We will be traveling by train from Florence to Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre in September. I am looking for the fastest way to make this trip. I am confused about what trains, train stations, buy tickets in advance or not, etc....
Can anyone help me?
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
You don't need to know any of this in advance, the rail company website will give you all this info.
However you do need to know where you are going, which of the 5 towns, they each have a station (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore).
You can look up times in advance on the Trenitalia (Italian Railways) website: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Enter Firenze S. M. Novella to whichever of the 5 towns you want, and date and time and click on [Search].
This will list all the options for a 2-3 hour window, with the trains listed. Most times of the day at least one train per hour. These are all Regionale trains, no discount for advance purchase, it costs a flat rate of €17.60.
If you click on "changes" this will show all the changes involved, with where and when to change trains.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Using the site Chris referenced above, if you use the Firenze Campo de Marte station, you'll get the fastest train of the day. This station is a short taxi ride from central Florence. It leaves at 7:28, arrives in La Spezia where you'll transfer to the Cinque Terre train to Monterosso. Presently showing a fare less than the regionals, so I'd purchase in advance.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
You can see all the Florence to Monterosso train options by entering Firenze (Tutte Le Stazioni) as your departure station. If you're staying in the Santa Croce neighborhood, you'll be almost as close to the smaller Campo di Marte station as you'll be to the main SMN station.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32331 posts
bs,
It's not likely that you'll find a single train from Firenze to Monterosso. Depending on which solution you choose, there will be one or more changes. You can only save money with advance purchase tickets for the express trains (Freccia, Intercity). That route will have one or more Regionale trains, and there are no discounts for those. If you buy local tickets for Regionale trains, you MUST validate them prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
As the others have mentioned, check the Trenitalia website for all the solutions. You can buy tickets either on their website or at resellers such as www.trainline.com or others.