Florence to Rome (via Cinque Terra)

Scott, my preference would be to visit Pisa on the way from Florence to the Cinque Terre, and then travel to Rome via La Spezia. I haven't checked the train connections, but I travelled a similar route on my last visit and it worked well. As the previous post mentioned, ABSOLUTELY, use the train!

My usual practise is to buy the tickets for my outgoing journey when I arrive in a particular location. Usually my outgoing journey is 2-3 days from then. I wouldn't recommend waiting until the day of travel, as there could be "complications". When you buy P-P tickets, these will include reservations if these are required for any of the segments of your rail journey.

Happy travels!

Be advised that almost all runs from Florence to the CT will require a train change at Pisa. You may even have a second change at La Spezia depending on the run and where you are staying in the CT.

From the CT to Rome, not all runs require a change at Pisa. About half do and half don't. Additionally, some runs will go back through Florence and some runs will go down the west coast to Civitavecchia and then turn into Rome.

I would suggest that you have better options if you visited Pisa on the way to the CT.

The train from Florence to Cinque Terre via La Spezia is your best bet (I would not drive when the train goes where you want!), and some of the trains from Florence stop in Pisa. You can get off in Pisa on your way or on the way back--your schedule and the timing will make clear which is preferable. There are trains from La Spezia that stop only in Florence, and those that stop in Pisa then Florence; in either case, from Florence, TAKE THE EUROSTAR! Faster and more comfortable. La Spezia to Roma (Termini, not Osteria!)is 4-5 hours long, depending on the connection. I have always bought my tickets at the train station without much problem, since I am never sure when I will get to the station, but from time to time (on or around holidays), the Eurostar seats have been sold out. On that occasion, on the Florence to Roma route, the ride is only a little more than an hour, so I get on the train anyway, search out the conductor and tell him I did not have a chance to buy a ticket. He will sell it to you even though you will not have a seat, but you can go to the dining car and sit or sit with the baggage--your call.

Actually, the route via Florence takes 20-30 minutes longer than going down the west coast. Also, it normally involves two train changes (Pisa and Florence). Several runs from La Spezia to Rome down the west coast to Civitavecchia and then inwards to Rome Termini do not require a train change. There's even a Eurostar run that leaves at 7:02 that takes 3hrs 55min. It's the fastest run of the day.

CLICK HERE to see for yourself. Click NEXT and see more runs.

go online to trenitalia.com for the specifics and pick the trips that best suit you. btw, if you have the luxury of time, I would recommend a stay in pretty portovenere as a part of the visit to 5Terre. It is not on the 5T trainline but can be reached by cab or bus from La Spezia, or by boat from the 5T towns . . . assuming there is not bad weather. Good hotels and food in Portovenere, and its so so pretty.

Thanks everyone for your input. Now I've got another question. We're planning on doing Pisa on our way to CT. Here's the question. I know which train I want to be on leaving Florence, but I'm not sure how much time we'll be in Pisa. When you buy the tickets, do you buy a ticket for the whole trip (Florence-Vernazza), or separately (Florence-Pisa, Pisa-Vernazza)? What I'm really trying to figure out is do I need to be figuring out which exact train I need to be on out of Pisa, or can I just got on whichever train is next once I get back to the train station? Hope this makes sense.
Thanks, Scott

Scott, depending on the train run you select, you could change trains 1-2 times. Most likely in Pisa and possibly again in La Spezia. What you want is a train run than requires a change in Pisa. You can clearly see this on www.trenitalia.com. You will receive one ticket for each train you are on. Therefore, you could have 2-3 tickets for the entire run.

TWO BIG HINTS: First, make sure that your train from Pisa to the CT is an R train and not an EC train. An R ticket is a 90-day open ticket. You can jump on any R train to the CT. Thus, if you take a little bit longer in Pisa, no worries. Just catch a later train. If you have an EC ticket, you will have seat reservations and the ticket will have a mandatory date and time on the ticket. Second, if you intend to stay in the CT for 2-3 days and want the special Cinque Terre Treno pass, book your trip from Florence to La Spezia. At La Spezia, go into the tourist information office (TI) in the station and purchase your Cinque Terre Treno card. It comes in 1,2,3 or 7-day flavors. The card provides unlimited train travel in the CT for the validated period. It also covers the fares for the trails between the towns. Once you have your Treno card in hand, walk out, look at the TV monitor and catch the next train to Vernazza. The train runs are frequent.

By the way, you can easily do Pisa in 4 hours or less. 4 hours if you walk in and out - less if you take the bus in and out.

Thanks for the tip! Now I think I've about got it, but to verify: before we leave Florence, we want to buy tickets for all legs, whether it's 2 legs (Florence-Pisa, Pisa-Vernazza) or 3 legs (Florence-Pisa, Pisa-La Spezia, La Spezia-Vernazza) - right?
Thanks again for all your help. Scott

Yes. You either step up to the self-service machine or the ticket window. If you know the train run you want, you punch in to the machine or say to the ticket agent, Firenze a Vernazza (or La Spezia if you like my hint above). Be careful to point out the time and run or the agent will think you want the next train. The correct quantity of tickets will come with the purchase so don't worry about that even if you buy from the machine.