Any info about the train from Cinque Terre area to Nice, France? How long of a train ride and any train transfers? Do I need to pre-purchase a train ticket, if traveling in late September?

Log on to http://www.db.de/site/bahn/en/start.html.
You can check almost all of the train schedules & fares in Europe on this website. The trip time varies, depending on the time & date of your departure. When we did this trip 3 yrs. ago we had a rail pass so we didn't need to pre-purchase any ticket except for the high speed trains. We just hopped on/off whenever we wanted to. Good luck & have fun!

t

I was researching this last night. Its about 4-5 hours. Go to http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html and you can put in the cities where you are going to/from. You will have train transfers, at least 1 in Genova. I don't know if you will need to pre-purchase a tickets, but I doubt it.

Wait until you get to the Cinque Terre area to buy your ticket. Doing so one or two days ahead of travel is a good idea. If any of the legs on your route are on a train that requires a reservation, the reservation will be included in the price of the ticket.

laurie-
we're doing the same route in late Sept. It's about 5 hours. We're leaving Monterosso to Genoa - there's an IC(intercity)train, reservations required or a Regional train- no reservations.

Switch trains in Genoa to head to Nice. My understanding from the BETS people is the Genoa to Nice train is a required reservation.

On the Italian train site, I believe point to point tickets were about $55US per person in 2nd class.

If this is your only train trip, definitely pay for the point-to-point.

If you have a bunch of other train trips planned call the people at BETS (budgeteuropetravel.com). They are most helpful!

Have fun!
LP

The train trip from Cinque Terre to Nice is beautiful. Try to get on the side of the train that will allow you to view the coastline. Unfortunately, the windows will probably be dirty, but still you will have magnificent views.