Hello. My fiance and I will be in Italy for the first time this June, honeymooning in the CT and Venice. Was hoping for some advice on the rail system.
We will be flying into Milan, early in the AM, and needing a train first to Manarola. Is the train station in Milan near the airport? Should we purchase in advance for this leg of the trip? After a week in the CT, we'll need rail transportation to Venice as well. I had heard tix for rail travel between the 5 CT towns were easy to come by, but not sure how to prepare for these longer trips. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Danny,
As the others have said, the easiest method will be to take the Shuttle Bus from MXP to Milano Centrale. When you arrive there, go to the ticket window and buy tickets for Manarola. You'll be accessing the C.T. via La Spezia or Genova, but specify Manarola as your final destination. The train you'll be on will likely have compulsory reservations and the cost for these will be included in the tickets. Second class tickets will be fine. As the others have said, DON'T forget to validate them before boarding the train!
If you have the time and are not too tired from the flight, you might buy your tickets from Manarola to Venezia Santa Lucia at the same time.
I'd suggest using the bahn.de or the trenitalia.it web sites to research which trains will be most preferable. Try to choose those with no changes (ie: direct trains) or as few changes as possible (you'll be tired!). For example, using an arbitray date of 1 June, there's a train departing Milano Centrale at 12:05, arriving Manarola at 15:36 (time 3H:31M, one change at Monterosso). That was the "easiest" route I could find. The Milano-Monterosso leg is subject to compulsory reservation, but the Monterosso-Manarola leg is on the smaller regional train.
I'd suggest reading the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door, so that you're up to speed on the conventions used for train travel in Europe (hopefully you're familiar with the 24-hour time system). You could also download Rick's PDF Rail Guide from here (it's free!).
If you decide to have a stroll on the famed via dell'Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore let me know if the small Cafe and Bar is still there (NOTE: you'll need a CT Pass to hike any of the trails - see the Guidebook for details). One of my best memories was having a "cool one" there in the sunshine looking over the ocean.
Congratulations and happy travels!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
The Central (main) train station is serviced by a shuttle bus -- roughly an hour. Without checking schedule I assume that would be the station that you need. The station on the west side of Milan has a rail link from the airport -- about 30 mins. Check bahn.de for schedule info and to determine which you need. Train travel in Italy is frequently and relatively cheap. There is almost no advantage to purchasing tickets in advance. Just buy a ticket on the next train when you get to the station.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
The hardest thing to remember with trains in Italy is to be sure to validate your ticket in the little yellow punchboxes before you get on your train. (They operate like timecard punchers, if you've ever had one of those jobs.)
It's a completely alien concept to us Americans, but if you don't do it, you risk a hefty fine.
Posted by
Indianapolis, IN, USA
143 posts
Wait until you get to Milan to get your train tickets. Given the uncertainty of when your plane will arrive, how long it will take to get out of the airport (getting luggage and thru customs), and if traffic delays the shuttle bus' trip to the station, it's only a guess what train you'll make. Trains are so frequent, just hop the next one when you get there - they rarely if ever sell out. We (Americans) tend to equate traveling by train with traveling by train and it just isn't the case. At the station, use use the automated kiosks - they look and operate like ATMs and have an English language option, and take plastic. I'd recommend printing a copy of the schedule from the Trenitalia site just to have as reference.
The shuttle is right outside the doors at the airport and is easy to find. Just look for (or ask for) the bus to Stazione Centrale (if I remember my Italian corrcetly) - the cost was 6 euros.
Posted by
Independence, Iowa, USA
28 posts
I can't emphasize enough. . .validate your tickets at the little yellow box before you board the train. Make certain you get into the correct car and seat according to your ticket or if it's crowded you might get bumped out.
Posted by
Des Moines, IA
2193 posts
OK this is very basic, but it may prove helpful to know that many of the Trenitalia cars have compartments, and seat reservations will be noted on a reservation placard outside of the compartment. This will allow you to easily see which seats are reserved. So, if you're travelling without a reservation in second class, for example, you may sit in any seat that is not reserved as long as you're in a second class car. I seem to recall that the trains that connect the CT villages don’t have compartments, so you can sit anywhere. BTW, these point-to-point tickets in the CT are very inexpensive – a couple of Euros each.
Posted by
Manhattan Beach, CA, USA
108 posts
Learn a few key train phrases in Italian to ask which platform or track a particular train is on. In Milan we were confused when the board listed the track, but there was no train on it. They had moved our train over 1 track and it wasn't posted. We were able to ask the employees standing outside the train if it was, indeed our train (it was).