My husband and I will be arriving at the airport in Pisa on Sept 18, and we need to get a train to Monterosso the same afternoon and from Monterosso to Florence on Sept 22. My question is...should we buy train tickets online before we leave for Italy, or should we buy them when we arrive? And, is it safe to assume there will be seats available or could they sell out?? Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
since you haven't bothered to look at any of the other questions that appear daily about buying train tickets, my advice is to be sure to have them in hand before you go.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
Holly, ABSOLUTELY, buy your tickets when you arrive in Italy! The process is very easy and you should have no trouble getting tickets for either route you'll be travelling. What time does your flight arrive? You can use either the train or Bus from the airport to Pisa Centrale station. From there it's an easy trip to Monterosso, typically about 1H:45M with one change in either Sarzana or La Spezia. AFAIK, these will be regional trains, so no reservations will be required. As I recall, the station in Monterosso is "full service" so after you're settled in your Hotel, stop by the station a few days before you'll be travelling and buy your tickets to Florence. The shortest trip on that route is 2H:30M, usually with one change and at least one of the trains will require reservations (which will be included in the cost of your P-P ticket). Note that for the reserved portion, you'll be assigned Car (Carrozza) and Seat (Posti) numbers, so make note when you board the train. Have a look at the * www.trenitalia.com * website for travel times and other details. Note that your destination station will be Firenze S.M. Novella. For that particular trip, I'd probably leave Monterosso about 10:00 or 11:00, which would get to Florence in mid-afternoon. If you arrive too early, your Hotel may not be ready for check-ins (of course you could probably store your luggage and go out touring anyway). Buon Viaggio!
Posted by
Los Angeles
425 posts
Seat reservations are NEVER possible on ANY "regionale" trains in Italy. There is absolutely no point in buying tickets in advance, except for the convenience of not buying at the moment of travel. Pick them up after arrival in Italy whenever it's convenient for you. You CAN'T reserve seats, so there's no advantage to buying them sooner! Seats on "regionale" trains NEVER "sell out". When there are no more seats, people stand (not terribly often). Your travels from Pisa to Monterosso and from Monterosso to Florence will involve "regionale" trains. Look up the schedules and fares at: www.ferroviedellostato.it
Posted by
OP
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
21 posts
Thank you for the info, Ken. We arrive in Pisa at 12:35 pm. I noticed that there was a train for Montrosso about an hour later, which may work perfectly. When I searched online for tickets, the price for all the legs came to $110 for the two of us. Yet, on another site, the cost in euros from Pisa to Florence was only about 6 euros pp. I thought that if we were sure of acquiring tickets when we get there, they would likely be a lot cheaper. And yes, we will leave Montorosso around 11am to arrive in Florence by 4:30.
Posted by
Calgary, AB, Canada
2 posts
What website did you use to find the $110? That sounds quite high. http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html is the official website for train travel in Italy... other websites are retailers which have marked up the price. In additional to regionale trains traveling Pisa to Monterosso, probably through La Spezia, there are InterCity trains that go from Pisa to Monterosso, with no train changes required. These are 10 euro per person, for second class. (Likewise, this is an easy route to get to Florence from Monterosso, as there are many regionale trains (~hourly) from Pisa to Florence). It's possible to buy online ahead of time - and you may be able to get 30% discount (meno30) if you choose the InterCity train. But, non-Italian credit cards are apparently rarely accepted. The regionale trains do not sell out, and it sounds like the InterCity and faster trains (seat reservations required) very rarely sell out, so should not be any problem to buy once in Italy.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
691 posts
Holly, you don't have to buy them in advance like the other posters have said. From Pisa to Monterosso i have seen them at 10 euros, and from Monterosso to Florence 15.80 euros. We used second class on regional trains last year and it was fine, your journeys are not very long. Use www.trenitalia.com or www.bahn.de to see the schedules. Have a great trip, hope you enjoy Cinque Terra as much as we did!
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
70 posts
Great answer, Mike.
Posted by
OP
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
21 posts
Many thanks to all who replied. I appreciate your advice and will buy the tickets when we arrive in Pisa.