nanaof7

Can anyone give me good information on the best way to get from Venice to Vernazza or Monterossa ? We are thinking of taking the train. How long would the trip take? After spending three nights in Cinque Terre we hope to pick up a rental car for the next week to tour Tuscany. Where would the best place be to pick up the car? Thank you for any advice you cn give.

Palenque

It will take you between 5.25 hours and 6.5 hours - these are various routes but the best i think is via Milan - some connections have only one change, in Milan but others 2 or 3 changes. www.bahn.de - Germany rail web site is one i use for schedules all over Europe - easier for me than trenitalia.com, the Italian rail web portal.

bobthenavigator

Get the car in La Spezia--or, Pisa if you cannot get the right car.

stepsbeyond

If you are looking up train information on the web, it is important to know that the names of the towns you are interested in are spelled Venezia, Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza respectively.

Where are you going in Tuscany, and how much luggage will you be carrying?

nanaof7

We are planning on travelling as light as possible- one medium sized pull suitcase and a backpack. We have thought about renting a car in Venice and then driving to La Spezia but seems foolish renting a car when we won't be using it once we reach Cinque Terre. Also, would it be wiser to stay in La Spezia and day trip from there or stay in Vernazza or Monterossa? I think atmosphere. scenery would be better in one of the little towns. Also any recommendation for accomodation in the Cinque Terre would be appreciated.

stepsbeyond

Scenery will certainly be better outside La Spezia. Whether you like the atmosphere of le Cinque Terre towns depends a lot on your tolerance for being around lots of other non-Italian tourists. If you would rather stay in a pretty town with Italians, check out the towns on the train line beyond Levanto (going north toward Genova). Not all of them are cliff hangers, but they are pretty.)

I asked before where you are going in Tuscany because if you are traveling light, it can sometimes make sense to stay on the train well past La Spezia or Pisa to pick up your car (unless you really like driving autostrade).

nanaof7

We are staying for a week in a villa near Radda in Chianti. We will spend the week exploring all the area. Will spend a day in Florence but will take bus or train there. We want to drop the car on Saturday somewhere outside Rome and then take the train to Sorrento. Any suggestions where to drop car? I think, by what I've read, that we will have to change trains in Naples, right??

Mimar

In answer to your last question, I'd drive all the way to Sorrento and then drop the car. If you take the train from north of Rome, you may need to change in Rome, and then in Naples change from the train to the commuter railway to Sorrento. Just keep the car a few more hours.

Two nice-to-stay-in towns north of the CT are Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli, both on the train line. SML is adjacent to Portofino, which is interesting to visit for a couple hours. SML is the bigger town, bigger hotels, more restaurants. Camogli is smaller, mostly seeing Italian daytrippers from Genoa, but it's very scenic.

nanaof7

Mimar,
How long would the drive be from Radda in Chianti to Naples or Sorrento? What would the drive be like? We are trying to avoid city driving.

bobthenavigator

I agree--just drive to Sorrento, but get an early start. With stops it may well be 8 hours and--mostly all autostrada except for the first and last hour--no cities.
Have you learned to use googlemaps.com yet. You will find it very useful for all of your driving itineraries.