train schedule between Venezia and Riomaggiore

Just that you will not have an option to buy a regional ticket in advance. Typically those are not available through Trenitalia...but no worries, there are no discounts for buying ahead or price hikes buying the day of.

You can get prevalidated tickets when you book at www.trenitalia.com. 20 minutes should be plenty of time to change trains as Freccia trains are usually on time. If you miss a connection because of a late train, you can still use the tickets for the next regional trains to your destination.

Thank you for the response. Regarding train tickets on Trenitalia site, it appears as though I can purchase regional tickets in advance along with my Frecciabianca ticket. I'm I wrong about that? If I'm wrong is my only option to purchase my train tickets (1 long distance and 2 regional to complete my route) in Venice the morning I depart for Riomaggiore? Then when I transfer to each regional train I validate each ticket? Can I purchase all three train tickets in Venice before departure?

Some of the above information is a little incomplete. Just to clarify --

1. You can buy single Regionale train tickets on-line up to seven days in advance. That generally is not recommended since on-line tickets come pre-validated with more restrictions. For those situations it is best to buy at the station.

2. Regardless of when your purchase, if you purchase a ticket from A to E and it includes a mix of fast and Regionale train, then the Regionale train ticket (or tickets) will be included with the tickets for the faster train or trains. Essentially everything is validated - no need for additional validation. Just go from train to train. The included Regionale ticket will have a start time for being valid - ie - 900. That means the ticket cannot be used prior to 9 am and the ticket is valid for three hours. The tickets will all be timed to whatever schedule you have selected.

3. If you had a pattern of Regionale, Regionale, Fast train then you might consider buying just the fast train on line and the Regionale train tickets after you arrive. Depending on what you are doing, it might give you more flexibility as to which Regionale trains you use and when. BUT - you do have to meet the fast train for the time you scheduled so if you are locked into a schedule there really would be no reason to purchase Regionale tickets locally.

Hi marykate2. If there is significant savings, and you are fairly sure of your travel dates and times, good idea to purchase your freccia ticket in advance. Regarding the regional tix - one addition to the info given above... A good reason to wait and buy your regional tix in Italy is that if your plans change (e.g. you cancel your trip, or for whatever reason, your dates or itinerary change), your regional tix bought in advance will be wasted / worthless. Also, by buying online you unnecessarily give up flexibility and lock yourself in to a schedule. Since there is no discount for buying in advance, you can avoid this possibility by buying your regional tix in Italy. You can buy them at your convenience in any station in Italy; it could be in Venice the morning of your trip; or a day or two earlier at your convenience. Enjoy your trip!

Florence SMN train station is pretty easy to navigate - a dead-end station where all the trains come into one big room, with no need to go to a tunnel or overpass to connect the tracks. Direction of travel for the next train will typically be toward Livorno (get off at Pisa) or toward La Spezia and one of these runs about hourly.

thank you all. I really appreciate the replies. Just trying to take the stress out of our travel plans. We do have a schedule we plan to follow and Frank, your information was very helpful. I will give more thought to whether to purchase tickets in advance or once in Italy. It now seems either option would work for us. Maybe I just over think/plan and vacation should be about relax and fun!