We are planning a trip to Italy next

Good Morning dhutchinsonYou are correct you cannot drive around Cinque Terra. Nor do you need to. I would take the train to La Spezia then change to the local train that runs to all five villages. You can get a train pass that allows multiple trips so you can get on and off as required for a couple of days. We stayed in Riomaggiore and travelled to all 5 villages from there. I can recommend Camere Paradiso. Our room was right over the harbour with a large balcony.When you have concluded your holiday in Cinque Terre return to La Spezia and hire your car from there.Have a great trip

... or hire a car at the airport and park up - as per this LINK However I would seriously suggest you check the roads/route on Google street view as likely they could be very basic in parts...

I would even consider staying overnight in Levanto and visiting the CInque Terre by boat. The crush of tourists have really made visiting a pain but doing it from Levanto or Lerici (where you could park) seems like a better idea to me :).