Venice to La Spezia/Vernazza

No, just a 5hr30min journey with 2-3 train changes. I've attached a sample schedule for the runs from Venice to La Spezia Centrale. You can then catch the local Regionale to Vernazza. (If you put in Vernazza as the destination on www.trenitalia.com, you see less runs, longer runs and more train changes). When you purchase your tickets, purchase Venice->La Spezia Centrale. You'll get 2-3 tickets - one for each train you will be on. At La Spezia Centrale, you just catch the next Regionale train going north into the CT. No seat reservations permitted on the Regionales so you will get on the train.

Define your nightmare. What are your concerns? For some making one train change is a nightmare.

Basically, I guess 'nightmare' is too strong a word!! What is the easiest way to do this trip? is all that I am really after - it gets confusing trying to check routes between Rail Europe and trainitalia, etc.

What's "easiest"? There is no direct train from Venice to the CT. So that makes it not the easiest. You will have to change trains 2-3 times. Not as easy as it could be. Standing in line for tickets in the Venice train station to speak with an agent who doesn't really speak English. You decide if that's easy. (You can use the ticket machine which is easier). My wife and I have done this. It's the Italian train system. The high-speed trains out of Venice are wonderful and fast. Also, as I recall, the pizza in the Venice train station is not bad either. As for being confused by the routing on RailEurope, RE doesn't even list Vernazza. That's the confusing part. www.trenitalia will show you routing via Florence or Bologna/Parma. There is a third routing via Milan if you want that route but you'll need to tell the agent that you wish to be routed via Milan. Odd that Trenitalia doesn't show it. Here's a sample link for the morning train schedule. http://orario.trenitalia.com/b2c/nppPriceTravelSolutions.do?car=0&stazin=venice&stazout=vernazza&datag=28&datam=04&dataa=2011&timsh=05&stazin_r=Staz_DA&stazout_r=Staz_A&timsm=55&timsm_r=55&lang=en&nreq=5&channel=tcom&npag=1&lang_r=en&nreq_r=5&channel_r=tcom&npag_r=1&x=43&y=11

We did this trip last year and I would not call it a nightmare at all! Yes, you have to change trains (Venice to Florence; Florence to La Spezia; La Spezia to Vernazza) and it takes 6 hours. The first leg is a great high speed train, and the last segment is less than 30 minutes and so pretty! The middle segment is a regionale, but Trenitalia shows 1st class available. Pop for that so you are assured a seat. (Leave Venice at 09:27, arrive Vernazza at 15:29.) The real nightmare is Vernazza to Siena. I would never do that again: 4 trains in about 4 hours and we spent 2 hours/2 trains standing up. I'd rent a car in La Spezia.