Cinque Terre to Venice

Thanks for the advice. It did not look simple and indeed it is not. Would it be simpler to rent a car starting in Florence ending in Milan and visit both in between? What would be the best routing for that. There are 3 of us.

There are several possibilities. The route I chose from Venice to La Spezia was with one train change in Florence.

This used to be a really easy 1-train change run at Bologna from La Spezia Centrale. Now, most runs route you via Pisa and Florence. You will now be on 3-4 different trains depending on the run. It's a 6.0hr journey. With the choices now available, I still like the 08:12 departing La Spezia Centrale to Parma arriving at 10:16. The fare is 9.45Euro as you will be on a Regionale train for 2hrs4min. There's a McDonalds at the La Spezia train station so grab a capuccino, sandwich (they have lunch meat sandwiches) and some water and off you go. At Parma, take the 10:48 train to Venice. You will change trains again at Bologna. You'll be on high-speed trains for both of the Parma/Bologna and Bologna/Venice legs. Fare is 43.50Euro with mini-fares as low as 9E and 19E on the two high-speeds. You arrive in Venice at 13:33. You won't see the run I described above on Trenitalia. You need to make two different purchases - one to Parma and one from Parma to Venice. You could do this at the ticket window but you better write it down as English is often not the agent's 2nd language. But, if you buy at the ticket window, you will miss the mini-fares.

There are basically two routes, and your choice depends inn part on your starting village, and whether younwant the fastest way or the fewest changes. I will describe them from Monterosso. The faster one goes Monterossomto Pisa to Florence to Venice, and can be done in five hours. You can pick upnthe same first train at La Spezia if you are staying in one of the southern villages. The second route goes from Monterosso upnthe coast to Genoa, then To Milan and Venice. There are a few trains that go Monterosso to Milan with no change at Genoa, so you can go this waynwith just the single change at Milan. Travel time that way is 5:45.

Terri, it is really easy if you take the coastal route on a direct train to Milan. There is one leaving Monterosso at 10:55 that arrives in Milan 3 hours later. If younwant to do some sightseeing in Milan you can store your luggage at the train station, take the metro downtown, and catch a later train to Venice. Depending on when you are traveling, you could find a fare as low as 9 euros for that journey.

Terri, it would not be simpler to rent a car. The CT and Vencie are two places that don't permit tourist cars. Then, you do not want to drive in Florence. Almost all of the historic area is in a restricted zone. Cameras get your license plate and you get a nasty $150 ticket a year later. Don't let the trains freak you out. It's a whole lot simpler an easier than you think. You would just like a train that goes from the CT to Venice. Unfortunately, there no direct trains. Still, with a couple of train changes, the sytem works just fine. After your first couple of rides, you'll wonder why you were ever concerned.

Hi Terri..I was curious if you made this trip yet..I might have missed your dates. Curious what you ended up doing I will be making this trip from Cinque Terre to Venice in october. Trying to figure out the fastest train route or the most scenic with stops along the way etc.
(except we will have luggage etc..so not sure it would be a good idea example to stop around Milan). we were actually even thinking of going to the Dolomites for two nights before venice..but that doesn't look very convenient...

We ended up skipping Venice as we needed a rest day in Cinque Terre. But there didn't seem to be any easy way.

@stacey, Travel from the Cinque Terre to Venice is not a difficult trip, but it will take some time. For example, there's a departure from Monterosso at 08:59, arriving Venezia S.L. at 14:20 (time 5H:21M, 2 changes at Pisa and Florence, reservations compulsory). Current fare is listed at €45.80. The travel time and route details will vary somewhat depending on which train you choose. That trip is going to take the better part of a day, so I wouldn't bother with "scenic stops along the way" (especially since you'll be hauling luggage). Unless you have lots of time, stopping in the Dolomites probably won't be an option. Which part of the Dolomites were you planning to visit? Happy travels!