can someone recommend how to get to Cinque Terre from Venice by train? How long would it take ? Also, I am wondering if CT will be too crowded in early October?
Posted by
Fortina, Nebraska, USA
17 posts
Download Rome2 Rio app. I find it invaluable when planning a trip. It gives you all the option of travel.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1198 posts
Hello laurielovgren, and welcome to the forum!
I think you should allow probably 7+ hours door to door from Venice to CT because you are crossing northern Italy at its widest point and the logistics in both places can be tricky.
The best train route/time would be Venice to Florence SMN on a fast train (2:15) and then Florence to La Spezia (2:45) which puts you with local trains to the various CT towns (12-23 minutes for Monterosso al Mare) plus any wait times between trains. So if everything lines up you're at probably 6+ hours of train plus probably having to catch a vaporetto in Venice to get to the train station unless you're staying within walking distance of the train station.
October means the weather should start to be more changeable on the coast but the real determiner of crowds is cruise ships - either in La Spezia or Livorno. I was in Porto Venere in September a few years ago and the organized groups going to and from the towns were constant and numerous. Last October I briefly rode the train from Viareggio towards La Spezia and it was absolutely packed. I got off earlier so I can't say everyone was heading to La Spezia and CT but I bet most of them were because all the tourists I spoke to around me were all headed there.
Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5642 posts
I would use the Rome2rio website as an information guide only for possible transportation options. Otherwise it may not be all that accurate. Trenitalia should be the train line that you would take, so use that website and app to look at train routings and times, and to book tickets. https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Note that on Trenitalia you need to use the Italian place names; eg: Venezia S. Lucia, . Just enter your start and end places , date and estimated start time, and the website will show the available trains that day, along with number of connections (as well as location and duration of those connections)
It is much too early go book October tickets. But you can pick a day within the next couple of months to get an idea of your options.