Train Basel to Cinque terra

It would help to know what time your flight arrives at the Basel EuroAirport? That will determine which trains you'll be able to connect to. It would also help to know which of the five towns you'll be going to in the Cinque Terre?

You'll first need to take a Bus or Taxi from the airport to Basel SBB rail station. This website provides the options - http://www.euroairport.com/en/passengers/access/taxi.html . It's going to be a LONG trip from Basel to the Cinque Terre, about 8-9 hours with 2-5 changes. If you don't have your flights booked yet, you might consider flying inbound to Milan, Genova or Pia instead of Basel.

You can look up trains from Basel to your final destination on the SBB website: https://www.sbb.ch/en/
You will have to change trains a number of times. The SBB website will always find the quickest route.

Cinque Terre is, as the name suggests, a region of five towns. Each has its own railway station. You need to decide which you want to go to and use this name when searching for trains.

The bus from Basel airport to the station starts from outside arrivals and leaves every 7½ minutes.
There is an SBB desk in arrivals if you need to buy tickets. You can buy a ticket starting from the airport which includes the bus, otherwise it costs CHF 4.70 per person. The taxi costs about CHF 50, not cheap.

Standard warning for newbies at Basel airport: after luggage reclaim there are two exits. One on the left to France and one on the right to Switzerland. Make sure you take the correct exit, or you will end up in the wrong country.

Odds are that the train from Switzerland will end its run at Milan's main station.
From Milano Centrale you can take a direct Intercity train to Monterosso al Mare, the biggest village in the Cinque Terre. You'll have to change at least once to reach the other 4 villages.

Thank you. We are actually getting off a Tiver Cruise in Basel and getting a shuttle to Airport. Do you have any more tips with regard to changing trains at the ongoing stations. When we were last in Italy we seemed to almost miss our trains when we were standing right at the track!! Train travel is differenet for Canadians as that is almost the last Choice for travel in Canada.

Thank you again. Just checked with Cruise Line and they said we could get a shuttle to Mulhouse Train station in France. We can also be shuttled to Basel Airport or Munich airport-- what would be the best for EXPRESS TRAIN travel to Milan- we underestimated travel times by train and want to see the scenery but don't want a milk run. Is it better to book ahead or can we book when we get to the train station?

The best would be to leave from Basel Hbf (central train station). Maybe they're not mentioning a shuttle if you're already in the city and can get to the train station easily by local transport or taxi. A few departures per day from Basel to Monterosso connect at both Zurich and Milan but there's a 12:30 departure with only one connection at Milan.

Thanks again. If the train leaves Basel at noon and goes Zurich/Milan are we better off taking cruise shuttle to Zurich early morning and take train from Zurich direct to Milan??

Ah, you gave us bum info :-) You are actually starting from a cruise boat, not from the airport!

Do not go to Basel airport, go direct to the station, which is called "Basel SBB" and will be nearer.
Depending on which of the three possible places in Basel your boat docks at, there may or may not be easy public transport to the station. If not, just get a taxi, cost CHF 30-40. Don't bother with the bus, just go straight to the station.
Most trains from Basel to Milan do not go via Zürich, there is a quicker direct route.

This will be a long way, and you don't say when you will be getting off the ship. The train Laura mentions is:

12:31 depart Basel SBB, 16:37 arrive Milano Centrale
18:05 depart Milano Centrale, 21:05 arrive Monterosso

As you see, that is a long journey. If you not are getting off your boat in time to catch this train you would need to stay overnight, either in Basel or somewhere en route.

You can look up the times yourself on the SBB (Swiss Railways) website: https://www.sbb.ch/en/

When you decide which train to take, buy tickets at the above mentioned SBB website. This gets you advance purchase discounts, and saves wasting time at Basel station.

Thanks again - we dis-embark August 19 early as we want so it looks like 1231 would be no problem. How far in advance can we book?

I think 90 days in advance. Just go to the SBB website, put in your date, and see if it is offering tickets and for how much.

P.S. before trying to buy anything on a "foreign" website, be sure to warn your bank in case they block your credit card for suspicious transactions.

Thanks again-- I'll leave you alone now---- for awhile.