Trains from Milan-Linate to Cinque Terre

From Linate, you will take a bus to Milano Centrale station. According to the airport website http://www.milanolinate-airport.com/en/directions-and-parking/by-coach, the Starfly bus runs every 30 minutes, every day, and you buy tickets on board. (There's another company that only runs Monday through Friday, and there are different buses to the Metro that are cheaper, but unnecessarily complicated for you). A taxi shouldn't cost too much, if you prefer that (particularly for two or more people).

There, you will get a train to your town in the Cinque Terre. If that town is not Monterosso, you will need to change trains (you may need to change even if your goal is Monterosso, but the others are only served by local trains). For train schedules, look at Trenitalia or Bahn (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en).

Thanks, Harold, for your quick reply. This is a great help!

joy,

As Harold mentioned, transportation is fairly easy. Linate is close to the city (7 kM) so you could either travel by Bus or Taxi to Milano Centrale. The website that Harold linked has all the details.

From Milano Centrale, it's very easy to get to the Cinque Terre. You can check the train details using either the Trenitalia or bahn.de websites. There are a few direct trains to Monterosso each day, and that would be the quickest and easiest option if they coincide with your flight time.

Which of the five towns will you be staying in and what time does your flight arrive at Linate?

Ken,
We arrive at 11AM and are staying in Vernazza.

I usually like to purchase train tickets before we leave, but it looks like buying that day is not a problem.
Thanks for your info.
J

It's best to buy that day, in case your arrival is delayed. Part of your travel is going to be on all-reserved trains, and if you miss the train you pre-booked, your ticket is not valid for any other train. For any regional trains (those that don't take reservations), be sure to validate your ticket before boarding.

The ticket lines at Milano Centrale can be VERY long, so use the machines instead (they have an English language option).

joy,

If you're arriving at Linate, I assume you'll be arriving on an intra-European flight (very few international carriers use Linate).

If everything works well, you may be able to connect with a 12:10 departure from Milano Centrale. Otherwise you'll be leaving at 13:10. You'll likely be using two trains, with a change at Genova Piazza Principe or Sestri Levante. The final leg will likely be via Regionale train and it's difficult to buy tickets for those (nor is there any price break for doing so). With Regionale trains, you MUST validate the ticket prior to boarding on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! You can see all the schedule details at Trenitalia.com.

I normally just buy tickets from a Kiosk. There are some at track level at Milano Centrale, and more two levels down (street level) adjacent to the ticket office.

I had good experiences with the StarFly bus. Also will reiterate to buy your tickets in the station, rather than trying to commit to nonrefundable tickets for a specific departure time.

Thanks, Laura. I am more confident now having all this information!