We never get train tickets in advance anywhere in Europe but we'll be traveling on May 1st on this trip and I'm a little concerned about needing to do this one in advance. Should I and if so, what are the details to book it as I know it's a little complex.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15197 posts
No need to buy in advance. Besides you will likely be on regional trains only, so you can't even purchase more than 7 days in advance. Also no discounts for early purchase on regional trains.
The trip requires at least one change in Ventimiglia, or two (one more in Genoa). I would buy at the station the day before or the day of departure (May 1 is Labor Day both in Italy and France but trains run). Don't forget to validate (date stamp) tickets for regional trains at the machines on the platforms before boarding. The whole trip is about 6 hours long.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
To print out schedules to bring along, we prefer the DeutscheBahn schedule link. I agree that tickets are easy enough to buy at the train station or SNCF Boutique at 2 Rue de la Liberte in Nice (open Mon-Fri, 10:00 - 17:50).
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Don,
On that route you'll likely be using a variety of trains, so it's important to know which types you'll be using, especially in Italy. Note that your departure station will be Nice Ville.
In the past, I've found that rail stations in France are only able to sell tickets to the first station in Italy, which is Ventimiglia in this case. If you're buying P-P tickets while in Europe, you'll have to buy tickets for the Italian part of your journey when you arrive in Ventimiglia. That can sometimes be a bit challenging if the time between trains is short and there's a queue at both the ticket office and the Kiosks.
One of the easiest and quickest trips will be a departure from Nice at 09:50, arriving Monterosso at 15:03 (time 5H:13M, 2 changes at Ventimiglia and Genova Piazza Principe, latter two trains are InterCity so they have compulsory seat reservations). There are numerous other trains on that route, including a few with only one change at Ventimiglia, so you can take your pick.
On trains with compulsory reservations in Italy, note that these are specific to one train, date and departure time so can only be used with the one train listed on the ticket.
It may be easier having pre-purchased tickets for the Italian portion of the trip, as long as you realize that if you miss the train for any reason (such as a French rail strike which happened to me last time I travelled that route), then your tickets are worthless and you'll have to buy more (unless you've purchased Base level tickets). If you decide to pre-purchase, try italiarail.com as their website is apparently more user friendly than Trenitalia.
Posted by
OP
Dallas, TX, USA
147 posts
Thanks so much for the info!