Trains from Milan to Cinque Terre

Where are you searching? Trenitalia?
From Milano Centrale to which station?
(Cinque Terre is not a station)

Searching Milano Centrale to Monterosso gives me lots of results

Looks like the IC trains are not showing up on the schedule yet. Its still almost 4 months away. They will show up, probably in the next month.

I think I read somewhere recently that it is too early. You can definitely do it. Cinque (5) Terre consists of 5 villages, and you can train or hike between them, but not the same train as the one that goes to Milan, if I remember correctly.

The summer schedule goes from June 12 to Sept 17.
For travel after Sept 17 you have to wait till they publish the autumn/winter schedule.
When you look, check trains on www.trenitalia.com from MILANO CENTRALE to MONTEROSSO
There are 5 villages at the Cinque Terre (from west to east: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore), but Monterosso (the largest) is the only one where direct (no changes required) Intercity trains from Milan stop. Only Regional trains stop in the other 4 towns, therefore those require at least one train change).

I hope you are not entering Cinque Terre as arrival station.

my searches are coming back with no matches

It seems You are not using the official site. Otherwise you would get some matches: On trenitalia.com you would see only the Regionale and the Freccia trains from Milan to the Cinque Terre village of your choice.

Trenitalia has released the schedules of the direct IC trains from Milano Centrale to Monterosso only up to September 4. If you are going to take a direct IC train to Monterosso, wait for June 12 and check again.

So, now that the autumn schedule is out, I can see the options for trains Milan - CT.
Question - on the Trenitalia trains, what's the difference between 1st and 2nd class? Worth the price?
Also, at what age do you qualify for senior fare?

For senior discount you need to have a Carte Freccia discount card

Search this forum -there are instructions for US citizens to apply for

It would help to know which of the five villages you plan to stay in, and your travel date?

To answer your last question, I don't believe there's much advantage in paying for first class, assuming it's available on the train you choose. The best option (IMO) is the Intercity departure at 12:10, arriving Monterosso at 15:05 (time 2H:55M, direct). Many of the other trains have one or more changes and longer travel times. If you're going to be staying in one of the other CT villages, you can connect with one of the frequent Regionale trains in Monterosso.

I'm also a "senior" but have found that the fares especially for Regionale trains are relatively cheap, so I've never bothered with "senior rates".

Thanks - this is helpful!