Have tried multiple websites, staying in Vernazza, where should our destination be La Spezia (Spezia)? Have Select Saver pass which I assume will need reservations. (we are new at this)
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15791 posts
Laura,
From Florence (Firenza) to La Spezia.
From La Spezia you will need to take the local train that runs fairly frequently between La Spezia and Monterosso, stopping at each of the towns. I don't know if your pass applies to this local train, but the tickets are cheap, or buy a pass. If you are staying any length of time in Vernazza, you will probably want to use the train often to visit the other CT towns.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Laura,
There are frequent trains between Florence and the Cinque Terre. Which "multiple websites" have you been trying? You didn't indicate the date you'll be travelling. If you're searching too far in the future, the schedules might not have been posted yet.
For example, using an arbitrary date of Thu, 11 June 09 there's a train departing Firenze S.M.N. at 07:51, arriving Vernazza at 10:26 (Time 2H:35M, one change at La Spezia Centrale, compulsory reservation which you'll have to buy separately).
The trip from Firenze to La Spezia will be on the "fast" Intercity train (hence the compulsory reservation), but you'll transfer to the regional C.T. train at La Spezia. From there, the trip to Vernazza is very quick, only about 19 minutes. Be ready to disembark promptly, as the trains don't stop for too long!
You might find it helpful to download Rick's free PDF Rail Guide from this website, as it contains lots of helpful information.
Happy travels!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8072 posts
If you are looking for planning purposes, you really only need to look on Trenitalia or possibly DB (german rail) You do need to know the name of the station ideally, though they will prompt you. If you are looking on RailEurope or a private site that sells tickets, they most likely only sell main route, high cost seats. For Florence to Vernazza, there really is no need to purchase ahead of time (from the US) you could much more easily buy a couple days ahead as you arrive in Florence.
Posted by
OP
Allen, TX, USA
10 posts
We are trying to arrive Mon. June 22 from Florence (Firenze SMN) to La Spezia (then transfer to local for final destination) I have tried rail europe, db bahn and trenitalia, not sure what I am doing wrong. Any hints are welcome. Thanks
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You're not doing anything wrong, but you are looking too far ahead. (See Ken's post.) New timetables will go into effect on 13 June and Trenitalia hasn't posted all of them yet. Enter 8 June on the Trenitalia site and choose Firenze as your departure point and Vernazza as your arrival point. The timetables you get for that date will be virtually identical to the ones that eventually will be posted for 22 June.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Some of the train runs from Florence are all Regionale trains. You don't need reservations as they are not permitted on the R trains. Some runs have ICPlus trains. You will need a seat reservation on this class of train. You will need to pay a supplemental fee of about 5Euros.
One thing you might consider is not using a day on your pass for this run. It's only 9.20Euro to ride the R trains from Florence to Vernazza. Not really worth burning up a day. CLICK HERE to see an early morning schedule.