We will be traveling from Milan to Cinque Terre Sept 12 and from Cinque Terre to Florence, will we need to make train reservations?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23343 posts
No, easily make reservation the day of or day before. The ONLY reason to prepurchase tickets is to take advantage of any discounts that may be available but discount tickets come with limited options for charge or refund if you change your mind.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32222 posts
deborah, You may need reservations for at least part of your route, if you'll be travelling via "premium" trains such as the Freccia or Inter City trains. If you buy tickets in Italy, reservations will be included with the tickets. Other parts of the route will likely be via Regionale, and there's no advantage to buying those in advance (and often difficult to do online). I made the trip from Florence to the Cinque Terre (and back) a few days ago, and bought my tickets on the morning of travel, using one of the Kiosks. It's all very easy. With "premium" trains, note that the tickets will be for a specific train and departure time and you MUST use the train listed on the ticket or you'll face hefty fines. With Regionale trains, you MUST validate your ticket in the track side machines prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again hefty fines. If you'll be staying in Monterosso, there's a "full service" ticket office at the station, so you can easily buy your tickets to Florence from an agent (perhaps the day before you travel). Use the Trenitalia website to figure out which train you'll want to use. Happy travels!