We are planning a two week trip to Italy that would have us in Cinque Terre towards the end of our trip. We would like go from Cinque Terre to Monte Carlo and stay a couple nights at the Fairmont. Then fly to Rome from Nice because we are returning to Seattle from Rome. Would someone please offer advice on the best form of transportation/trains from Cinque Terre to Monte Carlo and from Monte Carlo to the airport in Nice?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
To get from the Cinque Terre to Monaco by train will require making a connection in Genova for sure--and possibly Ventimiglia. See the timetables at www.bahn.de. After you get summary timetables for the CT town of your choice to Monaco, click on the arrow to the left of each departure time to see the connecting points.
There are several regional trains/hour that will get you from Monaco to Nice-St-Augustin (west of Nice Ville, the main station, and very close to the airport) in around 30 minutes. (See the bahn.de timetables.) Take bus #23 from the station to the airport. The bus runs every 12 minutes during peak hours and every 22 minutes during off-peak hours.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, Wa, usa
3 posts
Tim,
Thank you for the helpful information. Are there express trains that do not stop every 3-5minutes and just go straight through for example Vernazza to Genova, Genova to Ventimiglia, Ventimiglia to Monte Carlo? Is there site to find the costs for all the train travel. I get this error message on bahn.de
Fares not available Tariff abroad
For connections outside of Germany, a special ticket is required. These offers are not bookable via the internet.
Tickets may be purchased in any DB ReiseZentrum, authorised travel agencies or over the telephone using DB ReiseService by dialing 0180 5 99 66 33 (toll call).
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Jerry,
The journey times you see on the bahn.de site are the best you can get (frequent stops are the rule).
There is a range of fares for Vernazza-Monaco. They depend upon what kinds of trains you take. You can get fares and timetables on Trenitalia, the Italian Rail site. Enter a dummy date between today and the end of May. New timetables will go into effect in mid-June. Changes, if any, should only be a few minutes here or there.
According to SNCF (French Rail), the fare for Monaco-Nice is €4.00.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, Wa, usa
3 posts
Tim,
Thank you so much, one more question I can't find an answer to. Can you buy a ticket from Florence to Vernazza that has a connection in Pisa, get off and spend the day in Pisa then take a later train that day to Vernazza, without any extra fees?
Thanks
Jerry
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The answer is "yes," but with conditions. Tickets for regional trains are good for any train going between departure point A and arrival point B--and you could get off somewhere between A and B and continue on later. However, there are no trains that go directly from Firenze to Vernazza via Pisa. In your case you will need to make connections, so will have to buy separate tickets for each leg. You can get from Firenze to Vernazza via Pisa using only regional trains. But if you happen to take an IC train between Pisa and La Spezia, that ticket will come with a seat reservation for a specific departure date and time. However, you can buy that ticket up until a few minutes before departure.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Actually, you may not change trains in Pisa but most runs stop there. Most trains from Florence to Pisa are Regionale trains. No seat reservations permitted. It's like your local bus. As Tim says, you have an open ticket from Point A to Point B and the ticket is good for 60 days. Once you validate it, its good for 6 hours. You can get off at Pisa and get back on a later train of the same class (Regionale) for no extra charge.