Italy by train

From your itinerary you list, you can tweak it like this :

Cinque Terre - 2 Days (Town hopping)

Florence - 2 Days (Do a day trip from Florence to Sienna via either Train or Bus) **** Take Bus because it will drop you off closer to the city center compare to the train. You don't want to walk very long distances especially with 4 children on the trip.

Rome - 3 Days

How many nights are you planning at each locale?

I guess a couple questions...looks like you are 7 days/nights or so, not much time, what day are you arriving and the day leaving, and from where? (Yes, arrive Pisa I see). Also figure that getting to the Cinque Terra, then to Florence or Sienna, and then to Rome ties up a good part of each of those travel days, plus are you trying to get back up to Pisa to fly out, or flying back from Rome? What time of year? for the Cinque Terra, that makes a big difference. That aside, I would suggest deciding on either Florence or Sienna, not both.

Question for OP: How are you getting around in the CT for the 2 days?

Herding 9 people on and off trains, in and out of hotels, along crowded streets with lots of distractions and 4 towns in 7 days. Yikes. Even assuming your get to Pisa after a short flight and with no jetlag, it still sounds like an endurance race.

It seems that enoying the Cinque Terre is a hit or miss proposition in recent years. If it's off-seaon, most everything is closed so it's not very enjoyable even if the weather's good. The rest of the year, the villages can be inundated with day-trippers, both from the surrounding area and from the humongous cruise ships that dock "down the road."

Have you figured out how you get to Siena from La Spezia? I just looked at the regionale trains and you have to change in Pisa and again in Empoli, the trip takes 3 hours or more. Between Siena and Florence the bus is better because you can get it in Siena's center. The train station is about 1 km away. In Florence the bus stop is across the street from the train station on the edge of the historic center.

So I live in Europe so no jet lag here. My family is coming from NY, so they will hopefully be over there jet lag before we get there. We fly into Pisa and out of Rome. Yes it's ambitious but they have never been, I have already been to cinque terra and rome. I've never been to Siena so would like to take some time there in the hopes that its a bit quieter in August from cinque terra, florence, and rome. I've used the trains before and never had problems. I think the 3 hours travel on the train (From Cinque Terra to Siena and Siena to Rome) will be good for our children as rest time :)

So the train in siena is far from the central location or is this walkable or taxi best option? Does anyone know if they raise the train prices in the summer or is the train system average the same all year round?

Thanks so much everyone.

Fares on the express trains rise as you get closer to your travel date because others have snapped up the limited number of cheap tickets. If you're on regional trains (as you will be for at least part of the trip to and from the Cinque Terre), the fare will not change no matter when you buy the tickets. As far as I know, the fares do not vary seasonally, but there may well be more people traveling in the summer, so the promotional tickets may sell out earlier.

I plan to only use the Italia Rail. Should I be looking at something different?

Italia Rail is a reputable US based re-seller. Two competing companies actually run the trains: www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en (high speed, long distance and local trains) and www.italotreno.it/en (only high speed trains).

Trenitalia's local trains are called Regionale. The Cinque Terre Express is a Regionale. Since Regionales have no reserved seats, they can't sell out. Since there are no discounted tickets on these trains, there is no need to get them in advance.

Do not forget to time-stamp locally purchased Regionale tickets, otherwise each passenger holding an unvalidated ticket will be fined on the spot.

I just got back from 10 days in Rome and 3 in Florence (took the Trenitalia fast train) with 2 teens. I would not go to Florence for 1 day. I would skip it and reduce the jumping from place to place. Stay in Siena for two days and enjoy it. Even though train travel in Italy is smooth and easy, there are transaction costs of packing up, getting to the station, getting on the train, etc.

My experience is that kids prefer to settle in a bit, and honestly unless your kids are wild about going to Florence for leather purses/belts/jackets, luxury shopping, or standing in a long line to see the inside of the Duomo, I would skip Florence. When you are in Rome go to St. Peter's Basilica by 8:30 a.m. and see that Dome and at that hour there is no line. Enjoy your trip---sounds like fun!

Suzanne

melissa,

In order to plan your rail journeys, use either the Trenitalia, Italo Treno or Bahn.de websites. The latter site has information for trains all over Europe. You can save money with advance purchase tickets for the express trains in Italy, such as the Freccia or Intercity. I'd suggest just buying Regionale tickets locally at the stations, either from a staffed ticket office or Kiosk, as there are no discounts for advance purchase. However, be sure to validate those prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines.

If you're having issues with members of your group being indecisive, you may not be able to save much money on tickets for the express trains. The discounted tickets are available about 120 days out, but these are sold on a quota. Once the discounted Super Economy tickets are sold-out for a particular train, lesser savings are possible with Economy tickets. Once the quota is reached on those, only Base (full) fare tickets are available and these are the same as the walk-up prices. As the tickets are specific to train, date and departure time, your group must be able to commit to that departure.

I normally buy tickets for train all over Europe using www.trainline.eu as it sells ticket for several rail networks in Italy and other countries, at the same price as charged by the rail network.* Registration is required on the site, including payment details, but once that's done it's very user friendly. They also offer a smartphone app, which is great for buying tickets "on the fly".

"Does anyone know if they raise the train prices in the summer or is the train system average the same all year round?" There are two rail price adjustments every year, one in June and one in December (as I recall). Prices don't tend to vary much so they should be much the same as they are now.

Rather than stay in Siena, you could stay in Florence for a few days and just take a day trip to Siena. It's very easy by Bus, and the advantage is that you'll be dropped in the centre of town, rather than at the bottom of the hill where the rail station is located. If you arrive by rail, you'll need to take a Taxi or Bus up to the town.

Are you planning to stay in one of the Cinque Terre towns, or in La Spezia?

Sorry, but did you read my reply about the train from La Spezia to Siena? There are 2 train changes. That means loading and unloading your group and your luggage 3 times in 3 hours. I don't see how that would be a relaxing time for the children, or anybody else. You'll be on regionale trains, no seat reservations, so the 9 of you may be scattered through one car, or even need to split up and sit in separate cars. Are you staying in La Spezia or one of the CT villages? You may also have to take the train to La Spezia.

Siena could be less crowded than more popular places but it's hardly off the beaten track. Don't count on the trains being uncrowded either.

Thanks so much everyone! I found a beautiful hotel in Vernazza. We have decided to enjoy our time in Siena. We have a villa with a pool :) Grammy will watch the kids while we go on a wine tour! Thanks for all the information on the trains. It is very helpful. I was using https://italiarail.com to plan my train journey. I'm an optimist and have accepted the train journey maybe hectic but it will be much better than driving for us. I did see a few trains from Cinque Terra to Siena that only have one stop so we will try to catch that train.

The train I take for the longer trips (pisa-cinque terra, cinque terra to siena, siena to rome) do the tickets have to be stamped? Or is that just the train once I get to Cinque Terra and Rome?

Oh and we will have only backpacks. No luggage here!

The train I take for the longer trips (pisa-cinque terra, cinque terra to siena, siena to rome) do the tickets have to be stamped? Or is that just the train once I get to Cinque Terra and Rome?

Train tickets purchased online never need to be time-stamped, either you have a reserved seat (Intercity and Freccia trains) or a period of validity that begins with the departure of the booked train (Regionale trains).
As I already wrote above, only locally purchased Regionale tickets, those without a reserved seat and a car number, must be time-stamped before getting on.

I did see a few trains from Cinque Terra to Siena that only have one stop so we will try to catch that train.

I'm afraid you are confusing stops with transfers.

A few? On Sundays there is one train from Vernazza to Empoli at 18:38 (Regionale nr.1615). From Empoli you can take a direct train to Siena departing at 22:08 (Regionale nr. 23499). Only one change, but both trains will make many intermediate stops. I must ask it: Do you realize that this way you'll arrive in Siena at 23:14 and that the journey will take 40 minutes more? That You'll have to wait around 1 hour in Empoli station? I may be wrong, but it seems to me that You are making hectic a trip that's quite easy.

By stops I meant transfers. I planned leaving for Siena on a weekday from La Spezia to Siena with one transfer in Empoli. This train leaves around 1300 from what I saw arriving in Siena around 1600. There was also one around 1700 same trip but I would like to avoid “rush hour.”

So, since you are staying in Vernazza and not in La Spezia, it's 2 transfers and not one. Am I right?