We will be arriving in Switzerland (taking train from Zurich to Lucerne for 3 nights immediately upon arrival. Some have suggested getting a 1/2 price pass while in Switzerland. )
We will then depart Lucerne heading to Cinque Terre.
We will be coming from the North.....so we don't need to go all the way to La Spezia do we? Or since we are going to Manarola would it be just as smart to go to La Spezia and then take local train back up to Manarola?
We like to take the bullet trains when possible......so we would take a Swiss train from Lucerne to Milan and then switch, correct? If we get on a fast train there at Milan headed to CT where do we get off and switch to a local train? Can we go directly from a fast train to a regional that will take us all the way to manarola or will we have to have another stop added in once we get to the CT area to get all the way to Manarola?
I think I am making this harder than it has to be, but something about the Trenitalia schedule has me second guessing everything I do. lol
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15188 posts
Go to:
www.trenitalia.com
Enter:
From: Milano Centrale
To: Manarola
You can choose a date in the near future if your plans are for next year. Timetables don't change much.
The trains from Milan to the Cinque Terre go via Genoa. That railway line is not a high speed line, therefore bullet trains (called Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca) are limited in speed (FrecciaBianca runs that line, but at limited speed).
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Yes, you are making this harder than it needs to be.
Just go to the German Railways site: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
(or the Swiss Railways site, but not the Italian site as that doesn't have foreign trains listed)
And enter Luzern to Manarola, plus a date and time, and click on "search".
This will find the quickest route, and show you all the changes.
You may get a Swiss train from Luzern to Milan, or it may be an Italian one, or it may be multiple trains. And you may have to change at La Spezia and /or Monterosso, or you may get a direct train from Milan.
But, you don't have to know this in advance, just plug in Luzern to Manarola, and it will tell you.
P.S. Trains past ~6th June are not yet in the system, do a search for tomorrow instead.