Drive from Montepulciano to Cinque Terre
Jun 22nd, 2017, 02:37 PM
#2
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goto www.michelin.com orsome variation to see how long.
Trains can get you there easily -just go down to Montepulciano or Chiusi nearby train stations by bus and hop on regional trains via Siena to Empoli and change for Pisa Centrale - change at Pisa too for the Cinque Terre villages. Check www.bahn.de/en for easy to read schedules telling how long it is - I'd say about 5 hours probably. driving could be faster but then you got to ditch the car if not planning to keep it in CT -basically car-less -probably ditch it in La Spezia and hop train to CT villages -all have train stations.
For lots on Italian trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.
Trains can get you there easily -just go down to Montepulciano or Chiusi nearby train stations by bus and hop on regional trains via Siena to Empoli and change for Pisa Centrale - change at Pisa too for the Cinque Terre villages. Check www.bahn.de/en for easy to read schedules telling how long it is - I'd say about 5 hours probably. driving could be faster but then you got to ditch the car if not planning to keep it in CT -basically car-less -probably ditch it in La Spezia and hop train to CT villages -all have train stations.
For lots on Italian trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.
Jun 22nd, 2017, 03:23 PM
#4
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Naw- trains Chiusi-Montrersso are all about 5 1/2 hours no more. check www.bahn.de/en for these schedules - German Railways online European schedules which I always use for schedules as is so so quick and easy and clearly given at a glance.
-and I gave the wrong rail route above - it would be Chiusi-Florence-Pisa-Monterosso or other village. Montepulciano has a rail station named that several kms from the village but it only goes south to Chiusi and north to Siena, Empoli - much slower way though maybe geographically shorter.
-and I gave the wrong rail route above - it would be Chiusi-Florence-Pisa-Monterosso or other village. Montepulciano has a rail station named that several kms from the village but it only goes south to Chiusi and north to Siena, Empoli - much slower way though maybe geographically shorter.
Jun 22nd, 2017, 03:34 PM
#5
Well, not really "10 or more hours"...
Assuming you don't plan this for a Sunday when the car rental office is closed... If you left Montepulciano at 9:00/9:30a, you could drive to the Chiusi train station, turn in the car nearby (Hertz, Budget) and easily catch an 11:00a train that gets you to, say, Vernazza by 3:30p. Granted, the train involves 3 changes. If you left Montepulciano at 10:00a and caught the 12:10p train, you'd reach Vernazza at 4:45p, and this train option 'only' involves 2 changes.
(BTW, there is no car rental return option at the Montepulciano train station.)
Driving would take 4-4.5 hours, but you'd only have to load up the luggage once, could leave whenever you like and make any stops or detours you like. However, if this would be in high-season summer, esp. on a Saturday or Sunday, the drive could easily (likely?) be delayed by traffic at several points.
Assuming you don't plan this for a Sunday when the car rental office is closed... If you left Montepulciano at 9:00/9:30a, you could drive to the Chiusi train station, turn in the car nearby (Hertz, Budget) and easily catch an 11:00a train that gets you to, say, Vernazza by 3:30p. Granted, the train involves 3 changes. If you left Montepulciano at 10:00a and caught the 12:10p train, you'd reach Vernazza at 4:45p, and this train option 'only' involves 2 changes.
(BTW, there is no car rental return option at the Montepulciano train station.)
Driving would take 4-4.5 hours, but you'd only have to load up the luggage once, could leave whenever you like and make any stops or detours you like. However, if this would be in high-season summer, esp. on a Saturday or Sunday, the drive could easily (likely?) be delayed by traffic at several points.
Jun 24th, 2017, 08:27 AM
#6
>>>(BTW, there is no car rental return option at the Montepulciano train station.)<<<<
FYI - The Montepulciano train station is not in Montepulciano. It's about 6-7 miles away with little to no amenities.
Driving - You could take the FI-PI-LI to Pisa and drop your car there. Catch the train on to CT from there. That seems the easiest.
FYI - The Montepulciano train station is not in Montepulciano. It's about 6-7 miles away with little to no amenities.
Driving - You could take the FI-PI-LI to Pisa and drop your car there. Catch the train on to CT from there. That seems the easiest.
Jun 24th, 2017, 08:37 AM
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I would not want to attempt those short train connections in central Italy carrying luggage.
If you have a car you might want to make a pleasant drive of it heading north and stop for lunch someplace in the Tuscan hills or along the coast.
If you have a car you might want to make a pleasant drive of it heading north and stop for lunch someplace in the Tuscan hills or along the coast.
Jun 24th, 2017, 03:38 PM
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Well there are but 2 changes on some trains- 3 on others -Change in Florence where there are luggage carts on platforms you can use in the station (carry 1 euro coin to be able to use them- your coin is returned when you put the cart in any cart collection area - like on your departure platform.
Pisa - from one track to other - a small station again luggage carts.
La Spezia- small station -luggage carts.
You need not have short train connections as regional trains after Florence run all the time. If you miss one you can use your ticket on any other that day.
Now if you have a ton of luggage - yes but normal luggage -especially if on wheels - is not a huge challenge - not saying not to drive just that trains are not a hassle at all.
Pisa - from one track to other - a small station again luggage carts.
La Spezia- small station -luggage carts.
You need not have short train connections as regional trains after Florence run all the time. If you miss one you can use your ticket on any other that day.
Now if you have a ton of luggage - yes but normal luggage -especially if on wheels - is not a huge challenge - not saying not to drive just that trains are not a hassle at all.
Jun 25th, 2017, 01:09 PM
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The hassle of changing trains vs the hassle of turning in your car at La Spezia then getting to the train station with luggage - even if just across the street is more a hassle than changing trains in the station itself.
Chiusi car rentals are about all smack dab across the street from its easily manageable small station. I assume La Spezia's are too - a car in the CT is wasted. Very few hotels you can drive to in either Riomaggiore or Monterosso. So parking often means a long drag to your hotel with baggage-train stations are at least centrally located except for Corniglia which sits high above its seaside station (mini-buses however scoot up to town from it).
But driving makes it very easy to stop at the Leaning Tower of Pizza -oops Pisa - lots of parking in its vicinity whereas by train the main station is about a mile away in Pisa and though there is a small secondary station right by the Leaning Tower area it has no luggage storage I believe.
One reason to drive -easy access to Leaning Tower.
Chiusi car rentals are about all smack dab across the street from its easily manageable small station. I assume La Spezia's are too - a car in the CT is wasted. Very few hotels you can drive to in either Riomaggiore or Monterosso. So parking often means a long drag to your hotel with baggage-train stations are at least centrally located except for Corniglia which sits high above its seaside station (mini-buses however scoot up to town from it).
But driving makes it very easy to stop at the Leaning Tower of Pizza -oops Pisa - lots of parking in its vicinity whereas by train the main station is about a mile away in Pisa and though there is a small secondary station right by the Leaning Tower area it has no luggage storage I believe.
One reason to drive -easy access to Leaning Tower.
Jun 25th, 2017, 02:47 PM
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When I rented a car in Chiusi the rental office was more than a mile from the train station.
I posted earlier that a traveler could spend up to 10 hours "in transit" using trains to get from Montepuliciano to le Cinque Terre, and a lot of what is being posted is backing me up.
Being "in transit" for me (and most people) means time from when you leave one hotel & check into another.
Jean suggests leaving Montepulciano at 9am to catch a train. By the time one arrives in le Cinque Terre it is 6+ hours later, and that is only if one has successfully negotiated 3 train connections of less then 12 minutes -- which means neither of the first 2 trains can be running late (in rural Italy? Hah!) plus the travelers mustn't experience difficulty getting from one track to another 3 times in unfamiliar train stations (2 of them busy and large) carrying luggage.
So what if they miss a connection? The trains do not "run all the time". There are gaps, and once a connection is missed, there are further gaps. So the 6 hour+ train trip that starts at 9am -- racing to make connections, no time for lunch -- can quite easil end up hours longer.
For those who love train travel it's fine. But others would profer to drive a scenic route. Somebody leaving Montepulciano at 9am in a car can be in someplace lovely like San Miniato at 11am, having a stroll before lunch, instead of just starting out from Chiusi train station for 5 hours of train travel. After lunch in San Minato, it's 90 minutes to La Spezia, and onto le Cinque Terre when the crowds have left and the cocktail hours is about to begin.
I posted earlier that a traveler could spend up to 10 hours "in transit" using trains to get from Montepuliciano to le Cinque Terre, and a lot of what is being posted is backing me up.
Being "in transit" for me (and most people) means time from when you leave one hotel & check into another.
Jean suggests leaving Montepulciano at 9am to catch a train. By the time one arrives in le Cinque Terre it is 6+ hours later, and that is only if one has successfully negotiated 3 train connections of less then 12 minutes -- which means neither of the first 2 trains can be running late (in rural Italy? Hah!) plus the travelers mustn't experience difficulty getting from one track to another 3 times in unfamiliar train stations (2 of them busy and large) carrying luggage.
So what if they miss a connection? The trains do not "run all the time". There are gaps, and once a connection is missed, there are further gaps. So the 6 hour+ train trip that starts at 9am -- racing to make connections, no time for lunch -- can quite easil end up hours longer.
For those who love train travel it's fine. But others would profer to drive a scenic route. Somebody leaving Montepulciano at 9am in a car can be in someplace lovely like San Miniato at 11am, having a stroll before lunch, instead of just starting out from Chiusi train station for 5 hours of train travel. After lunch in San Minato, it's 90 minutes to La Spezia, and onto le Cinque Terre when the crowds have left and the cocktail hours is about to begin.
