Hi all,
Going from Rome to the Cinque Terre in July, & wondering whether to take the fast train up & slow train back, & what the difference is in the routes, if any. Also, any recommendations on other places to see along the way, or in the vicinity of CT? We have a few days to play with and we (active couple with teenage daughter) would love to stop & stay a night or two if there's a sandy beach area along the way, or other beautiful vistas or lovely towns.
Also, I should mention, we're staying in Vernazza for 4 nights, and I understand we have to switch trains in La Spezia?
Marie,
Have you considered visiting Lucca & Pisa as a day trip from Vernazza?
Yes, you'll have to switch trains in La Spezia when traveling to/ from the South of CT.
Enjoy your trip!
Direct trains from Rome to La Spezia run along the coast. Connections via Florence have an additional change of train and run along the main, central rail line. It's possible to stop at Pisa for a few hours on the way to Florence. Pisa Centrale station has bag storage.
Orvieto is an easy and beautiful hill town stop on medium-speed trains running along the central route.
Trenitalia sells the tickets, but for viewing schedules between any two towns, you may also like the D Bahn link at Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online.
Priscilla - Yes, we were wanting to see Lucca and Piza, but perhaps on the way back from CT to Rome, (as opposed to a day trip from the CT) & maybe stay in Lucca.
Laura - Thanks. We've been to Florence, so we're probably going to take the direct/coastal train. Is Orvieto accessible by regional train if we're taking the coastal/direct train back from CT to Rome?
Also, still wondering if there are any coastal beach areas between Rome and CT worthy of a stop?
Also, still wondering if there are any coastal beach areas between Rome and CT worthy of a stop?
You might like the area around Porto Santo Stefano, which has been discussed recently in this thread. It is a little like the Cinque Terre but fewer non-Italians visit it. I am not sure if you understand that you cannot buy one train ticket to Rome from La Spezia and just decide to get off the train and back on another. You would need to decide where you want to make an intermediate stop and buy your tickets to support that journey.
FYI, July can be pretty busy at any beachside location so getting lodging if you decide to stop somewhere is a big deal. It's difficult to be impetuous at this time of year (high season).
Another thought is to try Viareggio. You can easily visit Pisa and Lucca from Viareggio and it has a huge beach. Again, it will be very busy in July.
