Hello. My sister and I are starting in Interlaken and are making our way down to Como then Cinque Terre, La Speitz and lastly Sorrento. Would it make sense to travel by train this whole way or rent a car at some point? Also if we do travel by train should we get our tickets in advance? We have been looking into the TGV train but each website advises on purchasing our tickets differently. We will be in each location for a few days.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23547 posts
Use the train. For two people a car can be a pain with need to find parking and avoid TLZs. The only reason, but it is a good one, to buy tickets in advance is to take advantage of deep discounts that MAY be available. Some of your travel will involve Regionale trains. Those tickets should never be purchased on-line because they come with restrictions AND no discounts. ALL other trains in Italy required advance reservations and can be purchased on line. However, the two discount tickets - Super Economy and Economy, are no refund and limited changes so be absolutely sure of your schedule if you purchase tickets on-line. Just treat as no refund, no change. The base ticket price in Italy is reasonable even if you do not take advantage of the discounts.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19232 posts
I don't know why you are looking at the TGV website.
For travel in Italy use the Trenitalia site (click on "ticket online" on the upper right of the first page). That will give you schedules. You don't have to purchase the tickets online, but that will give you the prices so you can plan. (You won't see prices for regional trains unless you pick a date less than a week out.)
The same information for Switzerland is on the Swiss Rail website.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32320 posts
selena,
Could you clarify a few points....
- Are you planning to go the town of Como, or somewhere else on Lake Como?
- Is the "La Speitz" you referred to La Spezia?
- Which of the five towns in the Cinque Terre are you planning to stay in?
- How long is your trip?
- To add to Lee's post, the TGV website is for French trains. You could also use the bahn.de (German rail) website, as that has schedules for much of Europe, although only ticket sales for trains originating in Germany.
With more detailed information, it will be easier to offer more detailed suggestions.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We are planning to go to the town of Como and stay there for two days then head down to Cirque Terre for 3 days followed by La Spezia for one day and night. We do not know the exact details of where we are staying yet. We are trying to get an idea of what is doable in the amount of time we have and what's realistic with train travel.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Cinque Terre & Sorrento - two places you DEFINITELY don't need/want a car.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
All of those trips are easy enough by train, so I would not consider a car. You probably have a couple more transport legs that are not mentioned above, to and from airports. If you want to book a longer Italian ticket in advance in order to get a discount, then you could do that for the day from La-Spezia to Naples, for instance. Savings is not significant on shorter trips or in Switzerland.
Depending on how much travel you have within Switzerland, you might consider one of their pass or Half-Fare Card variations, which work as far as the Italian border.
If you are booking a ticket from Switzerland to Como town, do it on the Swiss web site or in a Swiss train station. The Italian site, trenitalia.com, also sells the international ticket but only for pick up at an train station in Italy, which will not work for you.