Hey everyone! We will be going to Cinque Terre from Florence on Saturday June 1. We already have those train tickets. We get in early and leave really late to La Spezia. I have searched a little online but was planning on getting tickets to Cinque Terre when we get there and most likely purchasing the Cinque Terre card + trains to use to see all five towns for the day. My main concern is how late do the trains run from Cinque Terre back to La Spezia? Is this something I should book in the morning to make sure we get back in time for our trip back to Florence or can we play it by ear? I know it is recommended to give yourself some cushion time in case some trains get cancelled or are running late. Any advice is much appreciated! We hope to spend as much time in Cinque Terre without running the risk of missing our train back to Florence! Thanks!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
Hi Harvey -
You can check train schedules on the Trenitalia website:
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Taking a quick glance and choosing a random CT village (Riomaggiore), the site shows the last train from there to La Spezia Centrale at 23:49 so quite late. I can't imagine you'd be heading back to Florence THAT late as there really won't be anything going on the CT at that hour of the night anyway! Play it by ear; there will be PLENTY of evening trains to La Spezia before that hour (example of frequency from Riomaggiore, 19:27, 19:35, 19:57, 20:08, 20:35, 21:06, 21:35, 22:03, 22:35.)
If you are using the CT Trekking/Treno card, don't forget to validate it the first time you use it, which will be from La Spezia into the first CT village you visit.
What time is your train back to Florence?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7549 posts
All trains (except for a handful of faster trains that stop at Monterosso) are regional trains, which I am not even sure you could buy online (for a regional only ticket).
It is just as easy to get a ticket in La Spezia for your return, the Regionale tickets are good for a time period after you validate them, so they are pretty flexible and not issued for a specific time and train.
According to Trenitalia, trains run about once per hour and stop around Midnight to 1:00 AM. It would not be unusual for the Regionale trains to run late, so I would not bet on being scheduled to get to La Spezia 10 minutes before your Florence train, but a half hour difference should be fine.
Posted by
Boston
1698 posts
I take it your purchased ticket is from Florence to La Spezia. You can then purchase a CT Card+Train at the La Spezia station (it must be validated before boarding the first time) or you can buy it online to save the wait in line. Then you'd take a Cinque Terre Express train to and between the villages. They run every 20 minutes and there are no reservations possible. The last train back to La Spezia is at about 11:30 pm. https://www.oasihotel.eu/cinque-terre-express-train/
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks everyone! This info is helpful. I need to check on our train time back to Florence but it sounds like we shouldn’t have a problem getting back to La Spezia in time. I appreciate the responses!