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transportation tips: Florence to Cinque Terre, then on to Venice

Hoping to travel by train from Florence to Cinque Terre with a stop in Pisa for a couple of hours. Then (not the same day) need to get from Cinque Terre over to Venice. Cannot find any trains on Rick Steves' recommended sites for these routes. Family of four - we would rather not rent a car. Any advice?

Posted by
6898 posts

For your train journey to the CT, all trains do stop at Pisa Centrale. Most even require a train change there. When you purchase your tickets, purchase Firenze SMN to Pisa Centrale and Pisa Centrale to your CT town. You will most likely change trains again at La Spezia Centrale. This routing is mostly regionale trains except for a few high-speeds and intercity trains that run between Pisa and La Spezia. I suggest that you purchase all regionale train tickets. They are cheaper and, they are open tickets that are good for 60 days. This is unlike the fast trains and intercity trains that require seat reservations and departure times. That gives you all the time flexibility you need for your Pisa stop. Just be sure to validate each regionale ticket before you board the train. 50Euro instant fines if you are caught onboard with an unvalidated ticket. Also, there is a staffed left luggage facility at the Pisa Centrale train station. As you get off the train, turn right so that the tracks are on your right and walk down to the end of the buildings. About 4-5Euros per bag.

For the CT to Venice, there are three routings. 1) CT/La Spezia/Pisa/Florence/Venice, 2) CT/La Spezia/Parma/Bologna/Venice and, 3) CT/Genoa/Milan/Venice. The fastest routing is via Florence. Journey times vary from 5.5hrs-7.0hrs depending on the run. Here's a snapshot of what I see on www.trenitalia.com http://gyazo.com/b07443005931920d3f8b42aaba0fb8b4 There are several later departures as well.

Posted by
15043 posts

Use www.trenitalia.com.
Use a date in the next seven days to see sample schedule. Since trains at the Cinque Terre are Regional trains they get loaded only weekly. The schedule won't change.
From CT to Venice you can take the Florence route or the Milan route. The second one entails fewer changes (but not necessarily faster).
If Rome is part of your itinerary it is best to go from Rome to the Cinque Terre, then from the Cinque Terre to Florence and lastly from Florence to Venice, in this exact order. Cinque Terre to Venice is a long trip.

Posted by
16893 posts

Schedules change on June 15. DB will have the summer schedules for Italian regional trains loaded shortly after that date for the rest of the summer. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. Meanwhile, you can use an earlier date and expect connection choices to be quite similar.

Posted by
11613 posts

@Laura, I bought tickets on Trenitalia for travel in August. The OP will find schedules available now.