I am looking at a map and the closest distance wise is on a main highway to Genova. Is there a train that goes direct there or does it have to go thru Milan? Or is there decent bus service Nice to Genova??

You can get there by rail after changing in Vintimiglia and Genoa; there is no need to go through Milan.

You can check schedules directly on sites such as Trenitalia.com and Italiarail.com amongst others

From memory, I think we only had to change in Genoa, it may depend on which train you catch. It's an easy trip.

"It's an easy trip." But it's a loonngg trip. 6+ hours.

I just did that in July. Nice to Ventimiglia is 45 minutes, from there to Geona is 2 hr, and from there to Rapallo (which I used as my base for the region including two trips to the CT towns) was another 45 minutes. I managed to have short connection times so the whole trip was only about 4 hours. There is at least one train a day from Ventimiglia all the way without changing in Genoa but it was at the wrong time for me. There are many trains each day from Genoa to Rapallo, some very take over an hour, some take about half an hour, not all of them stop in the CT towns. You just have to look at the various options and plan. And if you buy your tickets on line ahead of time you won't have to worry about short connection times.

Go to www.trenitalia.com and book Ventimiglia (French border) to Monterosso (Cinque terre) from €19. You can do this with 1 change in 4h04 if you use certain departures.

Now simply check the times of a local train Nice to Ventimiglia using www.voyages-sncf.com. These run every 30 minutes, journey time 48 minutes, fare €7, buy this ticket at the station. I'd allow plenty of time, say 45 minutes, in Ventimiglia, to connect in case of any delay.

For lots of good info on Italian trains yes check out Man in Seat 61's commercial site www.seat61.com and also these other fine IMO sites - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Trains on this route have a fairly flat fare structure as no high-speed trains are involved - the few IC trains on that route can have a discounted price but that is also non-changeable no refundable so be very sure you have ample time between changing say at Ventimiglia - the French trains can run late so if you have the 19 euro ticket - which is kind of a used-car salesman come on IMO as there are very few of those tickets in reality - yeh if you book 3 or 4 months in advance when they come on the system you could get one - but otherwise full fare on regional trains that are mainly involved in this route are dirt cheap - see what the regular fare is on www.trenitalia.com and see if the 19 euro thing is really available - if not just buy a full-fare ticket that would then be transferrable to another similar class train I believe if one connection was late - perhaps the 19 euro ticket allows for trains being late - I don't know - get the 19 euro ticket if you can book on stone months in advance but expect to pay more and not all that much to worry about I think.

You can break this journey in Genoa - put bags in station left luggage and poke around one of the oldest-looking old towns in Europe IMO - or just go to the main outdoor caffe lined street and have a leisurely lunch.

Genoa is one of my favorite cities - consider staying there a day to do it justice - so so much neat old architecture and a vibrant town.

Or is there decent bus service Nice to Genova??>

No buses mainly pick up gaps where trains do not go in Italy - you may consider flying from Nice to Pisa if you can find a cheap flight - Pisa is about an hour or so from the Cinque Terre.

Than you! Do you think that we are OK with buying our tickets in Nice when we arrive. We would have 13 days before we need them. We are staying close to the train station and can walk there and check out all the times and connections.

I am not sure you can buy tickets in Nice for trains in Italy - I would book that ticket at www.trenitalia.com (if you have hours to spend trying to get it to work at first encounter as many have complained!) - you may get a discounted fare as well.

There used to be thru trains Nice to Genoa, Milan and even a night train to Venice but they were scrubbed a few years back due to a snafu between the French and Italian railways (I've heard from insiders) so all cross-border direct trains are scrubbed - I would not doubt that you may not be able to buy a Ventimiglia-Genoa ticket in Nice - I would not count of it anyway unless you can confirm that it is indeed possible.

bookmarking

Thank you!! Do you think that we can get a direct connection to Manarola from Ventimiglia? I assume we must go there first and then connect. Or will we have to transfer from Genova?

I think there may be an isolated IC train from Ventimiglia that goes via Genoa to La Spezia which may stop in Monterrosso but probably not Manorola - this is true for many trains on the Genoa to Monterrosso and La Spezia route - a milk train frequently connects all five Cinque Terre towns but mainline trains only stop at Monterrosso and Riomaggiore - some may not stop at any so you'd have to transfer at say Levanto or a stop to the north.

There appears to be only one train that goes direct Ventimgilia to Monterosso - all others require a change of trains in Genoa and perhaps one other place.

But it leaves most days at 6:25 from Nice - arriving Ventimiglia 7:10

then a direct regional train that leaves Ventimiglia 7:48, arriving in Monterosso 12:39 but after that it only stops in La Spezia where a train takes you back to Manarola, arriving there at 13:21

These are all regional trains so at Ventimiglia you have plenty of time to buy that regional train ticket - no reservations on those trains so just grab a seat and since the train originates in Ventimiglia you should have lots of empty seats to start off with.

Note however that later departures with more changes may get you there about the same time.