »

in your opinion how long would you recommend would be needed to do justice to the place?

I have 3 days to spare on a Tuscan holiday itinerary ( ok i know cinque terre is in Liguria but its close enough ) . would 3 days be more than enough ?

is it somewhere that is more suitable to be visited in a day.

Hey there, just wondering if anyone has an answer for this. Im thinking of going to Italy next year, would like to do something different, something other than going to a big city...am thinking of walking/inter-railing or something.

Cinque Terre sounds like it could be worth going to. Which end would you start on, La Spezia (I know that is not one of the 5)? How long would it take to walk it? Some reviews say its best to drive but we wont have a car and to be honest, its the walk that interests me.

[edit] Just copped that this thread is a year old....wooops [/edit]