Getting Around Northern Italy on a Budget

Kitty, you don't have to plan your train travel from the US. It's so easy when you arrive at the train station in any city in Italy to figure out the train info on the board. We travel without a specific plan, just a general idea of where we want to go. We visit the train station, get the info off the board the day before, and show up at the train station, use the self serve ticket kiosks and hop on the train.

The places you mention are all on the train route. if you decide to see some of the smaller hilltop towns in Tuscany, you will have to travel by bus...again, it's simple, just check the board to see where the bus goes, when it leaves, etc.

Kent,

If your game, here's the breakdown. We live in Dallas, TX. We are flying into Paris on Oct. 15th. We have lodgings there through Oct. 25. Then the plan goes in a million directions.

We want to see Madrid, Barcelona, Cinque Terre, Milan (w/Lake Como), and Venice before we leave on a cruise out of Venice (to Greece)on Nov. 9th.

We don't want to hustle around and feel rushed. We will likely fly to each place to save time. We are considering giving up something to stay longer in one place, but we don't know which place would most warrant a full week.

On top of that, I love cool weather but suffer in daytimes below 50F especially when windy, so we are trying to avoid being in an area at the "wrong" time weather wise.

We don't do nightlife and museums. We walk, walk, walk, eat, and talk to locals.

I hope this helps. Any advice you give will be greatly appreciated.

Kitty

Ellen,

Thank you for the train tip. I had been most worried about not being able to book online since I am not fluid in Italian.

I will relax and try your way.

Kitty

When you say

I need specific advice on the best way to travel from Milan or Florence (which is where we are flying into) to all these places. I understand the train is my best bet, but it is so confusing trying to figure out which train goes where, when, etc.

You are in the majority. That's why I dont try to buy RR tickets on the net.

I always wait until I get to the RR window and ask the clerk for advice on what I need. Buy point2point tickets from Milano to Florenze.

He can print a computer itinerary for you showing times and train numbers and stations where you change trains if needed.

Wait until you get there and buy your tickets the first day you are in town. You can then make reservations if the clerk recommends them.

When we were in Cinque Terre we used the RR and had to change trains in Monterossa to a local to get off in Vernazza.

The "financially prudent" way is to book in advance (up to 60 days) on the Trenitalia website, if you can. It is in English, so your fluency in Italian isn't an issue here. http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html . When you're in front of the computer for a while, go to that website and just register. Shortly, an e-mail confirmation will come back with a password. Get back to the trenitalia site ASAP, log in, and choose a new password. Once that's done, you can go on-line up to 60 days before your trip and book your tickets. Enter your origin and destination, and the date, and away you go. Click on the shopping cart next to your choice to book. Some have reported problems booking with U-S credit cards, but you may not have that facing you. Fares are usually found in three classes...Flexi, Standard, and Amica. Amica are the most restrictive in terms of changes and refunds, but also the cheapest...20% off standard, and up to a third off Flexi. If you know your routes and times, you can save a lot of money! Another option would be to go to the train station upon your arrival in Italy and book all your tickets at once, since Amica fares (if there are any spots still left) can be booked up to midnight the day before travelling.

Since travel time is not a factor, look for inter-city (IC or IC Plus) or regional (R) trains on routes such as Milan-Venice or Venice-Florence that are most often serviced by high-speed trains (ES and A). The slower trains can sometimes be half the price of the faster trains.

Norm & Frank,

It sounds like you both have good understanding of my weak spot, the train system. So I have a couple of questions.

1. We like to do things on the fly. How problematic would it be to make the train reservation for our second stop only 3-4 days ahead, say when we arrive at our first stop? For example: We arrive Venice then make the train reservations for Florence at that time which will only be 4 days before we leave for Florence.

2. These regional trains, how do I differentiate them from the faster/more expensive trains. There are times where fast is good, but our trip is leisurely and I think I would want the trip from Florence to Siena and Cinque Terre to be a slow one. Does this sound right?

Kitty

Here are my thoughts on your questions:

1) You shouldn't have a problem purchasing tickets a few days in advance of travel. Only trains requiring reservations can be sold out, and that usually only happens on busy travel days like Easter. Regional trains will never be sold out, but you may have to stand for part of the trip if it's oversold. If Amica fares are available, you can save 20% by purchasing at least 1 day in advance.

2) When you look at the Trenitalia website, it will show the type of train on the route. When you purchase tickets, simply tell the agent that you want the slower (and thus less expensive) trains. Some routes, like Florence to Cinque Terre, are only serviced by the slower trains. The high-speed trains are limited to servicing routes between major cities.

I agree.

In October you will have no problem buying tickets a couple days in advance -- or even on the day of travel.

Were it me, I'd break down your destinations as follows. I would work in Florence by shortening Venice, but not Pisa. (Prices US Dollars when Euro ~$1.50) Prices and times are rough estimates, and are for the slow trains. Consider buying the Cinque Terre Card -- especially if you are going to hike. The 3-day train/bus pass is about $20, and the one day train/bus/hike is also about $20. Check current pricing at the station.

1) Milan, night in Milan
2) Morning train to Como (hourly, 30min, $15)
3) Morning train to Venice (3 choices, 3-1/2 hours, $50)
4) Venice
5) Venice
6) Mid-day train to Florence (every 90min, 2-1/2 hrs, $60)
7) Florence
8) Mid-day train to La Spezia (~2hrs, 2-1/2hrs, $35), train into Vernazza (hourly, 30min, $2)
9) Cinque Terre (I would stay in Vernazza)
10)Cinque
11)Morning train to La Spezia (hourly, 30 min, $2), then on to Genova (few..., 1-1/2 hrs, $15), then on to Nice (near hourly, 3 hrs, $50)

Does that meet the time frames, ending in the French Riviera, that you envisioned?

[Also... by my math that is $225 in tickets on 3 or 4 days of travel not counting CT - the cheapest Italy rail pass is $225 for 3 days. Even with the saverpasses you will likely travel just as cheap on these point-to-point tickets as with a rail pass]

Agree with Frank...buying them a few days in advance for October should be fine. Maybe print out a few schedules so you know what you're looking at. The AV trains are the most expensive, followed by the ES, IC Plus, IC, etc. If you check the Trenitalia schedules, you'll find that, on many routes, the AV trains aren't that much faster, if at all, than the ES trains.

Norm,

I did notice that they "faster" trains didn't seem that much faster in many cases and even slower in a couple as you get towards the smaller towns.

I am relieved to hear I can purchase last minute or at least within a couple of days. This allows me to really work on the spur.

Are you suggesting that I should make a day for Florence if at all possible. I have 5 nights in CT, is a day trip to Florence reasonable?

I would love to do Como but I was worried about the weather being to wintery in Como in mid Nov. Any thoughts?