jasvasa

Hello All! we're travelling within Italy (Milan-Venice; Venice-Florence; Florence - Naples; and Naples to Rome) with 2 kids. My question is

- How is the 2nd class travel? Is it comfortable and safe? Or should I consider booking 1st class?
- I am planning to purchase the tickets online through Trenitalia. Did anyone have any issues with the ticketless travel?
- With ticketless travel, can I change the train timings? I will have no access to Internet or no mobile phone. Can I make changes at the ticket counter?

Thank you for your responses!

Jasmine.

qwovadis

seat61.com/italy great info for you go a lot

was last there in May trains are fine clean and nice

2nd class is good regional trains are quite cheap

You may qualify for cheap family rates at the station.

Might check on that...

Trenitalia purchase abroad is a hassle always just wait

till I get there 4-10 euros per person on most of your

legs so not expensvie at all...

Not much savings booking abroad credit cards do not work well

shipping charges and you lose your flexiblity.

So I always just wait... Have fun!

kybourbon

You can't get those routes for anywhere close to 4E. You can save a lot by booking the discount fares online in advance, but you would need to stick to the trains you select. Discounted tickets are not easily changed. There are family discounts (also bookable online) depending on the ages of your children.

jent103

<i>How is the 2nd class travel? Is it comfortable and safe? Or should I consider booking 1st class?</i>

For most people I think second class is perfectly fine. Some trains are nicer than others, but I took several on my last trip and all were clean and relatively comfortable. If you're particular about traveling or have a lot of luggage, you might spring for first class; otherwise, personally I wouldn't.

<i>I am planning to purchase the tickets online through Trenitalia. Did anyone have any issues with the ticketless travel?</i>

I used both the "print your tickets" and "pick up your tickets at the station" options on my last trip - no problems whatsoever. Also no problems using my US credit card on the Trenitalia site.

<i>With ticketless travel, can I change the train timings? I will have no access to Internet or no mobile phone. Can I make changes at the ticket counter?</i>

I'm not sure of all the rules on this; I believe it differs with the type of train and ticket. There are several posts here which describe this (you should be able to find them with some searching). However, if you think your plans might change, there may not be much advantage in pre-purchasing your tickets unless you can get the Mini fares (or if there's a family ticket of some sort - no idea there).

Just so you're aware, though, the tickets will be more than 4-10 euros each (not sure where that came from, qwovadis - my adult ticket from Rome to Venice was something like &euro;58 with the Mini fare). Also, how old are your kids? You're completely responsible for your own luggage, so if they're young and can't handle their own suitcases, packing light will be almost a necessity, I'd think.

nytraveler

I think the age of the kids is key. Assuming they are responsible and can handle their own luggage (10 or older) you should be OK. But if you have small kids traveling by train can be difficult - since the adults have to deal with the kids, the kids stuff and their own stuff as well. And you have limited time to board trains and haul your luggage on board. (I always think travel with a couple of small kids is easier by car.)

Second class should be fine for shorter trips unless you have a lot of luggage (it needs to go on overhead racks - or end of the car if you have large bags. With a lot of luggage I would go first class and there is more room for you and the luggage.

Peter_S_Aus

Second class is OK. Limited time to board is probably not a big issue - for instance in Venice, you would have at least ten or twenty minutes to board, similarly in Florence. Can't comment on Naples or Milan.

There are no safety issues with second class.

Luggage space is limited, but people do seem to manage.

I suggest you buy your tickets over the counter at the stations - getting adjacent seats from the ticket vending machines can be very hit & miss, and our success rate is about 50% getting adjacent seats. For four people, even more difficult, probably easier in first class, at a cost.

rineurope

For a good description (by GAC) of the differenes between 1st and 2nd class trains in Italy - with pictures - you might read this posting: ** http://tinyurl.com/1st-or-2nd **.

Depending on the type of ticket you purchase, there may be the option to change. With some tickets, there are no changes allowed (I once tried just to change seats in Naples with a MINI ticket in hand and the Trenitalia desk personnel told me "NO CHANGES!"), or for some tickets you can change with a "change-fee," often about €8 each. Here are two postings on the types of tickets and another on the MINI discount: ** http://tinyurl.com/train-ticket-info ** AND ** http://tinyurl.com/MINI-fare **

As mentioned, the key might be the ages of your children. As far as ticketless travel - we love it and use it often. With the changes made to the Trenitalia website in November 2010, most US credit cards are accepted. (Apparently non-Italian AMEX cards are still hit and miss although mine worked last month?) Once you get your PNR code via email, you're ready to ride. These two links explain buying online and the PNR code system: ** http://tinyurl.com/tren-online ** AND ** http://tinyurl.com/ticketless **

Hope those help - good luck on your trip!

kybourbon

Most of your routes are served by the fast AV trains, so boarding usually isn't a big problem as they tend to stop a bit longer in the stations. 2nd class is fine. There is luggage storage usually at one end of the car in 2nd class (typically two side-by-side bins for large luggage - only at one end, not both ends of a car). About 1/3 of the way into the car from each end (on some, not all AV trains), there will be luggage storage bins for large luggage. Overhead head storage is shorter in the 1st 1/3 of each car and taller in the center section (center will hold large luggage). There is also space behind the seats that have tables (not the seats at the ends of cars with drop down trays) where you slide luggage in behind your seat. This is a picture of 2nd class AV train (fast train).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fr...ssainterno.jpg

You can select your seats on Trenitalia website by seat diagram so you can be sure to get seats side by side. You click on the actual seats you want (just like selecting airline seats). This link for Trenitalia booking is only for faster trains and will not show the slow trains. The basic Trenitalia link does not have seat diagrams, you have to be on the Le Frecce link. You can do a trial booking and see the seat diagrams. You must enter the Italian spelling of cities (it will start to auto-fill the name for you) as English spelling will not work. Select the fare of the train you want, below be sure to click the link for "select your seat", the click "buy without registration" (if you are just doing a trial booking). You will then get a diagram of a train car telling you which car number and the seats in green are the available seats. The gray oblongs represent the seats with tables (other seats towards ends of cars have drop down trays like airplanes). If you want the four of you together, you would select two seats on one side of a gray oblong and the two seats on the other side of the oblong (two facing two).
http://www.fsitaliane.it/cms/v/index...003f16f90aRCRD

If you start making changes midway through, you need to reselect the seat assignment link as it will auto default to selecting for you.

jasvasa

Thank you all for your replies. Very useful!