weathertop

I've read all the posts left here in the last 6-months on purchasing train tickets on the Trenitalia, but, call me slow, I can't seem to get the job done.

Would some kind soul please walk me through the steps of purchasing a ticket from Venice to Florence on 10/23?

I've been able to search for dates and times, select a promising departure time, but on each time that I select, I am faced with an advisory at the bottom of the web page that states "not available for on-line purchase." This appears on the same same page where you select whether to select your seat or not.

I see this regardless of whether I'm selecting a ES* or IC train and I've tried multiple computers and browsers. I also see this on all alternative dates that I select. I've tried to call Trenitalia, but I'm only reaching Italian agents who don't speak English.

Please help.

rex

Here are the detailed steps, courtesy of ira (I added the numbers) - -

=====================

1. Go to www.trenitalia.com and click on the Italian flag.

2. Click on "registrati ora"

3. Fill in the blanks.

4. In an hour or so, you will receive confirmation of your user ID and a password.

5. When you make your booking, click on "ticketless".

6. You will get a confirmation number. Bring that number and the same credit card to which you billed the tickets with you to the train station to get your tickets.

=======================

Can you spell out which steps you have successfully completed, and where you are having the problem?

I do not have any actual personal experience doing this - - but at a minimum, I am hoping that reviewing this list of steps will help pinpoint the problem.

Best wishes,

Rex

tuscanlifeedit

Call me slow, too, but I spent hours last week and couldn't proceed past the registration. I never got the confirming email and then, when I tried to register again, the site said someone with my ID had already registered. Yeah, me!

Could it be that I went through the English site registration and that was my problem? I see that Ira's directions say to register through the Italian language option.

Still never got the email, and still can't register using my email address. The folks I was buying the tickets for ended up getting them from RailEurope.com. I guess they probably paid more for the tickets than they would have on the Trenitalia site, but that would only be if I had been able to register and get the tickets in the first place!

Ciao, and hmmmpft! (snort of frustration)

weathertop

I've been able to register and I've made attempts to login before I go through the process of ordering a ticket.

And, basically, when I get to step 5 (I've selected my date, time, etc.) I can't proceed further as I'm advised that my selection is "not available for on-line purchase."

I wish I could be more specific, but the Trenitalia website doesn't seeem too functional right now (root page comes up, but it isn't possible to search for travel dates or times right now....maybe a hint of my issue?).

The only idea I have is that most of my attempts have been made at around 9 PM EST and I've read that the Trenitalia web site isn't available for ticket purchases around the clock. But, I've run into this problem as I've made attempts to purchase tickets at earlier times of the day.

Ordinarily, I would (as advised here) wait until my travel day and purchase in the train station, but we will only have one particular day to travel from Venice to Florence and I'd like the peace of mind of having a confirmation of transportation.

Any ideas?

PLMN

HAVE you tried other times of the day? When I first started trying to buy tickets was not given the option to buy them. It was suggested I try another time of day and when I did the option was available. Is this the kind of difficulty you are having?

Now today a different problem came up. When I tried to view the schedules for the trains I wanted and clicked the send button, nothing happened. Perhaps they are having technical difficulties tonight?

weathertop

Hi PLMN. Yes, I HAVE tried other times of the day.

I would guess that I've made 3 attempts at other times, mostly around 6 AM EST (right around 12 Noon in Italy).

Most of my attempts have been made at 9 PM EST (3 AM Italy time)

Color me silly, but my assumption is that the Trentalia web site is up most of the time.

?

PLMN

Now when I tried the site I got the Web site not responding due to busy or broken server message.

I wish I could offer some useful advice, but I can't.

If you still have trouble tomorrow I will be happy to see what happens if I try it, that is if we have electric and cable tomorrow.

ira

Hi weather,

What are the dates for which you wish to purchase tickets?

lmavolio

I booked my Italy train tickets the other day and had problems for awhile, but finally I was able to get the reservations to go through. As mentioned above, one of the big steps is just registering. I recieved my password for the trenitalia site within an hour. Once you get that, go back and enter in the locations of travel and date/time you'd like to leave. This will bring up a list of trains. Click the "buy" button which looks like a shopping cart next to the ticket you'd like to purchase. That will take you to a screen where you can enter the # of tickets and the class you want (1st or 2nd). Click next and you can choose your seat location, smoking or non-smoking. It will also allow you to choose self-service or home delivery. Click next and it will take you to the section where you can enter your payment details. Then you're good! Keep trying. I am very computer literate and there were times that the site just didn't work and I kept getting an error message - it's not you - just keep trying and it will eventually go through...Good luck!

P.S. With self service, just print your confirmation and bring it to the train station. From there, you will have to get a paper ticket either from a kiosk or the ticket booth and bring that on the train with you.

P.S.S. Also, if you are travelling on Saturday, there is a Saturday Special through Trenitalia which allows for 15E prices on any intercity train travel. I used this for my Venice to Florence ticket since I happened to be traveling on a Sat. For this, once you select the train, # of tickets and class, click on the "other discounts and promotions" button below and it will bring you to the list of promos. There will be one called Sabato Trenitalia - select the # of tickets you want in that window, and reconfirm the class and delivery option. The rest of the steps are the same...



Also, note that if you are traveling intercity on a Saturday in Italy, Trenitalia has a Saturday Special promotion which will give you any ticket in 1st or 2nd class for 15E. This is a good deal

metellus

Prebooking tickets in Treniltalia is a bad idea. There is absolutely no need. And if you get there early or lkte and need to change your ticket, you will have to stand in a long, long line (in Rome at least). On the other hand, you can easily get your ticket from a machine in 2 minutes when you are there..

weathertop

Hi Ira: I'm interested in traveling on 10/23 in the morning from Venice to Florence and then returning tha same day late in the evening (for a whirlwind 1 day in Florence).

lmavolio: Thank you for the very detailed instructions and feedback. I really appreciate you guidance.

Update: Success! I tried to book tickets moments ago (at 7:45 EST) and made it further than I had before. I was able to select a ticket and make it through the screens to enter a credit card number. The advisory of "Not available for On-line Purchase was gone" and I have a confirmation number. My issue is resolved.

So, I think that the take home message, in addition to all the really great feedback offered here (be sure to register, the Trenitalia website has a Saturday special, etc. ) is:

(1) Don't try booking tickets later than 9 PM EST or earlier than 7 AM EST on Trenitalia web site or your will be frustrated.

(2) Requests for help will be quickly offered in this forum.



Thanks to all for your feedback.

ira

Hi weather,

www.trenitalia.com/en is working now.

Brooklyn_NY

>tuscanlifeedit

I had (well, still having but I worked around it) a problem registering at the Trenitalia site. When I registered with my verizon.net and msn.com e-mail addresses, the password e-mail never arrived. Even when you use the forgetten id/password function to have the information resend to the e-mail address, it comes back with the message that info has been sent but it never arrives.

I was able to register using a free e-mail account at yahoo.com.

Strange, isn't it?

tuscanlifeedit

Brooklyn NY... I was using a verizon.net address to register (well, trying to, anyway).

I am going to try registering with a yahoo or netscape address; I have plenty of choices. Maybe that will work. Thanks for the tip.

I'm really not buying tickets this trip, but was trying to get them for friends. BUT, since I have Alitalia tickets for flights from Milan to Naples and back, I think I will register and be prepared if anything goes wrong once I'm in Italy in 8 days.

Can't wait to get there.

ucsbalum

I am traveling to Italy later this month, and I am planning to purchase train tickets the day of at the station. Will I be okay? I have printed out all schedules from the trenitalia website, so I have an idea of when to arrive.

Any suggestions?

mialow

When picking up tickets bought via trenitalia website at the automatic ticketing booth, can you select an earlier/later departure at the ticketing booth or do you have to talk to a ticketing agent?

ira

Hi ucsbalum

>I am planning to purchase train tickets the day of at the station. Will I be okay?

More than likley. From where to where and when?

Hi mialow
>When picking up tickets bought via trenitalia website at the automatic ticketing booth, can you select an earlier/later departure at the ticketing booth or do you have to talk to a ticketing agent? <

If you have reserved seats (ES* or IC) you have to speak to an agent to change the reservation. If it is an open ticket on the IC, it is good for any train.

lightrom

On the Trenitalia site when trying to book tickets from Venice to Naples on November 8, 2004, most of the train services are not available. Under the "Buy" column, most of the departures are listed as "NO" with very few listed available with the shopping cart icon.

Does this mean that all of the train departures listed as "NO" have already been fully booked & are no longer available thru this site and any other site?

Thank You for your reply!

rex

<<On the Trenitalia site when trying to book tickets from Venice to Naples on November 8, 2004, most of the train services are not available. Under the "Buy" column, most of the departures are listed as "NO" with very few listed available with the shopping cart icon.>>

Since you can only buy 60 days in advance, I am actually puzzled why ANY show the shopping cart icon!

November 8 is 64 days from now.