Cinque terre

Lauren, YES, it's absolutely easy to travel by train from Lucca to the Cinque Terre (I travelled that route last September). The trip is ~1H:30M, with one change in either Viareggio or Pisa. The trip duration I listed uses La Spezia Centrale as the destination, since I didn't know which of the five villages you're planning to stay in. You'll likely be transferring to the local train there, and it's not a long trip to any of the towns from La Spezia. As you'll be travelling "late next week", it's important to note that not all of the tourist businesses will be open for the season yet (April 1st is the usually "start of the season"). Have you done any research on accommodations in that area? Your best bet is probably to look in Monterosso, as that's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of accommodations (as well as the nicest beach). Some of the Hotels there ARE currently open. Regarding the trails, local authorities have announced that they hope to have all the trails open by Easter, however not sure if they'll be able to accomplish that. At the moment, only the Via dell'Amore from Riomaggiore to Manarola is open (AFAIK). Easter isn't until April 6-9 this year, so you're a bit early for that also. Happy travels!

Another question: Can you use a Eurail pass on the regional trains that go between the villages? I know that the tickets are pretty cheap, but free is still better than cheap, so I was just wondering. I'm still figuring out which types of local trains are free with a Eurail pass and which aren't.

Rachel, AFAIK, you could use a Railpass for the local train in the Cinque Terre, however a couple of points to consider: > If you were using a Flex Pass, each day of use may use one day of your pass. > If you're using a more comprehensive Pass, you'll probably pay more to travel using the Pass than if you just bought tickets on the local train - they're very cheap! It's late so these are just some "off the cuff" thoughts. Happy travels!