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Pisa and Cinque Terre

My family will be taking the train from Rome to Pisa on Tuesday, May 26. We want to do a brief "tourist stop" of the tower and surrounds, before heading on to Monterrosso by train at about 4-5pm. Will we need reservations for the train from Pisa to Monterrosso? Any suggestion for a hotel for 2 nights in Monterrosso, perhaps with a coastal view--one couple, one family of four (10 year old and 16 year old). Thanks!

Posted by
5188 posts

Kathleen,

You can buy your train tickets in Rome ( day before or the day you plan to travel) or you can buy your tickets at the train station in Pisa.

Check this website for train schedules & to see your options: http://www.trenitalia.com

We stayed at 'Baia Hotel' in Monterosso-- it was clean & comfortable and conveniently located near the train station.

The hotel is on the main street facing the beach.

You can also search this website for other forum posts or go on: http://www.booking.com

Posted by
1204 posts

Hi Kathleen. To add to Priscilla's good info.... since you seem to know your exact date, you could also buy your tix in advance online. You will notice that there are direct trains where you will pay as little as 9 Euro per person for the Roma to Pisa leg; if you wait and buy in Italy, you will pay the full 'base' fare of 36 Euro per person. For the Pisa to CT leg, the savings to buy in advance are minimal; those I would suggest you just buy in Italy. Enjoy your trip!!!

Posted by
5188 posts

Kathleen,

Bob has a good point. I assumed you may already had planned to buy your tickets ( Roma to Pisa leg) in advance.

You can actually purchase these tickets (Freccia -high speed train) up to 120 days in advance; but be informed that they are nonrefundable & unchangeable so your travel dates must be firmed.

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
32171 posts

Kathleen,

Whether you'll need seat reservations for any of the trains you'll be using will depend on what type of train it is. For the trip from Rome to Pisa, you'll probably be travelling via Freccia high speed train, so reservations will be compulsory. Note that reservations are specific for ONE train, date and departure time and can ONLY be used on the one train specified on your ticket.

For the trip from Pisa to Monterosso, there are a variety of options depending on which train you choose. You could be using a combination of......

  • InterCity - reservations required
  • Freccia - reservations required
  • Regionale - NO reservations required but you MUST validate your ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

You can see all the solutions on the *Trenitalia * website.

If I read your post correctly, your group will consist of six people, probably requiring one double room and one family room? You could have a look at.....

  • Hotel Villa Steno
  • Hotel Pasquale
  • Villa Adriana
  • Hotel Porto Roca (this will be a splurge and only if your budget will allow)

For travel in May, I'd suggest booking SOON!

Posted by
15560 posts

You will change trains in Florence (20-30 minute layover) between Rome and Pisa. What's the rest of your itinerary? If you are going to be in Florence, it makes more sense to go straight to Monterosso from Rome, then either stop in Pisa on the way to Florence (or Venice). It may even be better to go straight to Florence, then take a 1/2 day trip to Pisa from Florence without the hassles and expense of schlepping and checking luggage. Then you could take the regional train to Pisa S. Rossore which is closer to the Leaning Tower (but no luggage deposit).

Edit: I was wrong, there are a few direct trains a day between Rome and Pisa. However: it takes only a little longer to go straight to the CT from Rome than the Rome-Pisa journey, but from Pisa to Monterosso takes over an hour. So you'd be doing some backtracking, because you'll go through Pisa on the way to Florence. I'd look at the train times for both plans and figure out what works best for you. There are more trains from Pisa to La Spezia than to Monterosso. In La Spezia you can take the local CT train that runs pretty frequently.