I’m a little conflicted on whether or not to book this trip ahead of time. A lot of the other posts I read on this forum indicate that regional trains are safe to book once in Italy, or even the day of travel; and “fast” trains should be booked ahead of time.
This journey Looks like mostly regional trains, with some “intercity” and “frecciarosa” options.
Anyone with experience on this have any suggestions on routes or booking in advance in this scenario?
On what date so we can look it up.
If you buy a ticket only get one with one change and I would in Milan and wouldn't use regionals. The worse part is the trains were late about 99% time when I was in Italy August 2021 and May 2022. That will hurt your chance of catching your connecting train making for a long day, even worse if you aren't an experienced traveler trying to figure what is going on.
There are routes using regional trains and several changes, and routes with fast trains and fewer changes. I would opt for the latter and buy tickets in advance to get the best price. My own choice would the route with only one change if you start in Monterosso: an IC train from there to Milano Centrale, and then a Frecce train from there to Venice.
Leaving Vernazza Saturday, July 30.
Appreciate the feedback.
IMO, take the 10:41 IC train from Monterosso to Milano Centrale. You have a 52 minute change time there to a Freccia train to Venezia S. Lucia. That is 6 1/2 hours with plenty of cushion at the change point. Both trains include seat reservations and you can buy it now for 41.80 EUR. You even get Premium seating on the Freccia. Not quite 1st class, but it will do.
Edit: Just follow Sam's advice above.
regional trains are safe to book once in Italy,
There are no reserved seats on Regionale trains, so you can't actually book them. You can only pay Trenitalia in advance. Then you'll have the same chances to get a seat of the guy who bought the ticket via app 15 minutes before the departure.
and “fast” trains should be booked ahead of time.
Should be booked in advance To save money. 2nd class seats on Fast trains rarely sell out, if it happens you travel in 1st or wait for the next train.
There is one relevant exception to this rule: Trenitalia's IC trains going to/from the seaside on summer weekends. Unfortunately, July 30 is a Saturday.
any suggestions on routes
I'd try to make less transfers and have reserved seats all the way to Venice.
You can Take the IC train from Monterosso to Milano Centrale and then an high speed train to Venice. www.trenitalia.com is programmed to display only the shorter routes and this one is a little longer, You'll have to make two separate searches and two purchases.
Pick a transfer time at Milano Centrale longer than 15 minutes, this way if you miss the connection because of Trenitalia you will always be protected. This is true even if you purchased a discounted Trenitalia ticket for the fast train to Venice.
If you miss a connection when transferring into a fast train, you must walk to the ticket booth by the tracks and get a new seat reservation for free. Not rocket science.
Thanks for the advice. I agree that the 1041 departure for Monterosso probably makes the most sense, allowing for seat reservations and a relatively long change over time as safety buffer
Looking at the Trenitalia website, they are even offering a “bimbi gratis“ rate, so it looks like the whole family of four can travel for less than €100! Plus, it looks like this rate allows for changes/refunds.
But before I book, wondering if you all have any thoughts about leaving from LaSpezia instead? I assume the downside of this is more transfers?
Lastly, do you recommend booking on the website, or through the app?
You did not say how many you are and what the ages are. Bimbi Gratis is indeed a good deal with children under 14.
You also did not say from which of the Cinque Terre towns you where actually traveling from. as the name says, there are 5 of them and Monterosso is the only one that national trains stop at. So if you are starting from one of the other 4 towns, you will have to take a regional train to Monterosso first.
You might find faster itineraries from La Spezia, but they will include regional trains as far as Florence. These are unreserved and can be crowded and you may not all be able to sit together until you get to Florence and change to a Freccia train, plus perhaps more changes along the way. Its up to you.
As far as whether to use the app, or the website, there is no difference as far as price goes, but if you use the app, you will have the tickets on your phone. Just be sure you have it in a "wallet" in case you don't temporarily have data service when the ticket inspector comes by.
Our experience using the regional trains via Pisa Centrale and La Spezia on our way to our Cinque Terre village (Manarola) was terrible. The train from Pisa to La Spezia was 30 minutes late, and we were among the last to board the regional train to the Cinque Terre villages. There were no seat left and the only standing room was in the area by the doors. People kept crowding on until we were packed like sardines in that space. We were close to the doors, but it was still hard to exit in the brief time we had to do that at the Manarola stop. It was not a good start to our Cinque Terre time. And we were very glad we had booked the IC train from Monterosso to Milan for our departure.
That was in 2010 and it could well be even more crowded now.
Point taken! Sounds like a good idea to avoid those regional trains when possible.
Sounds like Italian high speed trains are more like US air travel in terms of higher price/guaranteed seats and more reliable schedules, while the regional trains are more like taking a bus (can buy the ticket right before it arrives but may have to stand).
Appreciate the advice!
Nice metaphor, I agree with you.
However the Cinque Terre in summer is the "worst possible case". I don't know if you are taking many more trains, but don't feel pressured to avoid Regional trains anywhere and anytime. For instance, if you were going from Milan to Turin on a summer weekend and you could't get an high speed ticket in advance, you'd take a Regional without worrying about seats and crowds.
Book the IC train from Monterosso to Milan in advance, I made a search using next Saturday as day of travel and there are only Base tickets left. All the cheap Economy tickets are sold out and Trenitalia did not even offer the cheapest SuperEconomy tickets. A lot of demand and lack of competition...
