catj

Hi,

We planned our trip to Italy on Mid-May (2016).

We will have the following train rides on this trip:
1- Venice to Verona (return trip)
2- Venice to Bologna (one-way, with luggage)
3- Bologna to Firenze (return trip)
4- Bologna to Monterosso (one-way, with luggage)
5- Monterosso to Central Milan (one-way, with luggage)

* I excluded the trains within the Italian Riviera, and from Milan to MXP

Should we book any of these train rides in advance?

I ask since I see that for example, since we want to take the fastest options of each train ride (which can save 1/2 hour or more per ride), and was wondering if we should book these fast options in advance (?) and whether we are gonna save money by booking 6 weeks in advance.

Thank you very much.

Dukey1

I booked a train from Venice to Verona several weeks ago. I am waiting for the schedule to load to book a segment from Verona to Zurich (all of these are in July).

If you want the fastest timings at the cheapest prices I would book now. I usually use Italiarail.com but you could do it on trenitalia as well.

dreamon

Whether or not you should book in advance comes down to whether you want to save money at the expensive of flexibility. Only book the express (frecce) trains in advance. For regionale trains just book when you get to the train station - there is no reserved seating. Personally, if I were doing day trips (as you seem to be) I would try to catch a regionale train 'home' so you can decide when you want to return rather than have to fit into a fixed timetable.

Trenitalia is easy to use. Doesn't matter whether you have luggage or not but certainly life on the road is easier with less luggage.

sundriedtopepo

You may be able to use this offer depending on the dates of travel.

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Of...-Special-Offer

I like dreamon's idea of not booking return on day trips, you won't notice an extra half hour or so on the regionale train when you're napping after a busy day.

greg

R trains - don't need reservation. No advance ticket discount
IC trains - reservation obligatory. Advance ticket discount
Freccia - reservation obligatory. Advance ticket discount

Venice-Verona: R and Freccia. More time options with Freccia.
Venice-Bologna: About equal numbers of R and Freccia trains.
Bologna-Firenze: Mostly Freccia. Penalty for last minutes tickets about 10€ on this short segment
Bologna-Monterosso: All R possible, but most departure involve IC or Freccia. Due to spiking popularity of CT, if anything else, you want seat reservations that comes with IC trains.
Monterosso-Milano: All R possilbe, but with IC offering no change trains to Milano Centrale and the popularity of CT, you want seat reservations that comes with IC also.

catj

Greg, sundriedtopepo, dreamon,

Thank you so much, it is wonderful to read your posts.

I highly consider to rent a car, since it'd be difficult to tell in advance which hour you wanna take the train, and the non-economy seats make it more expensive than renting a car.

bilboburgler

catj, trouble is you then have a car to deal with and you don't tend to move centre to centre. For these areas the train makes most sense unless there are 4 of you.

sundriedtopepo

Katj be aware that the parking in Venice is very expensive.
Also it is easier to get to the CT by train than car.

PalenQ

check www.seat61.com for info on booking discounted tickets and for general info www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - first class tickets are also discounted and sometimes do not cost much more than the cheapest available 2nd class tickets and IME first class is more relaxed and easier to stow luggage as there are about 1/4 fewer people in the same-sized train car as in 2nd class - on regional trains first class is also dirt cheap. Cheapest may not be the best choice sometimes (though don't get me wrong 2nd class is perfectly OK just that first class is more OK - and on the trip of a lifetime where you may spend a few hundred euros on hotels and restaurants a few extra euros on trains could be a good investment IME).

catj

Thank you very much PalenQ, sundriedtopepo and biboburgler!

Your posts are very helpful!

We are intending to hire a car in Venice and return it after 2 days in Firenze (or La Spezia).

PalenQ

Cars are usless in Florence - ditch the car when you get there perhaps - same for Cinque Terre though you may want to drive from there to Rome thru Tuscany.

catj

Hi PalenQ,

Thanks.

We are gonna leave Bologna to CT, and wish to stop on that day in Firenze and Pisa, before reaching CT.

If it's possible to drop the car in La Spezia, we will get to Firenze and Pisa by car (pay for parking), and drop it in La Spezia.

If not, we will drop the car in Florence, travel there, and visit Pisa (on the same day) by train on the way to CT.

Dukey1

I disagree that booking early means a loss of flexibility. There are all KINDS of timings which you can book early. I do not understand the "lack of flexibility" at all.

IF you want to spend more money then wait.

PalenQ

dukey - you read my comments wrong - by flexibility I meant not a choice of trains you usually must book in stone weeks in advance to get but that on the day you want to travel you waltz down to the station and hop on any train - that's what I meant by flexibility and to be able to chose which trains you take once in Europe - even in countries with mandatory reservations it is IME easy to book when you get to a certain city (A few TGV lines in France excepted.)

So you misunderstood what I meant by total flexibility to chose which train you want once there and in most countries just bop to the station and hop on any train anytime.

PalenQ

IF you want to spend more money then wait.>

Yes a lot more at times and many folks actually want to set their trains in stone well ahead of time and have everything pinned down and thus those types reap benefits by booking early - saving money and putting angst to rest.

Yet some like total flexibility to chose which trains to take once there and for these railpasses, which allow exactly that, are often a good deal for even a few long-distance train trips.

This is why folks cannot automatically say as many do that railpasses are a waste of money - not often if someone wants total flexibility and also first class travel which can cost astronomical amounts on a fully flexible basis.

PalenQ

We will have the following train rides on this trip:
1- Venice to Verona (return trip)
2- Venice to Bologna
3- Bologna to Firenze (return trip)
4- Bologna to Monterosso
5- Monterosso to Central Milan

They can actually do all those trains on regional trains that are yes slower but are much much cheaper as a flat fare than even discounted tickets IME - and no having to negotiate hard to negotiate sites and book in stone weeks in advance and leaving you full flexibility to hop onto any regional train anytime. The biggest cost savings would be to take regional trains on all those and maybe spend an extra hour or so over faster trains.

sundriedtopepo

Pal, the OP has decided to rent a car after leaving Venice, but with easy rail links in this area, train would be much easier IMO. I wonder if the OP has never taken trains, and doesn't realize how convenient it is.
OTOH, we now prefer a car. Due to a back injury, I can no longer manage my 21" case in the stations and onto the train, unfortunately. But for daytrips, definitely.

Last time we were in Italy, and used the train for day trips, we were a bit shocked at how high the cost was, 2 people return, for relatively short trips.

bvlenci

I don't think there are any direct regional trains between Bologna Centrale and Firenze (Florence) Santa Maria Novella. You wouldn't want to use any of the peripheral stations in those cities. To travel between the main stations by regional train, you'd have to take a train to Prato, and then a different regional train from there to Florence. However, you can preserve your flexibility by buying a full-price ticket on fast train when you're ready to return. On such a short trip, the price difference isn't very much. The cheapest SuperEconomy tickets cost €16 and the full-price tickets you can buy at the last minute cost €25.

Palenq seems to always forget that in Italy you can't just bop down to the station with a rail pass and hop on the next train. On many routes almost all the trains are reserved trains, which require that rail pass holders buy a reservation, which costs €10 per train. You can buy these online, but there goes your flexibility; or you can line up at the ticket window in the station to buy them.

PalenQ

Palenq seems to always forget that in Italy you can't just bop down to the station with a rail pass and hop on the next train.>

I certainly do and where did you see me write that - you must have misread or I made a stupid mistake - I have used railpasses in Italy for years and fully realize that you must have a reservation before boarding -never has been a problem for me to get once in a certain city.

Here is whart I wrote <and no having to negotiate hard to negotiate sites and book in stone weeks in advance and leaving you full flexibility to hop onto any regional train anytime.>

I was NOT talking about a railpass but regional trains with a flat-fare dirt-cheap ticket. Capiche?

PalenQ

bvienci - you wrote:

Palenq seems to always forget that in Italy you can't just bop down to the station with a rail pass and hop on the next train.>

When did I ever say that? You say always like endemically - yet I have never said or meant that once. Prove your false accusation please?

I do say that you can wait until Italy to chose which trains you want to take as mandated reservations IME are easy to get as there are so so many trains.

Please take care to not misquote me again - please!

Thanks