Cinque Terre to the Alps (logistics questions)

laney,

It's late so I'll just provide a brief answer to a couple of your questions.....

• Which C.T. town - each of us have our own preferences, and I'm sure you'll get a variety of responses on that point. I really like staying in Montrerosso as it's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other amenities (and also the best beaches of the five towns).
• Which is most expensive - that's difficult to answer as there are a range of accommodations in each of the towns. The cost will vary depending on which place you book. Check the Italy 2015 guidebook for suggestions in all of the towns.
• Transportation suggestions - that will take more time to work out, so will look at that later. Train is usually the best method, and there are trains from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to Monterosso that range from 2 - 3 hours, with changes.

Could you clarify the location Garfagnana that you'll be staying. Is that Castelnuovo di Garfagnana? How are you getting there to begin with? That location appears to be a bit "off the beaten track".

Are you considering the Swiss Alps for hiking? One possibility would be Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland, but travel time from Monterosso would be about six hours or so. The trip from Lauterbrunnen back to Milan is only about 3 hours, so very reasonable.

For hiking in Switzerland, you might try something just a tad closer than Lauterbrunnen, say Bettmeralp, which is near Brig, just on the other side of the Simplon Tunnel. That's about 6+ hours from Monterosso. Last night stay in Stresa on Lago Maggiore. A short train ride to Gallarate which is a short cab ride to Malpensa.

Dolomites are a bit more time and a lot more changes. 7+ hours to Bolzano, then a good hour on the bus to Ortisei. Returning is also more time consuming and will require an overnight in Milan close to Milano Centrale station for an early train to Malpensa. But more bang for the buck by avoiding Switzerland.

Since you don't need the highest peaks you don't need to travel so far. Look at the Stresa, Lago Maggiore area. There are good climbs and at least one cable car nearby. You get the Borromean Islands and the Lake as a bonus.

Thank you for the feedback so far! For added clarification, the week prior I'll be in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana on an organized guided group tour (hence why off the beaten path). And I'm looking to stay in the Italian Alps as I don't want to travel too far and waste a lot of time traveling. Swiss Alps would be fantastic, but I will only have 3 days from the time I leave Cinque Terre before I need to be in Milan to catch my flight. :- )

To Ken's point, it would seem to make most sense (to me) to stay in a village in CT where the "main" train enters into. Although I'm aware that there are mini trains that transport between the towns. Hmmmm...

• Elana

Elana,

A bit of clarification on the trains in the Cinque Terre......

All of towns are on the same rail line between Genoa and La Spezia, so the trains pass through all of the towns. However, each train doesn't necessarily stop in all five towns. As Monterosso is the largest town, I suspect it gets more rail traffic than the smaller towns.

It would be a bit of a trip to the Dolomites, but if you're willing to make a departure from Monterosso at 05:17, you could be in Bolzano by 12:31 (time 7H:14M, two changes at Milano Centrale and Verona Porta Nuova). From Bolzano take a Bus to Castelrotto or Alpi di Siusi (about an hour as I recall) and you'll be able to hike as much as you want. There are numerous trains on that route, some with slightly different travel times and more changes. I used that one for an example as the changes at Milan and Verona are relatively easy, and fewer changes might be a bit easier if you're not used to rail travel in Italy.

Note that you'll probably be using a combination of Regionale trains (you MUST validate your ticket prior to boarding on the day of travel) or "fast" trains such as Freccia or InterCity (compulsory reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time). It's important to be aware of the type of train you're using, as any irregularities of the tickets may result in hefty fines, which will be collected on the spot!

It's an easy trip back to Milan from there - take the Bus back to Bolzano and then train to Milano Centrale (about 3.5 hours, one change).

All five towns of the Cinque Terre are served by trains running about hourly. Average train travel time from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to Monterosso is 3 hours with 2 connections and similar timing and connections work for any of the other towns. The only departure that I see with just 1 connection to Monterosso is leaving Castelnuovo di Garfagnana at 7:00 a.m. Heading northbound as well, the other towns don't necessarily require an extra train connection, but the options vary at different times of day.

How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

As Mike alluded to with his suggestion of Lake Maggiore,Stresa would be a bit closer
La Spezia>Stresa 1 change Milano Centrale 4H41m.

There is the http://www.visitstresa.com/Lake_Maggiore_Express.htm which takes you up to
Locarno Switzerland.

A cable car that goes up to some hiking areas look @walks on the main Stresa page.

This location puts you about an hour from Milan by both bus and train, so easy trip back.

Elana,

If you decide you'd prefer to stay in Stresa and hike in Locarno (Lepontine Alps, I believe), I can provide more detailed information. That would also be a great place to spend a few days.