Trains from Milano Centrale to Cinque Terra

There is one direct train that leaves Milano at 07:25. At all other times you would need to make at least one connection.

If you check timetables on the Trenitalia site, enter a date no later than 12 June. New timetables will go into effect on 13 June and Trenitalia hasn't uploaded them yet. The new times should pretty much match the current ones.

There is a 12:05 train direct from Milano Centrale to Monterosso, arrival 15:02.

Starting at around 06:00, there are currently 8 trains that go from Milano Centrale to Monterosso in the CT. They take about 3 to 3.5 hours and do not require a train change.

Of course we're cheating sort of, Monterosso al Mare is the largest spot in the CT and has the best train connections especially from Milano. But once there you could change to the local train and go to any of the other villages or you could take the boat if running. There are trains every hour from Monterosso to all the other villages.

I also used Vernazza as my destination and the 07:25 train DOES go directly there.

Actually the 07:25 train out of Milano Centrale is a great option if the early time would work out for you. It is the only train currently out of Milano Centrale that stops at all 5 of the Cinque Terre villages. Since it's an R train and makes more stops it will take you about 30 minutes longer but costs less than half the price of the IC trains that only stop at Monterosso al Mare.

If that time does not work for you then going direct to Monterosso and the picking up the local would be the work around, unless of course you are staying in Monterosso.

We traveled from Milan to Genova Brig. station not prince as it was closer for our hotel. Change there for train to CT. You need to look on the train schedule posted to La Spenzia the trains to CT are on there. We bought a return ticket to the furthest CT town. Then used the local trains between towns and got on at Vernaza for our trip back to Genova. You can also use the kiosks at the train station to get schedule info and buy tickets. we scoped this out the day before.

All of you have been so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to respond. We have a much better idea on how to get the CT. Donna

Sarah - Right now don't look at dates that are very far out. The schedule changes in Mid June and trenitalia won't have the data loaded yet.

Just pick a day of the week in May that is the same as your real travel day. For example you want to travel on August 24 this year, a Tuesday. If you look at the August date, you'll be lucky if there is one train listed.

Search on Tuesday, May 4th. all the trains will be there. The actual times may change slightly but not much.

Most people in the US have problems purchasing tickets on the trenitalia website. It doesn't like US credit cards. Most folks advise just waiting till you arrive to get tickets.

What train website are you all using to find your information? Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I am using treinitalia.com and not finding what I need.

Also, are you booking your trains now or waiting to buy at the station?

Thanks! :)
Happy travels,
Sarah