My husband and I will be staying in Vernazza for 3 nights in June, 2011. Several years ago the Cinque Terre Card included local train travel and we found we only used the train 3 or 4 times. I hate to invest in the train pass but yet appreciate the convenience of just hopping on. Is it possible to purchase the 3 day hiking pass along with several train tickets that we can validate when we find we want to do a quick train connection on any of our days in the area? I realize this is just a small detail, but the more info we have before leaving home, the more we can relax and enjoy our travels.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11359 posts
Judy, The CT card for hiking is separate from thw CT train card. The train card does not make sense: you'd have to ride 4 or 5 time per day to make it worthwhile. Just pay for each trip ON THE TRAIN as you take the segment. (Have correct change, euros and centisimi, if you can.) They do not sell per trip tickets at the stations, nor do they have a good way for collecting fares. The trips are short and the conductor cannot possibly get to everone. Out of 5 trips within the CT, we paid twice. IMHO it would be clever of "them" to sell a low cost pass for one, two or thee days. They'd make a lot of money since they don't collect many fares on the pay-as-you-go scheme.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16385 posts
They do sell "per trip" tickets at the stations---we bought them in Vernazza and Manarola. I would not get on the train without a ticket.
Posted by
OP
Jenison, Michigan, USA
8 posts
Thanks for your reply, Laurel. From everything I read about train travel, I understand there is a hefty fine for not having a valid ticket if caught. Is paying the conductor (if he even comes around checking tickets) on the CT train the "proper" or "legal" way of purchasing a ticket? I don't want to have to pay BIG for a ride costing only a couple euros.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I have way to guilty of conscience to ride without paying. The station at Vernazza has limited hours. If you will ride outside those hours, I'm pretty sure you can pick up some tickets when they are open and validate as you need them. We did limited training while in CT and planned around the time the station was open.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11359 posts
When we were in Vernazza in October, we were told at the ticket window that they only sold the CT Train Card, and if we wanted to pay only for one trip at a time, we would HAVE to pay on the train. The conductor came through, but could never get to everyone. Even at night, when there were few people on the train, there was not an organized approach to getting fares paid. I talked to several fellow travelers who had the same experience. I happily pay for services I use, but when they refuse to sell at the ticket window, what choice do you have? If the CT Train Card was a reasonable price, it would be a good idea. But as Rick observes, you have to ride several times per day for it to make sense.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ
76 posts
Judy, We were just in Cinque Terre in May 2010 and REALLY enjoyed the hike. So we are jealous. Why not take the ferry between towns? One of the days we bought ferry tickets from on one end to the other and got off and back on at each stop with no problems. Sorry I don't remember what the cost was. If I remember correctly they run approximately every hour and the views from the ferry are incredible.