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Possible to get to Cinque Terre at night if arriving into Milan in eve?

I was initially going to stay in Milan for the night and head out to the CT in the AM. But, unless I want to get up at 6am (which I'm thinking prob not), I won't be able to arrive into the CT until the next day around 230pm or so. The CT is one of the main reasons I'm returning to Italy (didn't get to see it last time), so I'm trying to maximize my time. : )

My flight arrives into Milan at 645pm, and the last train (if I'm reading the train table correctly) for Vernazza is at 810pm. From what I could gather from Rick's book it takes about 40 min to get from Milan Valpensa to the Milan train station? Not sure how long getting through customs takes? I will only have carry-on.

Is it do-able? What are your suggestions?

Posted by
8700 posts

Where are you getting your timetables? There is a direct train from Milan to Vernazza that departs at 07:25. A train with a connection in Monterosso departs at 08:00. A train with a connection in Genova departs at 09:05.

Posted by
1078 posts

I would strongly suggest that you don't try to get there in the dark!
We did it, however, we had an Italian colleague on his cell talking to the lady we had the reservations with, and between the two of them, we finally hooked up, and then walked down the main street past the train station and then up bunches of stairs with our luggage to the room.
No fun--stay somewhere and navigate by daylight!

Posted by
58 posts

Tim, I did see other times, but they were not available for purchase? And I wasn't sure what that meant...and yes, I figured out that I could leave a little later in the am by going through Monterosso...rookie mistakes. : )

Jerry, a very good point!

Now, I just need to keep my fingers crossed regarding the volcano!

Posted by
8700 posts

Kelley,

It sounds like you were looking on the Trenitalia site. If so, the "NA" simply means that the fares aren't available online. If you enter each leg separately and use a date within the next few days, you probably will be shown fares for each leg. At any rate, the chances that the trains in question will be full are next to zero.

Quiet down, volcano!