Train from Venice to Cinque Terre

The train station in Venice is Santa Lucia. There is another station on the mainland called Venezia Mestre. All trains that begin at Venezia SL go through Mestre. You want to look at the trains that start at Venezia SL.

You can get to the Cinque Terre from Venice through either Genoa or Florence. From Genoa, you want a train that is going to La Spezia and that stops in the Cinque Terre. If you go through Florence, you'll transfer at the Santa Maria Novella train station (Firenze SMN) and go to La Spezia through Pisa or Viareggio.

Thanks, Doug in PDX. That is the specific info I was seeking. Can we purchase tickets in Venice for the entire trip?

Yes. At the train station.

From La Spezia, you will then take the local train which stops at Manarola (and the other towns too).

At Trenitalia, when you search the timetables, use La Spezia as your destination.

Unless it works better to go through Genoa.

Kay, although trains originating at Venice SL will be most convenient, also check schedules from Mestre. You might find a better time or route on a train that originates there, and there are frequent trains from SL that get you to Mestre in 5-10 minutes. I remember a past poster mentioning that there's one train a day via Bologna they thought was faster than via Milan or Florence. Note that going through Genoa means going to Milan and then south via Genoa. There's a train about hourly from Genoa that stops in all or most of the Cinque Terre villages. A Venice to Manarola search should show you those trains. If changing trains in Genoa, you may need to go down the escalator to the lower platforms. Routes via Florence generally change at Santa Maria Novella station, the main station, rather than one of the smaller stations. Another search tip to consider - search Milan to Manarola and Florence to Manarola. If you find a time and route you like, then look for the Venice train. That's the easy part, as there's at least one train each hour from Venice to Milan or Florence. Last alternative is to go to a travel agency in Venice (Rick recommends Oltrex) and buy your tickets there. They may charge a small fee per ticket, but it saves a trip to the train station.

Thanks for the great info on trains everyone. Frank, the train to Bologna leaves Venice at 3 a.m. It takes 1 hr 37 min but one still has another half hour ride to Florence. It is, indeed, the fastest train to Bologna. Overall, going through Florence to CT is faster than Milan-Genoa-CT. Plus, fewer train transfers. We decided to maximize the stop in Florence, spend a night, see the sights, and go on to CT. Hopefully, it won't be too difficult to rent a car afterwards in Spezia or Pisa. Avis gives us the best rate and right now, the Spezia location (which is the most convenient) shows they are closed on Saturday, the day we depart from CT.