Help With itinerary Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre

We were in Cinque Terre, Monterosso, in October and we met a couple who was heading to Pisa and their train was 20 min late and they only had a 15 min window between their trains, so they basically missed their next train. I would make sure you have plenty of time or sleep in the city you plan to leave from. Sounds like a great trip.

Hi Suzwed,

As far as I know, all the flights from both Venice and Pisa to Sevilla will involve a plane change in Barcelona, usually with a long layover. If you would like to see Barcelona for a few days, this could be a good option, otherwise, I'd consider taking the train to Bergamo or Milan (MXP), which both have direct flights to Sevilla on RyanAir. See www.skyscanner.com for options.

Trains in Italy can often be late, so I'd give yourself plenty of time to get from either Cinque Terre or Venice to Malpensa or Bergamo by train, possibly even spending the night, depending on the time your flight departs.

suzwed,

For the three locations you mentioned, the route I'd suggest is Venice > Cinque Terre > Rome (in that order). Note that the trip from Venice to the Cinque Terre will be a longer travel day (5-6 hours).

This route should provide you with more options for flights to Seville. It appears that both Vueling and RyanAir offer some direct flights from Rome to Seville. If flying from Venice, you will probably have to tolerate a layover in Barcelona so the trip will take longer than with a direct flight.

Another option would be Rome > Venice > Cinque Terre, with a flight from Pisa to Seville. I believe RyanAir has direct flights on that route.

If you haven't flown with budget airlines in Europe before, do book early as the prices tend to increase at the flight fills. Note that the cheaper tickets are usually non-refundable and non-changeable once booked, so choose carefully. Be sure to take a good look at their luggage rules. Also, in July it's going to be peak tourist season so lots of other people will be travelling.

I have experienced enough scheduled and surprise train strikes that I would never risk taking a train to the departure city on the day of the flight – unless the ticket is so cheap that I wouldn't mind missing the flight and having to buy a new ticket.

I would head from Rome to Cinque Terre, then Venice, before a flight to Sevilla.

I flew non-stop from Bologna to Sevilla on RyanAir. I went by train from Venice to Ferrara and spent 1 night/day there (lovely town) and took the shuttle bus from the historic center to the Bologna airport.

I'm sure it's as easy to get to the airport from Bologna, another city worth a visit. I'd recently been there and hadn't been to Ferrara. Bologna is a train hub, so there are frequent fast trains there from both Florence and Venice.

one unknown is the tram/people mover in Pisa! it is supposed to be up and running in December 2015 between the Pisa train station and the airport. In theory it will make the transfer easier. In october we took the train from Cin. Terre area (moneglia) to Lucca and had no problems with delays, trains ran great the whole week we were in the CT area. The morning of our flight we took the train from Lucca to Pisa (30 minute ride) for our flight back to the US. Again no train issues at all. We had to use the bus shuttle from the train station to the airport and it only took about 20 minutes total for the trip, when you travel the tram will be operating between the train station and the airport. the airport was jam packed (thursday morning) so if you go that route I would definately give myself some "in line" time ahead of my flight. My luggage included one 25 inch roller suitcase, a back pack (stuffed full) and an ipad with carrier. There was no problem hauling it on the train from the CT area, to Lucca, and then to the Pisa airport, you pretty much just kept the luggage at your side the whole way. I found the trains to be a breeze, on time, seats for us, and the auto ticket machines were great. We never used the ticket agent window the entire week...just be sure to note when your train will be arriving at your location so you know whn it is time to climb off! we used the Pisa airport because the ticket prices for flights to the US (american airlines/Brit. airways) were quite a bit cheaper via IND/PHL/LHR/PSA. visit www.seat61.com/Italy-trains for advance information on train travel in Italy, it was spot on!!

Thank you all for the help! I think flying out of Milan might be a great idea, and I so appreciate the train help.....that is next on my list to figure out. Thanks again!

suzwed,

Flying out of Milan is a great idea, as it's a large airport with lots of flight options. One point to note is that if you're using one of the budget airlines, departure may be from Terminal 2. That's important to note as there is no rail service to Terminal 2 so you'll have to use the Malpensa Shuttle (Bus). The trip to the airport is about an hour from Milano Centrale (subject to traffic of course, but it's usually not too much of a problem).

Most of the flights from Bergamo to Sevilla depart around 5 p.m., so you would have plenty of time to get to the airport from either Cinque Terre or Venice, although Venice is about an hour closer (3 hours with a switch in Brescia). From the Bergamo train station, you can take a shuttle bus or taxi to the airport. There are also several shuttle buses which run from Milano Centrale to Bergamo airport, taking about an hour.