Hello . I am new here . I know to book a train from Pisa to La Spezia and then get the pass for the trains to cinque Terre. I have booked an early morning train from Pisa so far. I will purchase the day pass for the trains to cinque terre that will allow us to move about. My question is , when we return to La Spezia, and need a train back to Pisa in the evening, do we need to book that? It will be a Monday evening , late in September. I am just unsure about knowing how long we will be and where we will eat dinner. Are we best to stay in cinque Terre area for diner, La Spezia, or head back to Pisa for dinner. We do not want to feel rushed and prefer to just leave it open but also do not want to get stuck and not be able to get back .
Thanks in advance
Greg
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15868 posts
You can buy the ticket to Pisa on the spot at whichever station you depart from (it doesn’t have to be La Spezia, it could be Monterosso for example. No need to book in advance, buy when you get to the station.
Posted by
San Francisco, CA (USA)
553 posts
Just go to any Trenitalia kiosk at the station and buy your ticket.
You're not catching a high-speed or, anything fancy, these are the standard regional milk-run trains the locals use. You'll be changing trains in LaSpezia. Best to catch the train out of CT (any village) by 9 or, 9:30pm in order to make the transfer in LaSpezia and on to Pisa.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7024 posts
Welcome Greg!
That’s a regional train that cannot sell out
Price never changes
Purchase as Roberto advises
Be sure to validate your tickets whether on the app or in the machine
Get the easy to use Trenitalia app
Posted by
OP
2 posts
So you are saying that if we end our day in Riomaggiore and decide that sometime between 5pm to 9pm we could purchase a ticket from the train station there to Pisa on that day with no worries of not getting a seat? Thats would be ideal so we could decide at the last minute. We just didn't want to get stuck and are uncertain how full the trains are at the end of the day.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5436 posts
You can always get on a regional train, but there's no guarantee of a seat. I have stood all way on other Italian regional trains, but am not sure of this route. Have a great trip .
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32325 posts
Greg,
That's a very straight forward trip and I wouldn't bother pre-booking. Just buy the tickets at the station on the day of travel, either from a staffed ticket office or from a self serve kiosk (they have English language menus). If buying tickets from the machines, note that Regionale tickets must be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Failure to do so can result in hefty fines which are collected on the spot. Tickets for the express trains (Intercity, Freccia) do not have to be validated as they include compulsory reservations, which are specific for train, date and departure time. Here's a short video on validating tickets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja7EotElSUc .
I normally check the details of trips on the Trenitalia website and to figure out which trains I want to take in each direction. It's important to note which type of train you'll be using on each leg of the trip so that you follow the ticket rules for that type of train. For example, using an arbitrary date I checked schedules from Pisa Centrale to Riomaggiore. There are a variety of solutions available and one of the shortest is a departure at 08:50, arriving at 10:02 (time 1H:12M, one change at La Spezia Centrale). The first leg will be via Frecciargento which has compulsory seat reservations (you must sit in the coach and seats assigned).
If you're planning to visit all five towns, I'd suggest starting in Riomaggiore and ending in Monterosso in the late afternoon. Have a fine meal in one of the great restaurants there and then head back to Pisa in the evening. One of the favourites with many here is Cantina di Miky which is on the main street close to the rail station. Note that Monterosso has a "new town" and an "old town" so be sure to leave enough time to explore both.
Although I prefer to actually stay in the towns, I have made day trips from Florence (not ideal, but possible) and it's always a treat to get back there.