I have read Rick's "Italy 2009" and as always am impressed but a bit confused with the train situation. We have to come from Venice & have only 2 nights to spend in C.T. Should we go to La Spezia & catch little train or go directly to Riomaggiore or Vernazzo? I want to have as much time without backtracking or riding trains. Are the villages really close enough that it is not a problem to go back & forth? We need to leave for Milan, as we are going directly o the Lake District. (I think we probably should go out of Monterozzo. Can someone help lay out best plan for us. Also your favorite village to stay in. Think Rick said his was Vernazza. MANY THANKS or Graci'! {:>)
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Q: Should we go to La Spezia & catch little train or go directly to Riomaggiore or Vernazzo?
There are no "direct" trains from Venice to any of the 5 CT villages, you have to go through Genova, La Spezia, or someplace else to get to these villages. So this is not a decision you have to make, you'll just pick the train you want, or the next train if you're already at the station, and Trenitalia will take care of the rest. This is how everyone does it. The complication about using trains is that there's this thing called making connections or transfers: to get from Venice to, say, Vernazza, you're going to have to get off one train and connect to another. I think the least # of connections on that route is 2, meaning 3 trains in all. I know, it's confusing for us Westerners that don't take trains. The good news: it's still better than driving to the CT.
Q: Are the villages really close enough that it is not a problem to go back & forth?
You use what you called the "little train" (local train) to get quickly from village to village. Unless you want to hike, in which case you'll go at 3 mph instead of 30 mph. Many travelers hike when there, but if time is a problem (as you implied), then you'll probably want to walk around the villages but take the local train to get from village to village.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Should we go to La Spezia & catch little train
Actually, the train into the CT towns is every bit as big as the train bringing you to the area from Venice. As Kent explains, there are no direct trains from Venice to the CT towns. You can easily book tickets from Venice to any of the 5 towns. Train transfers are all included in the purchase. It takes about 6.0hrs for the journey. The villages are very close together and the train stations are in the centers of the towns. They are literally minutes apart.
Posted by
OP
Harrington, AZ, USA
4 posts
Again , Many thanks to you both! Think I,ve got it now. Just wondering if I should book a res from Venice to La Spezia now or wait til we get there?
Also there are 3 stations listed for La Spezia on Italian rail schedule: 1) La Spezia Centrale 2) La Spezia Main 3)la Spezia Migliarini.
Which is the one we need?
Oh, also when we get ready to depart C.T. we will be heading towards Milan. Where do we connect with that train, when leaving C.T?Should I book that ahead or when we arrive? I sure have lots of questions, huh? {:>) Thanks!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Sandi, you want La Spezia Centrale. You can easily buy your tickets from Venice to your CT town when you arrive in Venice. You can use the electronic ticket machine or there are ticket windows. Make sure you have the info on your departing train written down. The transaction will go faster. If you know the departing information from the CT to Milan, you can buy those tickets at the same time. Note that I don't think that there are electronic ticket machines in the CT. However, there are ticket offices. For your exit from the CT, you can book your train from the town you are in. You can see this on www.trenitalia.com. If you need more assistance, I can link schedules for you.