My family of four will be traveling from Rome to Mararola ( Cinque-Terre). Should we buy in advance? How difficult is it to transfer train to train? How early will we need to get to the train depot prior to departure? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
California 🦋
5222 posts
When are you planning to take your trip?
Do you plan to visit Florence? If so, you can easily travel to Manarola from there.
If you plan to travel from Rome to Manarola, this would entail a
train transfer in La Spezia.Transferring trains is not difficult, you just need to check the
electronic board when you arrive at the station and then walk over to
the correct platform to board your train.You can buy your train tickets in advance, especially if you plan to
travel from Rome because this involves either an Intercity or a
Freccia train, and discounted tickets sell out rather quickly.You can book your tickets on, Trenitalia.com, up to 120 days in
advance.Keep in mind that discounted tickets are nonrefundable and
unchangeable so make sure your dates are firm.If you plan to travel from Florence, this involves traveling in a
Regionale trains and there's no advantage in buying in advance as the
price is the same.If you end up traveling to Manarola from Florence, make sure you validate (date/time stamp) your train tickets prior to boarding the train to avoid hefty fines.
Edited to add...
You can easily visit the other 4 villages in the Cinque Terre from Manarola via train or ferry (except for Corniglia which does not have a ferry dock).
Here is the official website for the Cinque Terre National Park: http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
You don't have to be at most train stations particularly early, but Roma Termini is large and has a brief ticket-check to enter the platform area, which may cause a line. If you did not arrive to Rome by train and view the station earlier, then you might go as much as half an hour early to navigate your way in. The track number for your train might not be posted on reader boards more than 15-20 minutes ahead, but you can go through to the track area ahead of that time.
You can usually board as soon as the train is at the track and posted with the correct signs. You may have to open the train door yourself (push button). Your ticket will include seat assignments in a particular car of the train. On a random travel date that I checked, the 9:57 departure was coming up from Naples (but stopped at Termini for a generous 20 minutes), while the 11:57 originated at Termini.