I recently bought tickets with my visa debit using the Trenitalia website with no problems at all.

The only problem I had was that there were no 9 Euro tickets, except if we wanted to travel in the early hours of the morning. so I hope you have better luck.

I had a similar experience - no issues at all. From what I've read here, Trenitalia used to be a pain to deal with, but I gather they've improved things over the last couple of years.

Good luck!

i also used Trenitalia and got Roma to Napoli 7.39am and arr
9.43 for euro 9--next train left at aprox 8.40 arriving 9.40
for euro 23
Napoli to Catania leaving 9.55am and into Catania 17.05 also
euro 9
site was easy and only thing was it wouldnt let you make a
booking over 4 months out
i,m happy two trips for $23 australian

If you have any problems there are some Fodorites who are real experts at getting the at times balking trenitalia.com site to work. kybourbon is one such expert (not the only one) who has proven tireless with knowing the ins and outs of the site and helping folks if they have problems (not unusual) - so if problems help awaits from that very helpful Fodorite who has saved many folks lots of euros in the past when problems popped up.

bookmarking. Is it a set number of days before travel you can book, or do you just have to keep looking. I will be traveling June 1st from Florence to Rome. I am trying to get up with all the great suggestions and advice on the prices and trains. It is a little intimidating.

My Rome departure to Naples was
March 30th 2013 so Trenitalia system
let me book no earlier than Dec 1st 2012
I then tried to book my Naples to Catania
leaving Naples 3 days later (April 2nd)
but it would not allow so on Dec 4th 2012
I booked that--not a problem really
as both fares paid on CCard
I did not notice a bookmark but also
was not looking for it. I was happy with
the way it went

You can pay by PAYPAL as well. I have booked all my tickets for next April/May without a hitch.

Yep pretty painless really & nine euro
pretty good
I would have no hesitation using them
again!!!!

>>>Is it a set number of days before travel you can book<<<

120 for the faster trains. Summer schedules which start the 2nd week of June won't be posted until close to that time. If you want to snag summer/fall discounts, you have to keep checking at 120 days out as Trenitalia randomly loads the fares.

>>>Are there any other tips that will increase the chances of getting this done without having to resort to RailEurope (I want those 9 EUR tickets)?<<<

Register on Trenitalia first so you can access your ticket info if needed. Scroll down this thread until you reach the step-by-step registration instructions with pictures. There may be a bit of change on Trenitalia as they just updated their website and some screen shots may look a little different.

http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/booking-online-using-the-trenitalia-website-updated

I did a test --tried to book more than 120 days before my
intended departure to find no booking allowed/no price
then i went back to start of procedure & pumped in dates
inside the 120 day and hey presto booking allowed and a
range of fare/classes From memory the bottom one Economy
was euro 9 then next up list euro 23 i think but euro 9
had my attention.
Just try say 110 days from your needed departure to see &
familiarize yourself with site

Another questions:

Does Trenitalia allow for print-at-home (PDF) tickets?

Thanks.
SS

ssander - Read the link I posted Jan.8. It tells all about ticketing.

I bought some in the late summer and I had no problem w/the site and was able to print my tkts at home.

Update Everyone:

Successfully bought the first pair of tickets (Venice to Verona)!!!

Kybourbon...a special thanks to you for that really helpful link.

Everything went incredibly smoothly - the whole process took about 5 minutes. No credit card issues (I gave them a heads-up earlier today), and I got the 9 EUR fare and my pick of seats on the Frecciabianca.

(Of course I did a trial run earlier today before the tickets were available.)

One set down...four more to go!

SS

Fodorites like kybourbon once again to the rescue! And at 9 euros a ticket even I would be riding in 2nd class! Even with a first-class railpass I'd have to pay 10 euros for the mandatory seat reservation plus burn a day on my pass!

Perhaps she got a 1st class ticket for 9€?

The 9€ first class tickets seem to be sold out (so far on the tickets I have bought), even though I'm going online very soon after the trains become available -- however, since these are all very short trips, I'm fine with that.

SS

I did not know they had 9 euro tickets in first class - heck the complimentary newspaper, snack and drink may cost about that! And if first class it would be one euro cheaper than my 10 euro seat reservation fee on my pass - but of course I'd have to book far in advance but I guess if i did want to change plans I'd only be out 9 euros!

It happens so it pays to check. Usually if you see 9€ 2nd class, the 1st class fare is 19€, but not always. For example, a random date in March for the fast AV train between Verona/Padova:

Verona Porta Nuova
08:59 Padova
09:42 00:43
FRECCIABIANCA 9707
Price starting from 9. 00 €
Seleziona Price / Service level
2ª CLASSE 1ª CLASSE
BASE Image 17. 50 € 27. 00 €
ECONOMY Image 9. 00 € 18. 00 €
SUPER ECONOMY Image 9. 00 € 9. 00 €

Interesting day today getting tickets...

The site was unbelievably slow -- had to restart several times. Then it crashed my Firefox.

Finally I got to pick my tickets and seats...then I got a server error right after I entered my credit card info. I was really worried...no email confirmation and nothing going on on my screen. Then, about five minutes later the success screen came up and the email came -- both with my PNR code. Whew!!!

The whole thing took almost an hour.

One more ticket to buy tomorrow...hopefully with less stress.

(Just thought I'd keep you-all in the loop by sharing the suffering.)

SS

Always interested to hear of the travails of others! Altho I sailed thru my Trenitalia bookings, the ones on Rail Europe were a royal pain. I did not know---having not gone to Europe for 8 years when I was making the arrangements for our trip this past fall---that Rail Europe is not the best site to use.

I was wondering why my tickets purchased thru them were so much more expensive than my Trenitalia ones and I now know that they charge more.

socialworker...

I'm hoping that tomorrow's purchase (my final one) will be like my first one two days ago when I sailed through in about 5 minutes. You never know why weird stuff happens online...I guess they were having there own server issues this afternoon.

SS

When picking seats on the AV/ES trains, I avoid both ends of cars. You are either near luggage racks or restrooms (can be a bit smelly). Often, the last row or two don't have tables that flip open. They have drop down trays (like airplanes).

Final Update: Sailed through this morning in 5 minutes.

Interesting point: There were 9 EUR first class seats on an earlier train -- but I did not want to leave Padova that early.

Thanks for all the help, one and all.

SS

If you haven't booked your Venice/Vienna night train tickets yet, there are discounts for those on Trenitalia also. You want the Smart Fare. If not available, check to see if thhe Smart 2 fare is available. They may only be bookable 90 days out. You will have to collect these tickets at a self-service kiosk in Italy (Venice, Verona and Vicenza have these kiosks).

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e6eaf0bde7aca110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD#5

Thanks, kyb...but I already booked them with RailEurope. I had a hard time understanding the different types of overnight compartments on Trenitalia's site, and RailEurope seemed to match the fare that I saw...plus they were able to book it earlier than 90 days.

I may have paid a little extra...but the night-train was something I wanted to nail down correctly as soon as possible.

...but thanks for the tip, anyway. You've been a great help...(but, of course, I've come to expect that here).

SS

I'm glad I found this thread - great discussion. I have two questions that I'm hoping someone can answer.

First, does anyone know how Trenitalia calculates the 120 day mark for making tickets available. e.g. is it midnight local time in Italy 120 days prior? I'd trying to find out what time I can actually buy tickets locally in the U.S.

Second, can someone confirm that I cannot buy Trenitalia tickets for trips originating outside Italy? For example, Zeurch hb to Milano Centrale. If I do this type of ticket, I get hung up on step 2, Fares and preferences, as the only choices are to pick up the ticket at Italian train stations or home delivery, the latter of which I don't believe is an option for those residing in the U.S. If I select an intra Italy route, it skips this and essentially goes right to the payment screen. Occasionally, I'll see a mixture of the two for different departure times in the results for the same route and date. This has me confused. For example, the 11:09 I go to the payment screen, while the 13:09 takes me to the step 2 that I cannot get past.

have you tried using the what i think is far friendlier www.lefrecce.it site?

Well, if I start out on trenitalia.com, it actually redirects to lefrecce.it when displaying the search results. At that point forward, everything behaves identically.

Trenitalia again!!!!
I had booked two train journies with no plans for more
but then i bought a cheap flight from Palermo back to
Rome.
So to get to East coast port of Ancona i had to buy a
third and for the third time a 9 euro ticket
Adding the travel time of the three -15hrs
Adding the cost of the three 27 euro
I,m pleased!!!!

This is a great thread! KY, your links are very helpful! Dukey, I will look at the site you posted as well.

stevelion...

It is available at the TIME of the departure. So a 5:00 pm train will appear on the list at 11:00 am east coast time.

The way to check is do a test 119 or 120 days from now and see what shows up...you'll see only some of the days trains available. Then try it later in the day...more will appear.

I booked my May 12 13:44 train as soon as it appeared, on January 13 at 7:45 in the morning (east coast - 6 hours time difference). BUT - that seems to actually be 119 days...so start looking a day earlier than 120 days out. They may use months somehow in their calculation.

SS

Lefrecce is Trenitalia - same website.

stevelion - Trenitalia usually has tickets 120 days Italian time. Problems pop up if you are trying to book a different season and those fares are randomly loaded. Winter fares are from the 2nd weekend of Dec through the 2nd weekend in June. If you are trying to book in the spring for summer, the schedules might not be loaded. Some summer fares can get loaded as late as the first week of June. You have to keep checking.

>>Second, can someone confirm that I cannot buy Trenitalia tickets for trips originating outside Italy? For example, Zeurch hb to Milano Centrale.<<<

International tickets bought on Trenitalia must be picked up at a self service kiosk in Italy. When booking international tickets, you want to use the website for the departure country. The Swiss website is www.sbb.ch. The discounts are called different names depending on country. On Trenitalia, departing from Milan to Zurich, you would want the 19 Smart fare. On SBB, departing Zurich to Milan, you want the Saver fare (currently 23chf - fluctuates with the exchange rate between the euro and Swiss franc).

***Saver tip: e.g. Zurich - Milan from CHF 23.- (single journey).
Terms and conditions apply. A limited number of seats is available.***

The Saver fare must be purchased at least 14 days in advance and I don't think it will show available more than two months out (at least not the cheapest fare). When you enter Zurich/Milan and your dates, 4-5 train options will appear. Usually at the bottom of the list, you'll see "saver tip". Click that to buy. On the next screen, you'll have to enter your date again. Last time I bought these tickets, you had to select which train station in Switzerland you wanted to pick up your tickets. The saver fare can sell out and certain times of the year it might not be offered.

It seems the Saver fare on the Swiss website is available 120 days out.

****With a European supersaver ticket, you can travel from a station where you board the EuroCity in Switzerland to Italy and in the reverse direction. Supersaver tickets are available for a single journey. With a supersaver ticket you may only board the selected train, and if you do not catch this train it becomes invalid. European supersaver tickets are available for 2nd class and are limited in number.

Conditions.
The number of places is limited.
Advance purchase from 120 to 14 days before departure.
No further reductions (not even for the Half-Fare travelcard, GA travelcard and children).
No exchange, no refund

Reductions.
Reduced ticket for a single journey in 2nd class.

Reservations and supplements.
Obligatory seat reservation and supplements are included.****

Wonderful information. We are going from Venice to Zermatt on June 2 and I'm definitely going to be using this info. Thanks!

Thanks everyone! ssander - you precisely answered my question and were spot on! I see tickets popping up extactly 6 hours before the departure (I am EST) at 120 days out.

I got up this morning at 3:23am my time which gave me 2 minutes to start the laptop and search for a 9:25am train from Venice to Rome. I was able to score 3 super saver tickets with no trouble. I had to go second class, because first class did not have inventory at he super saver rate, but that's OK. Thanks again for the advice!

.... Now if I could only get the website to allow me to log in!!!

It keeps telling me that my UserID or my password is "invalid"

When I clicked on the button to get a reminder email with my info, I got a prompt email .....informing me that my UserID and password are indeed those I have been attempting to log in with.

Create a new account using a different UserID?

No way: "That email address is already in use."

You can picture my frustration. I'd really prefer to get these tkts (Mid-March: Rome to Bologna, Bologna to Florence, Florence to Milan) before leaving home.

Sometimes it's just a temporary glitch on Trenitalia. Wait 24 hours and try again. Did Trenitalia send you a temporary password when you registered and then you changed it as they instruct?

FYI - You don't have to be registered to make a purchase, but registration lets you retrieve any info (PNR, etc.) if you have problems.

Have read this thread with great interest as I am about to book some tickets too! I have 2 questions
1. When choosing your seats how do you tell which way they are facing? Can you ask for forward facing seats? This trip is on the 4th May 2013

2. Can I book from Venice to Lyon? I tried but it kept telling me nothing was available. Is this because it is in 2 different countries? I'm trying to book for 1.6.2013

jenmorg...

1. When I bought my tickets last month, the seat-choosing screen on Trenitalia shows the profile of the cars with the more-slanted end clearly distinguishable...I assumed that was the front. However, at some stations, trains reverse direction -- Venice SL, Florence SMN and Rome Termini are that way if I remember correctly...so I guess it depends on what trip you are taking.

I don't know for certain what will happen between Venice and Lyon, but on Google Maps, it looks like Milano Centrale is a station where the train might reverse.

SS

>>>When choosing your seats how do you tell which way they are facing? Can you ask for forward facing seats? <<<

You can't tell for certain. Some trains reverse or have some cars split off to head in another direction.

>>>Can I book from Venice to Lyon?<<<

You could book Venice/Milan and Milan/Geneva on Trenitalia. You would have to book Geneva/Lyon on the Swiss website ( www.sbb.ch ). That would be a very long train trip (10 hours). Another option is the overnight Thello train from Venice to Dijon (depart 10 pm and arrive Dijon at 6:30 am). You could then catch a train on to Lyon. The Dijon/Lyon ticket would be from the French rail website. You can book the night train on Trenitalia and if you are willing to share a couchette, you can book the Smart fare.