train travel from Vernazza to Venice

Milan train station is huge, but the tracks are all at the same level. Milano Centrale has its own web page with a good map, google it: you can walk from track 1 to track 24 in 10 minutes. I'd rather go via Milan to have reserved seats all the way from Monterosso to Venice S. Lucia.

www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en does not display impossible connections.

You cannot change discounted tickets, BASE fare tickets can be changed within one hour from the departure of the booked train.

Ruth,
You should be fine with 23 minutes to transfer trains in Florence.

I also think 15 minutes is enough time to transfer trains at Milano Centrale.

Milano Centrale is a terminus, and all the tracks are on the same level.

Whichever route you choose, just be ready to get off the train right when it stops at your destination. You'll see passengers getting their luggage & walking towards the door right before the train arrives at the station.

You may want to book your train tickets( Vernazza >> Venice or Monterosso >> Venice) in advance at considerable savings.

Keep in mind that discounted tickets are unchangeable & nonrefundable.

Enjoy your trip!

Edit: I'd probably choose traveling via Milan.

Train tracks typically are all on one level, but another way to describe these terminus stations (Milano Centrale, Firenze SMN, and Venezia S. Lucia) is that the passenger access is all on the same level as the tracks, without any tunnel, skybridge, or stairway necessary to change tracks.

We did that exact route this past summer, with a connection through Milan. Booked it online on Trenitalia well in advance. FYI, searching on Trenitalia that far ahead using "Vernazza" as the departure station returned no solutions for me, so I booked the Monterosso=>Venice leg online, and simply bought the Vernazza=>Monterosso leg at the Vernazza station once we got there.

The Milan station is pretty straightforward and easy to navigate. For what it's worth, we had a 50 minute connection at Milan, but the train from Monterosso came in 53 minutes late, so... But the nice "helpdesk" folks right there on the platform quickly booked us on the next train to Venice, which gave us an hour to grab lunch, so it all worked out.

ruth,

There are two main routes from Vernazza to Venice, one via Milan and one via Florence. I find that the Florence route is generally a bit quicker. I'd suggest looking at the entire route on the Trenitalia website, rather than focusing on the connection times. The website will suggest the best route, with adequate time provided for changes.

One of the quickest trips will be a departure from Vernazza at 09:16, arriving Venezia Santa Lucia at 14:20 (time 5H:04M, 3 changes at La Spezia, Pisa and Florence). The longest change is 31 minutes at La Spezia, while the others are much shorter. You may have to use transfer tunnels at La Spezia and Pisa, but the change at Florence will just involve getting off one train, walking to the platform for the next train and getting on board.

One important point to note is that two of the trains on the above route are Regionale, which means that you MUST validate locally purchased tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! The other two trains have compulsory seat reservations, so validating is not required. Don't forget to validate!

It will be cheaper to buy advance tickets for those trains which have compulsory seat reservations. There are no price breaks on Regionale tickets so those can just as easily be purchased locally. There is a small ticket office in Vernazza and a larger one in Monterosso.

Thanks to all for advice. IT seems to me that if you miss a connection because the train is late, you are not penalized and do not have to pay again for another ticket. Is that correct?

You should have adequate time to make the connections on the route I mentioned earlier. You can easily use the Regionale tickets if you miss one train, however the Freccia and InterCity tickets are a different story. The compulsory seat reservations that come with those are specific to train, date and departure time, so can only be used on the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you miss that train, you'll have to talk to a Conductor or whatever before boarding another train. DON'T be caught without a valid reservation for the train you're riding on, as you may be fined on the spot!

Have you considered renting a car? You can get one in LaSpezia, drive via Bologna to Venice. It is app 3.5 hours of beautiful Tuscan country side. Go at your own pace and enjoy the ride. It is very easy to navigate and the roads are well marked and maintained. I did the same drive a few years ago and we really enjoyed it.

Lorie

We just did this exact same route a week and a half ago. We didn't reserve the trip from Vernazza but started the reservation in La Spezia, just made sure we had time to get to the train from La Spezia to Florence when we left. The route through Florence was quicker than through Milan and I think cheaper. We did select the closer connection - I can't remember the exact time difference but it shouldn't be difficult. I kind of wished we had the longer connection so I would have had time to run over into that great grocery store a couple blocks away from Firenze SMN and pick up some dinner. It's on the way to Via Fiume - I forget the name.