Getting from Cinque Terre to Venice . . .
 

Hi:
I'm trying to find the best train route from the CT to Venice.

We'll be based in Levanto.

It seems getting to Milan, then Milan to Venice is the straightest shot. But, I'd like input.

If anyone has done this, I'd appreciate the help.

Thanks!
Carol

Levanto We, 12.07.06 dep 07:30 IR 2291
IR 2292
IR 2293 InterRegio

Runs as IR 2291 up to La Spezia Centrale, then as IR 2292 up to Parma(I), then as IR 2293
Bologna Centrale We, 12.07.06 arr 10:36
Bologna Centrale We, 12.07.06 dep 11:42 ES 9464 EuroStar Italia
Subject to compulsory reservation, BordRestaurant, space for wheelchairs
Venezia S.Lucia We, 12.07.06 arr 13:28
Duration: 5:58; runs daily

if you want to leave early this is one of the best connections, not via Florence or Milan but by direct Levanto-Bologna train via La Spezia then Eurostar Italia train Bologna-Venice.

For schedules i go to the German Rail web site - schedules for all of Europe. An easy way to reach and bookmark the www.bahn.de's English schedule page where, like me, you just put in Levanto and Venise (spell it with a s for some reason even on the English page) and the date and all the train connections will instantly pop up - anyway a good way to reach the German site's English schedule page is to go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com's home page and on it, near the bottom, click on the link "All European Railway Schedules" (or some such wording) and up pops the English schedule page you can bookmark. The home page i reference gives several valuable tips on how best to use the great German site - easier to me than www.trenitalia.com, the Italian Rail site, which it seems often doesn't even work on my old computer but the German one always does.

Not sure when you will be traveling but put a random day of July 12 for mid-week travel into the trenitalia travel planner website.....

From Levanto, there is a 7:30 am train stopping in Bologna, arriving in Venice at 1:28 pm (5h58m). The next train leaves at 8:58 am going southward, stopping in both Viareggio and Florence, arriving in Venice at 3:16 pm (6h18m). There are a couple trains leaving at 11:00 am onward that stop in Milano Centrale, arriving in Venice at 5:08 and another at 5:38 pm (6h07m and 6h37m), respectively.

I have taken this route several times. I tend to like going northward through Milan since the direction of Venice. Also, it seems more direct without all the stops through the other towns. However, if you are concerned about speed and time, then the early morning (7:30 am) train sounds like it would be your best bet, getting you there in under 6 hours' time.

Thank you SO much for the replies. I'll check out these websites (have only gone to raileurope) and will plan from there!
Carol

The RailEurope web site is currently terrible for Italy - like when i went there and searched for Florence to Rome trains and they listed only one, departing at 6:30am as available for the whole day - and this one went to Rome's Tiburtina station at that. So don't even bother with RailEurope for schedules - their point-point ticket prices approximate in my checking full fare tickets bought at stations in Italy but not the discounted online only fares available at www.trenitalia,com