Train from Nice to LaSpezia

we purchased ours when we arrived there with no problem however it was around Labor Day instead of July...that maybe different, maybe someone else will address that.

What time of day do you want to arrive in Manarola? For certain departure times you won't need to change trains in either Genova or La Spezia.

We would love to arrive anywhere between mid-afternoon and early evening. It all will depend on what train we can get out of Nice.

1. Leave Nice at 09:55. Connect in Ventimiglia, Genova, and Monterosso. Arrive in Manarola at 15:35. 2. Leave Nice at 10:26. Connect in Ventimiglia and Riomaggiore. Arrive in Manarola at 17:22. 3. Leave Nice at 12:55. Connect in Ventimiglia and Riomaggiore. Arrive in Manarola at 19:21. For detailed timetables, use the German Rail site.

Two yrs. ago when we travelled from Nice to Monterosso (via Monte Carlo and Genoa I believe), I had purchased tickets via rail.europe in advance. At that time, the only train we could get was for a late night arrival in Monteroso. We had 2 nites in Nice so the day before our departure, we went to the train station to see if we could change them. Our young man "clerk" was fantastic. He not only changed the tickets, but he didn't charge us any change fee! And his English was perfect, even tho' we do speak French. A word of warning. The train we were on was packed, which made it difficult with our luggage. Also, we didn't see any elevators/escalators in the Italian train stations, which also made the trip difficult.

I concur with others have said here but will also advise you to check on the train schedule a few days before departure. We were in Monaco a few years ago and planned to travel on the overnight train from Monaco to Venice. We went to buy the tickets 3 days in advance and were informed that the French rail workers were going on strike the day we planned to leave. So, no service into Italy. We took a taxi to Ventimiglia and then took the train the remainder of the journey.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions/advice which is very helpful. I also just had conversation with a colleague who spent all of last year in Florence, but did a fair amount of travel while there. Although a little longer travel time, he suggested taking a train from Nice to Ventimiglia then taking one of the Regionale trains from Ventimiglia direct to Riomaggiore then switch to another Regionale train and get off at the next stop which is Manarola ... it's only a 2 minute ride, but the cost of a cab would probably be outrageous. The problem with the Regionale trains is that you cannot make a reservation on them. However, I think if we catch one early enough we can, hopefully, get on without a problem. Any thoughts ... anyone? Many thanks.

Hi Christine, My wife and I are doing the exact same trip on July 28th. After reading a certain website (I'm not sure if I can post other sites here so PM me if you would like the address) it was advised to show up at the Nice station and buy a ticket to Ventimiglia but to book the train from Ventimiglia to La Spezia in advance due to increased demand from tourists. So we have done just that. We will buy a ticket at Nice for the trip to Ventimiglia and we have booked our tickets from Ventimiglia to La Spezia via the Trenitalia website. Hope this helps.