Hi, We'd like your recommendation on the following itinerary for a trip from May 24 thru June 9: San Francisco, CA U.S -? Cinque Terre, Italy ? San Francisco, CA U.S Questions bellow: 1 What is the best and closet Italy Airport to transfer a Train to Cinque Terre, Italy? 2 Is there a direct train from Italy airport to Cinque Terre? If not, what will be the train itinerary (one stop or many stop)? Many thanks
Susan
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16287 posts
Milan or Pisa would be closest and simplest. As Carole explains, there are trains from Milan to Monterosso,where you will change to a regional train if you are going to one of the other villages. The train leaving Milan shortly after noon goes without any additional changes; other trains require a change at Genoa. From Pisa, it is a short hop to La Spezia, where you change for the regional train that stops in all 5 villages. You could choose between Milan or Pisa as your gateway based on price and convenience of schedules.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA, USA
3 posts
Hi Susan - What a lovely time to travel. If you are only traveling to the Cinque Terre - you might consider flying into Milan or Florence. I think Air France has nice service from SFO. From Milan you would take the train to Monterosso which is the largest village of the 5 Cinque Terre Villages. If you did use AF you would arrive into Linate Airport at 250pm on the 25th. You would need to give yourself about 2-hours to clear customs immigrations, collect your baggage, etc. You might consider staying a night or two in Milan before heading to the Cinque Terre based on the train schedules or if you don't want to spend the night in Milan you can make your way to Santa Margherita. Stay one or two nights and visit Portifino. Then - take the train to Monterosso or to whatever village you will be basing yourself in. FYI: There is a train from Malpensa Airport to the Cinque Terre with a stop at Centrale Station in Milan. You would need to arrive into the airport by 10am as the train departs at 1222p. You would need enough time to disembark plane, collect luggage, clear customs, etc. On the return trip you will probably need to overnight in the city you are departing from. Why not fly into Milan and out of Florence and spend 2-3 nights in Florence at the end of your trip? If you have never been to Florence I highly recommend! I did a similar trip and flew into Venice, stayed a couple days there and then took the train to Cinque Terre. There are a couple options depending on what you want to do during the course of trip and what airline you are using. Good luck and happy travels!
Posted by
Lebanon
711 posts
I would fly into Pisa or , if you wanted to take in some other sights, fly into Venice, rent a car ,drive around, leave the car in La Spezia, train out to Cinque Terre, stay there , train to Pisa, fly home, or fly from Pisa to Rome then home.