Planning to visit the Italian Riviera in late July and early August, and have some questions about the train service. Is it a good idea to stay in Genoa, as my home base for 5 days, and use the local train to visit the towns and villages along the Italian Riviera each day? Also, should I book advance train tickets for the towns/villages, or just buy them when I arrive in Genoa? Is it walkable from the train stations along the Riviera to the town centers?
thank you!
No, we don't recommend Genoa as a home base for visiting other towns. Most of us enjoy much more to stay in one of the smaller towns, for instance in the Cinque Terre and/or around Santa Margherita Ligure. The regional trains serve all of these towns about hourly and those trains don't need reservations, so you can buy tickets as you go. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. From Genoa to Vernazza, for instance, takes 1 h45 min each way, which is a lot of unnecessary backtracking. Since all the Riviera towns I have in mind are small, each one is easily walkable.
We really enjoyed our stay in Camogli. Our hotel was just down the stairs from the train station.
thomas,
No, it's not a good idea to stay in Genova as that will add considerably to your travel times and costs while exploring the Cinque Terre (I assume that's what you're referring to as the "Italian Riviera"?). Staying in one of the five C.T. towns is a much better idea, and will provide a much more pleasant and enjoyable travel experience. There are lots of accommodations listed in the Italy guidebook, or you can check Trip Advisor or other sources. I prefer to stay in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest selection of lodgings, restaurants and other amenities, as well as the best beaches and a full service rail station. If you can't find anything you like in the five towns, staying in Levanto is also a good option as it's only about four minutes by train from Monterosso.
At that time of year, the Cinque Terre will be BUSY so I would highly recommend getting a hotel booked as soon as possible. I usually start booking accommodations in February for travel in September, and even starting that early it's sometimes difficult to find a vacancy at the hotel that I prefer.
Booking train tickets in advance probably won't be possible, as many of the trains that operate in that area are Regionale. It's very easy to buy tickets when you arrive there, either from a staffed ticket office or a ticket Kiosk. There are a few potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when riding trains in Italy, and if you need more information post another note.
"Is it walkable from the train stations along the Riviera to the town centers?"
All the towns are very walkable and the stations are right in the town centres (except for Corniglia, which is located on top of a rocky bluff). You may find it helpful to watch THIS short video to get some idea of the layout of the towns.
Giani Franzi in Vernazza was amazing but a lot of stairs
