How early for train from Rome to Cinque Terre?

You can look it up at Trenitalia but there is a high-speed train from Rome to La Spezia at 7:57 AM. It arrives at 11:37. We like to take this one as we can get to our lodgings in time to enjoy an afternoon there. The next high speed train leaves Rome at 11:57 and gets in at 15:37. You can buy this segment in advance on line and perhaps get a good discount.

Once in La Spezia, you catch the Regionale to Monterosso or Vernazza. The departures are 12:00, 13:18, 14:11, 15:12, 15:56, 17:03, and a few later. As the connection can be tight Iarrive 11:37 and depart at 12:00) buy your ticket for the ongoing segment before you leave Rome. Be sure to validate in La Spezia before boarding the Regionale train.

EDIT - Sorry I did not look specifically at Oct 1. The departures are 06:57 and 11:57. ! Ken, I am not seeing 09:57....

bob,

The easiest method is to take one of the direct trains from Roma Termini to La Spezia Centrale. Travel time on that route will be about 3H:15M. It's very easy to get from La Spezia to any of the Cinque Terre towns.

The train I'd probably use is a departure from Roma Termini at 09:57, arriving Monterosso at 14:20 (time 4H:23M, one change at La Spezia). I find that's a good time to arrive, as the room will likely be serviced and that provides an opportunity to have a bit of a walkabout and explore the new location before dinner.

EDIT: Laurel, I was using an arbitrary date, in this case 15 May. This is the information that was listed on the Trenitalia website:

• Roma Termini 09:57 La Spezia Centrale 13:58 Time 04:01 Intercity 510 Price starting from 41. 00 €

The Freccia trains seem to mostly travel via Firenze SMN (although I just had a quick glance), so the InterCity seemed like a better option in this case, and it's still a fairly quick trip.

If we have a Eurail Global pass, do we need to validate anything in La Spezia before getting on the train to Vernazza? I know to validate the ticket the first day I start using it - I'm just asking for example if this is the 4th day of a 15 day pass, do I need to still validate anything?

Thanks!

Wanbob, you actually don't need to travel to La Spezia Centrale via Florence. There are two different routes from Roma-Termini to La Spezia. One routes via Florence and Pisa. The other routes to the west coast of Italy and then goes north to La Spezia via Livorno and Pisa. No need to go via Florence. Here's a snapshot of a typical morning schedule on www.trenitalia.com http://gyazo.com/6fe017f7d04b3e71c1d8bce312181642

Note that the trip via Florence and Pisa is faster but it requires two train changes. Thus, you will be on 3 different trains to get to La Spezia Centrale. Only 1 train necessary for the other route. Note also on this second route that you can get the nice fast Frecciabianca train on the runs departing Rome at 6:57 and 7:57. The 9:57 run uses the slightly slower and older intercity train. The 11:57 run again uses the Frecciabianca train.

You won't be able to purchase your tickets on www.trenitalia.com until July 1st or 2nd. Trenitalia permits purchase within a 120-day window. At that time, you should be able to purchase the tickets for your entire run into the CT town of your choice on the same transaction. I say "tickets" because you will receive one ticket for each train that you will be on. Same as the airlines where you will have one ticket for each plane you will be on. If you choose to route via Florence, the email you receive within a minute after purchasing will contain up to 4 tickets. If you choose the coastal route, you will have 2 different tickets. All tickets for the regionale trains will be pre-validated and can be used within a 4-hour window. This is different from buying regionale tickets at the train stations in Italy. All tickets there are good for 60 days and must be validated before boarding. Just a difference between buying regionale tickets online or in Italy.

Thanks everyone, that's all great information!

La Spezia, here we come.

In addition to Trenitalia, the German DB site can be handy for just viewing and printing schedules. Note that full October schedules are not online yet; some regional train connections are not published past June 14. When you get several schedules, click the arrow on the left to view details including connection points, times, and reservation requirements for each leg.

Traveling from Rome to La Spezia or Rome to Florence with a railpass, you need not check in in the station, but you do need a seat reservation in hand when you board the train, and need to fill in the travel date in one of the boxes on your flexipass before the conductor comes around. See also http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/using-your-rail-pass. You can buy reservations online, or from ticket windows or ticket machines in the stations, or from some travel agents in Italy.