train from venice to vernazza

Jeff, First of all, an eight minute change at Sestri Levante should be more than adequate. I believe the travel route you described uses a Freccia from Venice to Milan, Intercity from Milan to Sestri Levante and then Regionale Veloce from Sestri to Vernazza. If either of the latter two trains are late, you should be able to just board the next Regionale train heading in the same direction, as reservations won't be an issue. I experienced a similar situation on my trip last year. On a trip from Bolzano to Cortona, the Freccia train from Bologna to Firenze was late. Consequently I missed my Regionale connection from Firenze to Cortona. I simply boarded the next Regionale train on the same route, and arrived about 45 minutes or so later than planned. It was a bit annoying, but not a huge problem. Happy travels!

Your train from Sestri Levante to Vernazza will be a Regionale train. Regionale trains are not part of the Super Economy fares. But, it is part of the overall run you are considering. The ordinary fare for this segment is 4Euro. Ordinarily, you cannot buy Regionale tickets online that far out unless it is associated with a high-speed ticket. Your planned trip includes a high-speed from Venice to Milan so you can do this. You will receive 3 tickets. You will receive seat reservations for the high-speed segment. Your second train is most likely an intercity train from Milano Centrale to Sestri Levante. You will receive seat reservations on this train as well. Thus, you really need to make both of these trains. However, your last train will not have seat reservations. No Regionale train does. Also, your ticket will show a departure time but the ticket should say that you have 4 hours from the time stamped on it to catch your train. My recent ticket from Assisi to Foligno that I bought online stated 4hrs on the ticket. As Ken described above, he has had the experience of jumping on to the next Regionale train making the run on the ticket. I'm sure you can do the same.