TRANQUIL CINQUE TERRE VILLA WITH SPECTACULAR MEDITERRANEAN SEA VIEWS

Pamela's home in Riomaggiore is wonderful! The views are amazing, the beds are the most comfortable that we slept in while traveling through Italy, the washer and dryer are very convenient (especially toward the end of a trip when you're all out of clean clothes), and there are TONS of toys, games, books, videos, video games, etc. to thoroughly entertain all ages! Our kids (ages 8, 7, and 5) were thrilled to have so many options! You'll get your exercise hiking up to this house from the port or the train station, but it's totally worth it to have the view and the privacy (being the house above all the rest)! There's a lemon tree in the yard, which our kids picked some lemons from to make lemonade, and the kitchen is outfitted with just about everything you could need! The one thing we couldn't find was a toaster or toaster oven, but we just pan-fried bread in a little olive oil to make toast, and it turned out great! Pamela's cousin and her husband greeted us right by the gate into town, helped get us through the gate so that we could unpack our car next to the house, and then followed my husband out of Riomaggiore until he could find a parking space further up the road and drove him all the way back! SUPER thoughtful and helpful! And they did the same upon check-out (picking my husband up to drive him to our car, letting him follow them back to get him through the gate to pack our car up, and then seeing us off). You definitely don't need a car in Cinque Terre (and I would recommend not bringing one if possible), but if you're driving in from somewhere else in Italy and then going on from the Cinque Terre, Pamela's cousin, Patrizia, and her husand, Gio, will be of great help when it comes to finding parking! Pamela was great to work with in booking her house, sending us lots of helpful information pertaining to our stay. She even emailed me while we were there to check in on us! I highly recommend staying in Pamela's lovely home! You won't regret it!

My husband and I just returned from Riomaggiore on June 10, 2012. We had considered cancelling our trip due to the devastating earthquakes in Northern Italy. We are so happy that we went on the trip. Our souls were refreshed by staying in Pamela's home. The view from the living room/the master bedroom was spectacular. We spent hours in the evenings just soaking up the view.

The house is one of the nicest that we saw in Riomaggiore. It is up on the hill with no other houses above it. We were so thankful that we were not in one of the small rental apartments in town. We would have been a little concerned from the earthquake standpoint. The kitchen had spices and other things that we normally miss in a timeshare. There are screens on every window.

We liked Riomaggiore the best of all of the other towns. We found Monterosso to be too touristy. Poor Vernazza has not recovered from the flooding. Corniglia was up on a hill, too far from the ocean and had very few restaurants. Manarola seemed a little small. The best restaurant was the one Pamela recommended called La Lampara in Riomaggiore. We went there 3-4 times in the 6 days we were there.

Hiking between Monterosso and Vernazza was fantastic. We would love to go back and do many more hikes when the trails are open.

If you are going to take the time off and fly to Italy to spend some time in Cinque Terre, we would recommend that you spend a little extra and stay in this nice place. This place will add so much to your vacation.

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing your beautiful home with us.

I chose Riomaggiore because it was small enough where I could take my family and not have to worry about them and still be near enough to do day trips. It was awesome. Not only is the town perfect and right on the railway, but the house was amazing! It is high on the hill and looks out over the ocean facing a little southwest so there is sunshine all day. The house was clean and well stocked with utensils, washer/dryer, and wireless internet - a must with kids. Be warned it is a hike up and down to the town, but it is well worth it for the view and breeze. The is a garden patio where we drank wine and watched the sunset night after night.

We can't wait to go back.