Train from Lucerne to Manarola in Cinque Terra

Hi Russell. see answers below.....
- the connecting time between trains in Milan is 20 minutes. Is this enough time to get from one train to another?
+ enough time if incoming train is on time. If you have another option you may want to allow extra time and plan to relax / eat / view at Milan station between trips. The Milan station is huge and impressive.

- is there immigration or customs to go through at Milan station that could delay us?
+ no
- If we miss our connecting train in Milan, will we be able to exchange our pre purchased ticket for a ticket on the next train?

+ not sure since incoming train is Swiss, outgoing Italian
- I can't seem to find a web site to pre book a train from Levanto to Manarola.
Is this because trains don't run between these two towns or do I have a buy a ticket locally on the day?
+ do not pre-book this ticket, just buy at station in Levanto.
- how often would trains run to Manarola from Levant on a Thursday?
+ view sample schedule on trenitalia.com, use a date of next Thursday.
- other advice..
+ I'm sure you're aware, but Cinque Terre will likely be cold and many places closed in November.
+ Enjoy your trip!

Russell,

A few thoughts on your travel plans.....

The trip from Lucerne to Milano Centrale is very straightforward, so you should have no problems with that.

For the segment from Milan to Manarola, I'd just book the entire trip, rather than breaking it into one segment to Levanto and another to Manarola (although that trip will usually have at least one change). What time does your train from Lucerne arrive in Milan? The trip from Milan to Manarola will likely use a combination of Freccia / Intercity / Regionale trains. It will be easy to pre-book the Freccia / Intercity trains, but more difficult to book the Regionale (nor is there any reason to do so as the price is the same - DON'T forget to validate Regionale tickets before boarding the train on the day of travel!).

You can pre-book the premium trains in Italy on the Trenitalia website, but you won't be able to do that until about 120 days from your travel date. You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent Ron In Rome website, which has a good tutorial on booking tickets on the Trenitalia site.

Regarding your questions.....

• The station in Milan is what I call a "terminating station", where all the tracks enter the station and then end at the same point. All you have to do is walk to the front of the train and across to the platform for your next train. You can determine which platform your next train is on by checking the electronic departure (Partenza) boards. Twenty minutes should be more than adequate (but don't stop for coffee). THIS video is a bit "jittery" but it provides a glimpse of what the station looks like.
• There are no Customs or Passport controls in Milan. Everything is open within the E.U.
• I'm not sure whether you'll be able to exchange your ticket? AFAIK, if you miss trains that have compulsory reservations, the ticket is worthless. Hopefully you don't miss the train and have to attend the ticket office, as there's normally a HUGE queue at the office in Milan! The ticket office is on the bottom floor of the station, two floors down from track level.
• The trains absolutely DO run between Levanto and Manarola (frequently). You can book tickets for the premium trains on the Trenitalia website, but the segment from Levanto to Manarola may be via Regionale, which are difficult to book online.
• You can determine the frequency of trains between Levanto and Manarola on a Thursday on the Trenitalia website. Use a date within the next week and you'll be able to see all the solutions. The new schedules will be uploaded to the website about 15 June.
• You may be able to buy ALL the tickets for the Italy travel by using the Italia Rail website. I've never used it, so can't offer any first-hand comments. I believe they sell Regionale tickets which will be pre-validated for a particular train. Hopefully one of the others can confirm that.
• Be sure to watch your luggage carefully at Milano Centrale, so the scammers don't walk off with it.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Ken and Bob for your replies.

Ken, the train arrives into Milan at 12.50pm from memory and the connecting train to Levanto departs at 1.10pm. I checked out the video link you provided...thanks. It does look fairly easy to negotiate. Hopefully the train won't be late!

Appreciate you both taking the time to answer my queries.

Those EuroCity trains from Switzerland often stop at the border - Domodossola or Chiasso depending on which route you are on, Chiasso from Luzern - for some time while Immigration and Customs officers scan through the train. Much of this time is built into the schedule but Immigration and Customs officers go at the speed they go at sometimes they find people of interest and the train stops longer.

I wouldn't bet the farm on the train rolling into Milano Centrale bang on time.

That's based on my experiences last year.

Russell,

In normal circumstances, 20 minutes is more than adequate to change trains in Milano Centrale. However, as Nigel mentioned the customs checks at the border could add some time so it would likely be prudent to allow a bit more of a "cushion".

The only trains I can see departing at 13:10 in the direction you're going are Freccia high speed trains which have compulsory reservations specific to train, date and departure time. If you miss that train, your ticket is worthless and you'll have to buy another at Base fare (full price). Unless you have a specific reason for stopping in Levanto, using the quickest trains would be the best idea.

If you're willing to "take your chances", you could certainly pre-purchase tickets for a 13:10 departure and hope there are no delays. If you want a safer approach, you could use a departure from Milano Centrale at 14:05, arriving Manarola at 17:45 (time 3H:40M, one change at Sestri Levante, InterCity and Regionale Veloce trains, current base fare listed at €23.50 PP plus €4 for the segment from Sestri Levante to Manarola). Of course this would mean about an hour layover at Milano Centrale (be sure to watch your bags while there). There are lots of restaurants so you could stop for a coffee or light meal to pass the time. Here's a look at the choices in the station. One other point to note is that the WC's in the station are "pay-per-use" so stopping at a restaurant will provide free facilities.

Cheers!