trainride pisa-cinque with jetlag+no sleep

Thanks Steve..I was up all night"googling"..My mother isn't used to the heat or italy for that matter..i just feel it would be a shame to miss Cinque Terre...However,I get heart palpitations when I arrive and am usually a basketcasr from no sleep...i am used to my friend picking me up and letting her take me to "my bed" in Frosinone..I will be in charge this time..lol

For most departure times your route will be Pisa Aeroporto-Pisa Centrale-La Spezia Centrale-Monterosso and your travel time ranges between 1hr42min and 2hr34min. There are a couple of times when you wouldn't have to change trains in La Spezia. Since you've been to Italy five times, you certainly can call yourself an expert on the train system. Go for it! I assume you will have a travel alarm clock with you. Set it so you won't have to worry about dozing off and missing a connection.

Since you are well traveled, you know whether you can sleep on the plane or not. Having managed to do it (and I am NOT an easy sleeper) for the last few trips, I encourage you and your mom to try hard to do so. My recommendations: take a neck pillow (it's not that hard to carry them around afterwards or you can ditch it as travel cost). Wear a sweater or fleece for warmth, put on eyeshades, wear ear plugs (or take our your hearing aids like I do!), get a sleep medication from your doctor and maybe only take half strength. When we landed in Venice this time, I was completely refreshed and had no problem with jet lag that day or any other day. Really added to the pleasure of the trip. Otherwise, the train trip from Pisa to LaSpezia/Cinque Terre is short. Keep in mind for mom that you will definitely be attacking hills and stairs in the CT. Mom needs to be ambulatory with good legs and have decent lungs.

Thanks guys!!!.I am used to being driven around by my friends there+them taking care of train tickets for me..My mother loves to walk..She is not athletic though..I guess the anxiety comes from me losing her everywhere here..I turn around in a mall and she is gone wandering..Hopefully my sister comes along so she can help.lol..Yes I am definetly taking a sleeping pill this time.Last time I waited in agony and it was too late..I guess if the room is still available at Hotel Pasquale by the time I get everyone in gear then I will go for it..Otherwise just settle in at Viarregio for a day or two..I've been spolied in the past..My friend picks me up in Rome and takes car of my bags,and tickets etc..I was also thinking of maybe doing a day in Viareggio immediately after the flight and then next morning embarking to cinque terre..But maybe I should get all the stuff over with in one shot...

Ok I think I have something alternative to do...
Thursday-Arrive in Pisa-transfer to Viarrgeio stay on sea-front
Friday-Stay in Viarregio
Saturday-Take train to Monterosso at 1pm..Arrive midday-Stay at Hotel Pasquale
Sunday stay at Hotel Pasquale
Monday-Depart for Florence around 4:30
Do you think that is enough time in CT???We're not going to go crazy there...It will also give us some time to adjust in the first day or so...

Two nights should be enough, especially if you're visiting the towns by train and not hiking. If you've never been on the Via Dell'Amore trail between Manarola and Riomaggiore, I would suggest trying to do it. It's all paved, very safe (with railings), and extremely beautiful. Your mother should be able to handle it. Take the train from Monterosso to Riomaggiore. Explore Riomaggiore a wee bit. Walk the trail to Manarola and explore that town a wee bit. Take the train back north, stopping in any of the other cities for which you have energy. I'd skip Corniglia just because it's not so quick and easy to get up to the town. But Vernazza is lovely and worth exploring. I never made it to Monterosso and but I'm sure it is wonderful. Remember that if you go on the Via dell'Amore trail, you'll need a trail pass for each of you (which you can buy at the trail head). Once you have that in hand, all train transportation for the day is included.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!..I really appreciate it..Let's cross our fingers that there are openings for the two hotels..I am going to try to buy my train tickets online..Hopefully it all runs smoothly:)..grazie mille

Susan,

The Trenitalia site rejects 99% of all US credit card transactions so it is highly unlikely that you will be able to book your train tickets in advance on that site. And there really is no need to do so. Trains in Italy run frequently and, with the exception of major holidays, they rarely sell out. Buy your tickets at the station. Station ticket machines do accept US cards and they have an English option.

Seat reservations are required on EuroStar Italia trains and IC trains, but they come with the ticket and are included in the fare. There is open seating on Regionale trains and no reservations are possible.

Susan, coming into Pisa from NYC sounds like a Delta flight. You can sleep a bit on the plane. My wife and I do that on our United flights as they fly through the night. Like your flight, we arrive around 10:00am-ish and are ready for a fairly full day. We are both seniors so don't feel bad for Mom. It's really exciting to get a good day of visiting in and then have a reasonable dinner.

Be sure to take her on the Via Dell'Amore trail (about a 30-minute walk). It's flat and mostly paved. Very scenic.

Ok so I booked two nights in Cinque Terre..they only had Saturday and Sunday night anyway..So that took care of my wondering what to do..So this leaves us with two nights in Pisa/Verraggio...Sadly the one hotel we were looking at in Verrgaio..you need to stay 5nights minimum...I am used to staying with my friends in authentic places so I am not reall going for the touristy hotels..I'll have to have a look at some and see what I find...Thanks about the train ticket info..and the trail info.I will write that down.:)

Since you cannot buy tickets on Trenitalia's website, and probably don't want to use RailEurope, you'll have to buy your train tickets there after landing. Buy at Pisa airport for the whole journey to avoid the chaos/lines/crowds at Pisa Centrale.

And print out the schedule for that day ahead of time so you can see which trains you want, depending what time you land and get through customs, etc. Every 2 hours there is an IC train that goes from Pisa Centrale to Monterosso without a change at la spezia (or Sarzanza) and it might be worth waiting for that train if it's not much of a delay. You'll still have to change at Pisa Centrale in any case, but avoiding the La Spezia transfer would be nice if it works for your schedule.