Do we need to book these trains ahead of time? We are traveling by train on the 18th from Florence to Manarola by way of Lucca - planning to get to Lucca around 9:30 or 10, store our bags and see the town until about 3pm, then catch the 3:30 train to La Spezia and Manarola.
Then on the 21st we will take the train from Manarola to Pisa airport, potentially stopping in Pisa to see the tower (but I don't think we'll have enough time) and ending up at the airport by 12 or 1 for a flight to Stansted airport UK that leaves at 3pm.
Any advice or thoughts on reserving train tickets, timing issues, etc? Does this sound reasonable?
Thanks so much.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Since there are no reserved seats on Regionale trains, they can't sell out and you can't book them.
You can get a ticket in advance on trenitalia.com. The main benefit is that Regional train tickets purchased on-line do not need to be time-stamped before getting on.
The drawback is that Regional trains tickets purchased on-line can be used only on the selected train and on the following ones running the same route within a few hours.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1268 posts
Just to add to Dario's good info... You mention 'regional' trains in your heading. But that is actually a specific category of train, and not all of your journeys may be on that type. For instance, Manarola to Pisa could be on only 'regional' trains or could include an 'intercity' train, which has fewer stops, required/included seat reservations, and ticket is only good for that exact train. If you look on trenitalia.com, you will see what I mean. In any case, no need to book these tickets now. Buy in any station or on trenitalia website or app when convenient for you (could be right before boarding, or morning of, or a day or two before) and when you are pretty confident of your journey times / details. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1179 posts
You can reserve ahead of time if you know for sure you're taking that train and the timing works for you. If you're winging it or keeping your options open I'd recommend the Trenitalia app for your phone. Not only will it show you all the trains available but you can literally buy tickets for a train as you get on it. More than once we walked into a station and wanted to take the train that was sitting in station. You can just walk to the train while buying tickets.without worrying about ticket machine lines.
It also lets you track trains in real time and watch them for being late and find the platform you need to transfer to before you get off the train saving you time and potential confusion while transferring. I was skeptical but it was so handy and real lifesaver during my recent trip.
Lucca is wonderful town to spend a day exploring. The train station is outside the city walls so allow a few minutes to get to and from the station in your planning. You'll probably need to change in Viareggio going from Lucca to La Spezia but that's a standard platform change at the station.
La Spezia to Pisa should be direct and faster or slower depending on which train you take. I haven't done the Pisa train station to Pisa airport but I think it just takes a couple of minutes and is no big deal. When I was in Pisa if you wanted to go in the tower you immediately went and reserved a time and then toured everything else until your time slot came up. My take is if you can't prebook tickets then you would need to commit to trying to see the Tower - getting up early and arriving in Pisa before it opens so you can get to the Tower just as it opens for the best chance. Personally, I think I'd rather have a leisurely last breakfast morning in CT and take a non-stressed train ride into Pisa and go to the airport instead of getting up early and hassling with trying to get one more site in - but that's up to you.
Either way - enjoy,
=Tod