We are on a tour in June to France and at the end we are breaking off from group for three nights and four days. We want to visit Cinque Terre. We want to go by train or bus along Riviera, and we want to stop when we see something we like. Is there transportation by train or bus that allows this? And how much can we expect to pay?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I assume you are asking if you can buy a ticket from point A to point B, get off somewhere between those points for a few hours, and then get on another train, all on the same ticket. If you stick to regional trains which have open seating and for which no reservations are possible, then the answer is "yes." However, if you take any IC trains, the answer is "no." Seat reservations are required on those trains and are included in the price of the ticket. Your ticket is good only for a specific departure date and time. The good news is that it is possible to take only regional trains all the way from Nice to the Cinque Terre, but you'll have to make a few connections. The fare for Nice-Ventimiglia on a regional train is €7.00. I arbitrarily chose Vernazza as your Cinque Terre town. The fare for regional trains from Ventimiglia to Vernazza is €17.70. For some departure times you can take a direct train. For other times you'll need to make one connection. For detailed timetables showing all departure times and connecting points, see the German Rail site. Enter a date between today and 9 June. New timetables will go into effect throughout Europe on 10 June and Trenitalia is always the last national train company to upload theirs, especially for regional trains. Until they do it on their site, the German Rail site can't show them. The new timetables should be virtually the same as the current ones.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
francine, The travel time from Nice to the Cinque Terre is about 5-6 hours, so that trip wouldn't be conducive to hopping on & off the train frequently if you "see something you like" (IMHO). I'd suggest travelling directly to the C.T. and then using that as a "home base" for exploring other parts of that region. As you'll be travelling in June, I would suggest getting accommodations booked SOON in the C.T. I started in March, and still trying to finish booking my Hotels there. In addition to the five towns of the C.T., you could also consider staying in Levanto (it's only a short train ride from Monterosso). Happy travels!
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Remember the validity of regional train tickets in Italy has been drastically curtailed depending on distance. No more "hopping" with a regional ticket...