Hello, we are leaving the Cinque a Terre on the morning of July 3rd with Venice as our final destination. We would like a quick stop over in Bologna along this route. Does anyone have recommendations for where I can find train schedules and tickets? Thank you.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Trenitalia.com, click on the British flag icon to translate the page.
Posted by
Green Bay
20980 posts
There is a bit of a learning curve to use the trenitalia site. On the home page you will see two tabs, "La Frecca" which is only the high speed trains, and "Tutti I Treni" which lists all trains including Regionale trains. You will need to use this tab. Secondly, you can only see prices on Regionale trains one week out, so use a the same day of the week you intend to travel in July. Thirdly, there will be a nationwide schedule change around June 15, so you will need to check back later when all the schedule changes are loaded.
Your best bet, based on the current schedule, is to take the Regionale Veloce at 8:10 to Parma and change to a Regionale Veloce to Bologna, getting there about 11:15 am for about 17 euro. Then take a Regionale Veloce to Venice when you are ready to leave. There is one about every hour for 11 euro. You'll need to buy two separate tickets, but it will be a lot less than using the fast trains and buying separate nonrefundable, nonchangeable tickets. The Regionale trains are unreserved and there is no discount for advance tickets. Just remember to validate the tickets in the platform machine before boarding.
Also, use Italian city names, like Venezia for Venice. The main station is Venezia S. Lucia.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
In addition, How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. Regional Italian schedules are currently only posted through June 14, but you get a good idea of the route and schedule results that are pretty easy to print. Look up Vernazza (or other town) to Bologna, and then Bologna to Venice separately. At least a portion of each trip will be reserved at the time you buy the ticket, but there's no deadline to buy.