Well my plans for traveling to Italy are coming along. I am now enrolled in a 10 day painting workshop in Lucca at a private villa. I am not sure how I will get there as there are no direct flights from Florida. I assume I will fly to Rome and then to Pisa where the villa people will pick me up. At the end of the 10 days they will take me to the train station in Lucca or the airport in Pisa. I am traveling to Camogli after the workshop. Again I would have to fly to Rome, then fly to Genoa and then train to Camogli. I would like to go by either bus or train instead. The train requires a change in Viareggio and Rapallo and does not go every hour. Does anyone know of a bus between the two places? I realize buses take longer but if I have to wait for train connections it could take just as long. I would like to have no layovers if possible. Anyone done this trip by bus?
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I doubt you will find a direct bus, but I'd rather take the train and get there a few hours earlier, even if there are connections.
The way I'd probably do it is to take the 9:30 regional train from Lucca to Viareggio (9:50) connect to the fast train Frecciabianca at 10:12 to Chiavari (11:14), and from there the 11:32 Intercity train to Camogli (11:47). Total travel time: 2:17. And the connections aren't that tight. (You'll likely have to change platforms by going down steps and up others at each station; sometimes there are elevators, sometimes the elevators are actually working.)
The next decent train at 13:30 changes in Viareggio and Rapallo and takes 2:29. An hour later about the same connections at 14:40.
You can book all of that (all three trains) on one Trenitalia train ticket. The tickets for the ones that are regional trains (no reserved seats) must be validated in the yellow machines at the stations the day of travel if you buy paper tickets at a train station. If you buy a ticket online in advance for a specific time/day, and print out our train tickets to show to a conductor, you won't have to validate anything.
It would probably take you longer to train back to Rome not to mention the extra hassle of flying. 2:17 is not very long.
Camogli is a lovely town. But the train station is small and not all the trains stop there - that's one reason it is a hassle to get there from Lucca.
Posted by
CA
2131 posts
The shortest is by train at 3 hours 7 minutes. The bus is less than 4 hours. You can quickly check your options on Rome2rio.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
No, DIane, the shortest train is just over two hours. Check the Trenitalia website. Rome2Rio is great for starting research but it's often not accurate.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1538 posts
Well, the Rome3Rio website is a good place to start if you haven't looked at that already --- if your hosts could take you to the train station in Pisa instead of the Pisa airport, you could take a train to Chiavari where you can transfer to a train to Camogli. But you'd need to check up on that with actual train schedules.
The website is saying it's a little more than 2 hours with 22 minutes for the transfer --- perfectly possible but train stations can be challenging to navigate and the arrival/departure boards tricky to understand at first. If it takes you longer than 22 minutes to figure it all out, your total layover time still wouldn't be that bad. I've been in both the Chiavari and the Camogli train stations and they are small and more manageable than a big city train station like Genoa. You can ask for help.
It looks to me like any buses would take longer. I hope someone with greater knowledge will answer you!
Posted by
California 🦋
5291 posts
Caryn,
If I had to travel from Lucca to Camogli via public transportation, I’d definitely follow Andrew’s advise by taking the Regionale train at 9:30 from Lucca, with a train change in Viareggio and in Chiavari (journey time 2Hrs, 17 minutes)
You can check train schedules here: Trenitalia.com
I’d also suggest booking your tickets as one journey (from Lucca to Camogli) online. By doing this, you won’t have to worry about validating the Regionale ticket prior to boarding the train.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
OP
Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
87 posts
Thank to all of you for the good advice. I had seen these trains on Trenitalia but wasn't sure of the time to transfer. I don't think the host will be going to the station in the morning so I hope that I can make the 13:30 train from Lucca. The train from Pisa eliminates one of the transfers so that is a good choice if I an get them to take me to the train in Pisa. I will follow all of your advice. Now how to get from Camogli to Riva del Garda by train is my next project.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
For your trip Camogli-Riva del Garda.
Train... Camogoli- Desenzano del Garda 4:36
2 changes Genova Principle and Milan Centrale
Ferry from Desenzano- Riva del Garda. 2:25.
Train Camoglia-Riva del Garda 7:36. 4 changes.