My husband has been looking at other options to get to Venice, other than multiple trains. Seems there's a flight from Genoa (going through Rome) that would take 3 hours for $100.
Is that worth it? How hard is it to get from CT to the airport at Genoa? Just looking at options and wondering which is best.
Thanks!!
Why? What advantage do you think you are gaining? Time? My guess is that the plane will take twice as long when you factor in time getting to and from airports, security, checkin, waiting and waiting, etc.,
Well that's a new twist on that route.
So let's see....
Six to seven hours from Monterosso (you don't say which town you will be in) straight through to Venezia Santa Lucia, with the view of the Grand Canal stretching before you as you step out of the station - very easy changes in Milano Centrale and Bologna, perhaps a bit faster changing in La Spezia and Parma and Bologna. Door to door, no muss no fuss, all by train.
Or... 75 to 90 minutes from Monterosso to Genova Brignole. I don't have a clue how you get to the airport at Genova - was at the station just last Saturday, but never the airport, but lets guess an hour to connect with whatever and take whatever right into the airport - maybe a bit less but call it an hour in a city you aren't familiar with. Two hours at the airport before flight. 3 hours flight via Rome ?!?! All the way south to go all the way north. I'd rather change trains than planes any day.
So you have just touched down at Marco Polo airport and have spent 7 and a half hours so far.Now it is wait for the luggage to come down and get to Venice where the train arrived an hour ago. Will you take the bus to P.Roma and the vaporetto? Half an hour (from when it leaves) of not much fun before you even get on the vaporetto. Take the Alilaguna boat? Not much view because of being low in the boat and the windows fog up and a 15 or 20 minute walk to the boat from the airport and the wait for the half hourly service and the hour ride? Or the super expensive water taxi?
Seems to me that flying involves many more times you have to hump your luggage, it is much slower, and probably more expensive. Certainly more stressful.
I know which I would choose....
I am afraid that is a really bad idea. Anytime you look at flight times, remember that you have to add extra time to get to the airport and get through security lines--- an extra 2 hours or more. And from the Venice Airport, it takes longer to get to your hotel---an hour if you use the Alilaguna, which would cost an extra €30 for two of you. Bus plus vaporetto is slightly cheaper and faster, but is a hassle with the extra transfer. Best to arrive in Venice by train and walker use the vaporetto to get to your hotel.
If you choose the right trains, there are only two changes between Vernazza and Venice ( one at Levanto and one at Milan), and the journey time is just over 6 hours. You can depart Vernazza at 7:32 or 10:24 for these itineraries.
You could also take the train to Pisa and fly Delta from Pisa to Venice via JFK.
Roberto - one 'Like'
But, then you would probably end up in Venice, Florida, USA. :-)
As I wrote in the other thread, Cinque Terre and Venice are on opposite shores of Italy, and in the middle there are unpopulated mountain zones. If trains take a lot of time there is a why.
I also suspect that most people travelling between CT and Venice are tourists following Rick Steves itineraries; I suspect that on a given day, very few locals do this trip - and this is why there are no direct trains. You have either to bite the bullet and take your time, or plan an itinerary where CT is preceded or followed by destinations on the western coast of Italy, that is where the most direct train line runs. Say: CT to Rome would be much easier than CT to Venice.
Adding that in my experience, planes are more likely to be delayed than trains.
Thanks everyone. I didn't think it would make sense, but told him I'd check, since you all know a lot more than we do. Never having travelled to Europe before, or travelled on a train, it's all foreign to us :) So thanks for your replies and for not being too sarcastic :)
We aren't doing the "Rick Steves" route - we just choose the three places we wanted to go, and we planned on the Dolomites last, since we heard that the weather is iffier there, the earlier in the month you go. And I heard that the cable cars aren't open, for the most part, but one or two may open at the end of the month.
Plus, we were thinking that spending the weekend in the Dolomites (at the end) would be a lot less crowded than spending a weekend in Venice, so chose to go to Venice during the week. Does that make sense?
Thanks again, and sorry about what I'm sure seems to be dumb questions to all of you. Just trying to figure it all out!
Theresa
FYI, transfer from Genova Principe train station to the airport is by bus, about 20 minutes. You will appreciate Packing light both for the train station stairs, train transfers, and ground navigation issues (stairs, cobbles, few taxis) in both areas you're visiting.
Theresa,
As the others have so aptly pointed out, using flights to travel from the Cinque Terre to Venice is not the best idea. In addition to taking longer, it will almost certainly be much more stressful.
Although the two places are on opposite sides of the country, the journey by rail is quite straightforward, although it will take a few hours. You didn't say which of the five towns you were staying in but using Monterosso as the departure point, one of the easiest (fewest changes) and quickest journeys will be a departure at 09:05, arriving Venezia Santa Lucia at 14:20 (time 5H:15M, two changes at Pisa Centrale and Firenze SMN). The final leg from Florence to Venice is via Freccia high speed, which travel at up to 300 kmH. The trip from Pisa to Florence is via Regionale so you MUST validate your ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! The other two trains have compulsory reservations, which will be provided with your tickets.
Where are you going in the Dolomites and how are you planning to get there?
As you haven't travelled in Europe before, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip, as that provides a lot of good information on how to travel well in Europe. IMO it would also be prudent to pack along a copy of the RS Italy 2015 guidebook, as that willl be an excellent reference to use when planning touring, hotels, transportation, etc.
Buon Viaggio!
Hi Theresa,
I am sorry some of the posters, who are seasoned travelers, were flippant about your question. It is daunting when you have never been to Europe before, trying to figure out just how you will get from point A to point B. That being said, I have friends in the CT, so many times I make a stop there when in Italy even though it is out of the way. So, I have had to find the best way from the CT to wherever I might be going, and sometimes it has been Venice. You didn't mention how many days you will be in Italy, but I would suggest, that after visiting the CT, you take the train via Pisa to Firenza (Florence) and spend a minimum of two nights there if your time constraints allow. This would give you a sampling of one of Europe's greatest cities, at least in an art sense. From Florence there is a 3 hour direct train to Venice, which will put you right on the Grand Canal. If you decide to take this route I would suggest an online reservation or buy at a train station when you first get to Italy, as it is very popular route. The Italian train site, trenitalia, is very user friendly. I say that, having used it many times, but hopefully it won't be too overwhelming for someone new to train travel. I believe RS book will give you sufficient basic train travel tips. You will have a wonderful time, missteps are just part of the experience, especially the first time.
From Monterosso you can get to Venice with one train change only (in Milan).
Most Americans are familiar with air travel but not so much with train travel. However most Americans measure the time of air travel only in terms of "flight time", forgetting about the time it takes to get from/to airports, and the time necessary for checking in, security procedures and wait time before boarding. Once you add all of the above the trip from the CT to Venice, using a flight from GOA to VCE via FCO, is not just 3 hours, but well over 8-9 hours, as Nigel pointed out. Also, since there are no direct flights, you still need to change planes.
Compare that with about 6 hours (hotel to hotel) on a much more comfortable train, which will take you from the Cinque Terre right to Venice historical center, on the Grand Canal (the train station is on the Grand Canal, while the Venice airport is miles away from the city center on the mainland).
Thanks again, everyone, and especially Susan for understanding what it's like to be a newbie and have to ask what sounds like dumb questions to seasoned travelers :)
We will take the train, and we're staying in Vernazza, so I guess we'll have a few more train changes.
Question for you all - I saw online some routes (on trenitalia.com), but wasn't sure if we should purchase them now, or once we get there. I remember reading that some of the local trains can't be purchased beforehand. If we wait until we get there (which I'm thinking we will), can you buy the whole route at the station in Vernazza? And, do they give you all the tickets at that time? What do I look for on the ticket which will clue me in to the fact that it needs to be validated? I definitely don't want to risk that.
We're staying in Orteisi in the Dolomites, and we're renting a car from Venice to get there. We thought about changing our route, based on what asps2 said (CT to Dolomites to Venice, with the car rental starting in CT and ending at Venice), but that would put us in Venice on the weekend, instead of the end of the week. I assume Venice is even more crazy on the weekend??
Our itinerary doesn't include Florence this time. We have 2 nights in CT, 3 nights in Venice, and 4 nights in the Dolomites, with one night somewhere near Milan, since we have a 10:30am flight.... Still looking for recommendations for that last night :)
Thanks again!
Theresa
I am not sure that Vernazza is a staffed station, someone else will know for sure, but you can buy all your train tickets at any station or from a travel agent whose office has a Trenitalia logo (not all travel agents are full-service). Or just ask if they sell train tickets, but don't worry if the first one you try doesn't.
Theresa,
I vaguely recall that there's a small rail ticket office in Vernazza, but there will also be a Kiosk. If you happen to be visiting Monterosso, that has a full service (larger) ticket office and you can buy whatever tickets you need there.
Regarding validating tickets, you can either check the description of each train on the Trenitalia website or look at the letter preceding the train number. If the letter is "R" or "RV", then validate the ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. DO NOT validate before use, as they have a "shelf life" once validated of about six hours (depending on route length). The validating machines in Monterosso are down in the transfer tunnel (sottopassagio) as I recall. Rail tickets in Italy are normally printed on light card stock about 3.25" x 8". In the C.T. you may be issued the smaller theatre-style tickets, and those are inserted into the machines on the left side.
If the train letter is "IC", "ES" or "EC", those trains have compulsory reservations, which are specific to train, date and departure time, and you'll have an assigned Car (Carrozza) and assigned seats (Posti). The tickets can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the ticket, and don't have to be validated.
It's awkward to purchase tickets in advance for the Regionale trains, and pre-purchased tickets come with restrictions. There's absolutely no reason to buy those in advance, as you can easily buy them locally.
Staying in Vernazza will not be much different than staying in the other towns of the C.T., in terms of the trip to Venice. There's a departure at 09:28, arriving Venezia S. Lucia at 14:20 (time 4H:52M, 3 changes at La Spezia, Pisa and Florence). The first and third legs are via Regionale (VALIDATE) and the second and last are via InterCtiy and Freccia, respectively (compulsory reservations with assigned seats).
FROM MONTEROSSO TO PARMA via La Spezia 7:35 arrive Parma 10:13
Parma to Venice. connections leaving at 10:45, 11:45, 12:45
2.5 to 3.0 hours to Venice
The line from Parma to Cinque Terre is a direct line, which makes it a good choice to get to N. Italy, and/or Veneto.
