Trenitalia – How I Successfully Bought Train Tickets on the Web

Congratulations! Thanks for the information. I think I've been talked in to just calling, but I'm always game to learn something new!

yes it still amazes me how so many otherwise seemingly semi-intelligent folk can have such a hard time with the easy easy easy trenitalia site. amazing...

MichaelT: What a lovely, entertaining post.

Well done, MT

Thank you so much. I've planned my whole trip and the Trenitalia site has been the most temperamenta of all.

This really helps. Especially about calling the bank first and the carriage and seat box.

One more question MichaelT.

We will be connecting in Milan twice and only have 20 minutes b/w trains. Is that enough time for someone who doesn't know the ropes?

Bashamj,

Yes, 20 minutes is a world of time when connecting on trains. The stations are far easier to navigate than airports.

When you arrive in Milano, there will be large display boards everywhere. Look for your departing train number and the binario (track) that it is leaving from and simply go to it. (Remember to validate your ticket on the way)

Don't be alarmed if the train isn't there yet. In larger stations like Milan it would likely be there 20 mins out but in smaller stations, they arrive just minutes before they are scheduled to depart.

Know your ticket as well. Your destination might not be the same as the train's final destination. You could be taking a train from Milan to say Bologna but the train is actually going to Florence with a stop in Bologna.

In every station there are large paper charts on the walls that list train departures (listed by hour) and they show all of the stops it makes. I've seen a lot of people confused, especially on trains to places like Pisa which is only a stop on a longer train.

One last note. On the Trenitalia site, for larger cities like Rome or Naples where there are more than one station, you might often see "Tutte Le Stazioni" and wonder which station that is. It means any station (in that area). It's good to know which station you'll be using and which is closer to your accommodations and then make sure it is a stop on the train you are purchasing.

Thx Michael, I was trying out the Trenitalia website yesterday and it was challenging - so your post is timely! I was trying to find trains for overnight journey from Rome to Venice. Interestingly it showed ne the train uptil Jun 14th, but when I went to my date of interest (Jun 22nd) the train did not show up. Is there a way to get a timetable for trains in Italy?

AjGupta: A good timetable and search resource for all of Europe is the German Train site http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

I always use it when the French rail pages go screwy on me.

Author: russwuf
Date: 03/15/2008, 12:01 am

yes it still amazes me how so many otherwise seemingly semi-intelligent folk can have such a hard time with the easy easy easy trenitalia site. amazing...


I hope the above was meant as sarcasm!

I'm of above average intelligence, and have tried each and every thing suggested, and it still refuses to accept my card.

My card companies do not offer virtual numbers, and their 'guy' looked into it for me. It is an issue with Trenitalia.

Thank you, for the attempt at help. I may try it one more time, then say buggar it. If that doesn't work, I'll be calling the travel agent Monday for help with the first leg of our journey, after that, it'll be us and the ticket kiosks.

lkemerson,

I’m glad you asked russwuf if it was sarcasm.

At first I wondered the same thing but then reality kicked in for me and I realized anyone that used the word “easy” three times in a row in a post about Trenitalia was either a.) Sarcastic or b.) A paid employee of Trenitalia!

Thanks for the tips MichaelT!

bookmark

Searching for the car rental/train ticket scheme on the Trenitalia website, I found a great page that I had never discovered before, with the names of a zillion agencies that can sell you train tickets at no extra charge, and Pantheon travel is among them. That was on another thread, but I thought I would mention it.

Here is the page:
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/treni_stazioni/punti_vendita/index.html

Look at that lovely menu on the right. How nice!

LOL...no sarcasm meant...and I am not a trenitalia employee...
The primary problem people have is with credit card issues as it seems.
First ask yourself...Have I signed up on the trenitalia site as a member?>>>>go to the "customers area" then the "restricted access" area...sign on with your user name and password. If you are not a member you can sign up at this point in the game and enter your personal info there so that the site recognizes you when you come and go as well as allow you to do some handy functions as verify your orders change your password ..etc etc.
Cetainly let your bank of choice/credit card company etc know that you are purchasing via the trenitalia site beforehand so as to not set off a fraud alert flag. This is key along with signing up as a trenitalia member, both together will allow your transactions to go through instead of being blocked.
It is really very easy whether you are here in the USA or abroad in another country to purchase online via the trenitalia site.

I jumped for joy when I saw this, and MichaelT, your suggestions gave me courage to try again. I already had created an account and jumped happily along, this time with the "amica" fare (yes, I am your friend, Italy!). At the crucial moment,
Denied.

Why why why? Do I really have to call BNP and tell them I'm buying from Trenitalia? They would probably say, Et alors? Do you think a plain cc would work better, like my Mastercard from the states (but OUCH! am avoiding that)?

If all else fails, I will order at the window. Stupid question: can I buy tickets at the window in advance and at the amica rate? I've only done the speak-to-an-actual-person-to-buy-tickets thing in Germany because somehow the ticket machine which sold the tickets to Michelstadt wasn't working.

Would it help if I were Catholic?

Author: russwuf
Date: 03/16/2008, 02:26 am

LOL...no sarcasm meant...and I am not a trenitalia employee...
The primary problem people have is with credit card issues as it seems.
First ask yourself...Have I signed up on the trenitalia site as a member?>>>>go to the "customers area" then the "restricted access" area...sign on with your user name and password. If you are not a member you can sign up at this point in the game and enter your personal info there so that the site recognizes you when you come and go as well as allow you to do some handy functions as verify your orders change your password ..etc etc.
Cetainly let your bank of choice/credit card company etc know that you are purchasing via the trenitalia site beforehand so as to not set off a fraud alert flag. This is key along with signing up as a trenitalia member, both together will allow your transactions to go through instead of being blocked.
It is really very easy whether you are here in the USA or abroad in another country to purchase online via the trenitalia site.

I hate to be the first one to tell you this, but...you are wrong.

I have signed up for the Trenitalia site.

My bank and credit card companies are fully aware of this trip, I've even double checked and triple checked that all is well on that front, even to the point of having one very nice man at their technical services department offer to check the Trentitalia site WITH me on the phone. HE said it is THEIR site.

I am quite Internet savvy, and find your post, incredibly rude.

And this part,

This is key along with signing up as a trenitalia member, both together will allow your transactions to go through instead of being blocked.
It is really very easy whether you are here in the USA or abroad in another country to purchase online via the trenitalia site.

has me shaking my head.

NO, it is not the key.

In fact, it seems you can do all of the above, and still have it not work. Because you had the good fortune (and apparently in your own mind, more synapses firing than the rest of us) doesn't mean others haven't done all the right things and it still not work.

So, please don't assume others are dim, slow, or what was it you said,

otherwise seemingly semi-intelligent folk can have such a hard time with the easy easy easy trenitalia site. amazing,

because, sir/madam, you may think you have all the answers because it worked for you, but alas...you do not.

I find you post a little presumptive, and it smacks of intellectual superiority. Seemingly semi-intelligent. *insert major eye roll here*

Be 'amazed' no more! Maybe even watch assuming things, you know what they say about that!

~One of the great unwashed, and apparently undereducated, "can't use the Trenitalia site" morons.

K

Tuscan thank you for the kind information.

I'll be calling tomorrow. I will be fine buying the fare as we go once there, except I have reservations in Florence our first day in, and really would like to get the Amica fare.

Michael,
Great thread. Thank you as well for trying to help. It seems, from my investigating, that some card companies are more easily accepted via the web. My card company says they think it is just a quirk of the Trentitalia system. Again, I thank you very much for trying to help.


And bud, I'm hearing you on the "easy easy easy" with no punctuation. Good point. As I always tell my children, character tells, and sometimes it tells a lot!

I'm a little irked at myself that my html tags are messed up in the previous post, and I can't fix them. LOL EDIT before hitting post, K!

Happy travels everyone, and thank you, so very much, for all the help, direction and gentle nudges in the right direction.

K

Wow - congratulations! (Since you mention it I have to say - Yes! You do seem very anal)LOL!

I've booked tickets with Trenitalia for years without issue, so I was a bit off thinking you had so much trouble!

I do commend you on giving such detailed instructions for newbies, we should all be so thoughtful. Many people are so frightented to try and with your post now there are no excuses!

Hope you can relax and enjoy the ride now!

Wow, I tried to start this post to try to help people, not to make them argue.

First, a response –

Sheepie87 – the Amica fare can be purchased at a window at a station if a.) It is still available (inventory control) and b.) If you are more than 24-hours out from travel. It is not available on the day of travel.

Now, my $.02 worth – successfully using the Trenitalia site has nothing to do with being blessed with intelligence, it has to do with being blessed with the right credit card and even if you do have the right one, the site can still be quirky. Some people have never had an issue using the site and some people have never gotten the site to work.

Even for the experienced, the site does not always work smoothly as I have recently found and that is what I was reporting. Like LilyLace, I too have bought tickets on it for many years and I “generally” haven’t had any issues using it.

However, on a recent occasion I did have issues with it and it was far from easy (x3) to correct.

What started all of this was the site rejecting a credit card that worked on it in December, it worked at a train station in the Abruzzo region just before Christmas and it’s still cleared by my bank to work on the site and in Europe now (I checked this again with my bank before this all started).

But it didn’t work… three times in a row… which got me locked out of my account so I documented my journey back to buy a ticket. (BTW, it’s now been a week and my original account still hasn’t been reinstated even though I’ve sent them everything they asked for.)

The whole purpose of my experiment with the site and the post about it was to try to help those unfamiliar with the Trenitalia site and those that have had issues using it to see if they were covering all of the steps along the way and to simply let them know what worked for me.

As many have reported on these boards, the Trenitalia site can be frustrating in its quirks and it can turn some people off from trying to use it and possibly causing them to have to pay more for their tickets than necessary. This post was intended to help those people and not intended to begin a debate about the intelligence levels of people that share a common passion for travel which is why we’re all here to begin with.

Lkemerson and LilyLace, thanks for acknowledging the post for what it was intended for.

My last comment on the whole thing is that I’ll repeat the final comment of the original post - Enjoy your trip and if you have any tips to add to this post, please do so!

Great info . . . gosh, how I love the anal retentive poster .... MichaelT - thanks for taking the time to share.

Thank you MichaelT!

Very informative and reassuring to yet another Trenitalia failure.

I too had the same issues and gave up before frustration had me climbing into my scotch bottle. I did finally book with Marco but I hate to admit tech failure.

And thank you russwf for once again showing us that we are all clueless idiots. We do need to be humbled now and then.

Hmm, I bought tickets from Venice to Verona last May and I don't recall it being so convoluted.

I don't even recall registering my email, although I may have.

But I just went to the train stations and then entered a confirmation number at the kiosk and it printed it out right there, as I recall.

bookmarking ... for the possibility of train travel in Italy!

Michael T: God Bless You.

Just so you know, I have an ongoing battle with SNCF (French rail). 3/4 of the time, it works like a charm, especially since Morgan starting posting the SNCF tutorial for all of us.

Then it just doesn't. I speak rather decent French, and I just can't do a workaround when the site goes kaput. Usually in a few days, the system gets rectified. In the meantime, I just quaff a few beers here at the ol' terminal and fret a lot.

So although I have not tried Trenatalia, I truly believe that it can work wonderfully or be full of quirks. Your information conveyed beautifully the ways to get around minefields.

I thank you for the time, effort, and most importantly, the amusing tone of voice you added to your post.

Hello MichaelT, I am sure the time you took to go into details as to how you won the "battle" with the Trenitalia website will be a classic thread for years and will often be retrieved for referance as we all know how many people have had such a difficult time trying to book their train tickets online. And to think you only had to say 3 Hail Mary's, incrediable, lol! Have a wonderful trip.

Thanks so much, Michael!! You have undoubtedly provided a resource for many of us trying to make train reservations in italy!!

Tuscanlifeedit, thank you for posting the link of agencies. I'll be emailing a few of the North American agencies very soon. I appreciate your help.

Linda431,

I'd like to ask how it went booking with a travel agent.

I'll be calling Marco, tomorrow, but if you see this before then, a little info on that process, if you would be so kind.




Thank you again MichaelT. I didn't mean to make it an argument thread either, but there are people among us, that may have questions and not ask, because they feel they will be called stupid. My reply was to clear that up.

There are no stupid questions when it comes to being a very informed consumer.

Thank you again, for your great post, the smile it brought, and the information it passed along.

K

lkemerson,

It was fairly quick and painless. I sent him a fax and gave him my email address. We handeled the rest of the transaction by email. I gave him the train I wanted and asked for the Amica fares, but there were none available for that train, so we did have to exchange a few emails to get it done.

The e-tickets he emailed have a bar code that supposedly work like printing an online boarding pass for the plane.

lkemerson,

I know you didn't try to create an argument and I feel the same as you.

There are many trips we take where I like to ask many questions to be informed during my research just like you since they are new locations to US. (I've recently done the same in other posts for our trip to Campania next month.)

I always appreciate it when someone responds with information I can use as opposed to personal commentaries about my question and hopefully those productive exchanges will help us all better plan our trips.

"I always appreciate it when someone responds with information I can use as opposed to personal commentaries about my question and hopefully those productive exchanges will help us all better plan our trips."

Very well said MichaelT! I think many of us have been "victims" of abuse on this forum for asking a question. Honestly I like answering questions. It does not bother me if someone wants to know what to wear. I like to give suggestions. We have not all been lucky enough to have born into money and culture. Many of us have had to learn as we grow and little things like what is acceptable to wear someplace or how much money to budget for food are important to us. Thanks again for your wonderful report of Trenitalia.

I know I'll need this info at some point -- Mille Grazie MichaelT

Great post. Just a couple of additional tips, if I may:
- you cannot buy e-tickets if your selected trip involves a combination of different categories of trains, such as InterCity and Regional trains, for example.
- e-tickets for IC/ES trains are different from e-tickets for Regional ('R') trains. IC/ES tickets incorporate a seat reservation and can be exchanged (although that is not always easily done) if you for any reason you change plans; R train tickets have no seat reservation and canNOT be exchanged (although you can take a later train of the same type upto 4 hours later if you miss it).

Okay, Michael. I thought I was on a lucky roll. After all, it was Easter Sunday and I was fortified with wine.

The first time I entered my credit card number, I didn't get any error message, but did get the message that the CV2 is required. So, I re-entered the number on my Visa that I thought was my CV2, but forgot to double-check to make sure that no other fields had been blanked out. So, I hit Go again. This time I got an error message saying that I'd not entered a card number or date. So, this system proves to be one of those irritating ones that blanks out fields when it goes back.

Okay, I retry. So, I decide to use my AMEX--higher service charge--but never known to fail me.

Now I get a message saying that I've entered an incorrect card number 3 times, so I'm out.

I guess I'll open another Trenitalia account, try the Citibank suggestion, and try again.

BTW, the CV2 is indeed the 3 digit number printed on the back of the card, correct?

it is indeed the CV2 number...and good luck to you on your next attempts.

I tried several cards, several times, and got exactly what you did.

Maybe you could call one of your card companies to see if the offer the virtual card number (none of mine do) as I was told that will work! Its worth a shot.

I'm going to get my train fare (and the only one I'm worried about is Venice to Florence, as I have Uffizi reservations at a certain time) once there,I guess.

I wish you much success.

MichaelT,

You now have an honourary PhD in computer science after that experience.

Congratulations!

janjanjan,

I feel for you.

I got locked out almost 4 weeks ago for hitting the 3 strikes and you’re out rule (I didn’t know until now that baseball terminology was as popular on Italian trains).

I filled out the form to get reinstated and sent it to Trenitalia along with a copy of my passport 3 1/2 weeks ago. (BTW, I hate my passport photo – we could probably start a whole thread on that topic!). I still haven’t heard a word back from them! So much for the 48hr. response they promised.

And yes, the CV2 is the 3-digit number on the back of a MC or Visa and the 4-digit number on the front of an Amex.

Next time, I’d try scotch as Linda431 suggested. It probably still won’t work but you’ll become tolerant with it faster than you would while drinking wine!

After reading all of the posts on trying to purchase train tickets from Trenitalia - and this being our first trip to Italy - I was scared!
However, a friend recommended a site www.selectitaly.com where they purchased their tickets. It took me about 15 minutes to order tickets for 6 people for travel from 4 different cities - and I received them FedEx in 3 days! They were standard tickets - and sightly higher than what I had seen - but well worth the time and trouble it saved us!

suz1672,

Thanks for the tip. The site does look to be very user friendly.

I just used it and plugged in the exact trains I successfully purchased on the Trenitalia site and they turned out to be about 35% more expensive than what I got through the site (sorry, not trying to give you bad news but just offering facts). In my case, it would have amounted to about $82US more than what I paid using the site.

Trenitalia site – Amica Fare (With the above mentioned headaches) - $232.54US (as converted by Citibank 3/14/08).
Selectitaly.com (User friendly) - $314US (as priced today)

ANY trip to Italy - Priceless!

Your last line says it all, Michael..I'M GOING TO ITALY

Coincidence?

This morning, I finally received an email from Trenitalia reinstating my original account (see top post) to be able to “purchase online with more than one credit card.”

It made me wonder though… after weeks of waiting, was it just a coincidence or was it brilliant foresight on their part that they reinstated me on April Fool’s Day?

Thanks for posting this! I thought perhaps I'd be one of the lucky ones who could actually purchase tickets on the Trenitalia site without a problem, but no dice.

I will keep trying and hopefully sometime in the next six weeks I'll be able to purchase!

I'm still baffled as to why people go through all this. As always, over the last month I bought my Italian train tickets from self-service machines at the stations when I turned up ready to go - it took about 2 minutes each time.

<I'm still baffled as to why people go through all this.>

For me, it is because I like to know that everything is taken care of ahead of time. I'm obsessive about planning and it just makes me feel better to know I have my tickets in advance. Sure, if I have to, I can wait til I get to the station, but I'd rather not. On a recent trip to Salzburg from Munich, I had issues getting my train ticket at the station. Despite my careful planning and printouts of prices and train schedules, I couldn't get the ticket I wanted and ended up spending quite a bit more money for my ticket than planned. It made for a bad start to my morning and I'd prefer not to do that again!

I want to get to the station with my luggage, head to the correct track and be ready to go.

I am SO on board with CarolineE...I remain baffled as to why anyone goes through this. I have always used the self-service kiosks with great results and no hassle.

I will ask again a question I have posed before and never had a negative repsonse to: has anyone ever failed to get on a train in Italy they wanted because they didn't book from back in the US, UK or Canada?

In more than 20 trips to Italy using trains each time I've always been able to get seats on the trains I wanted. I usually buy a day or two ahead if I'm concerned about a weekend or holiday crush. I purchase from ticket windows, ticket machines, and also local travel agents. I confess that I usually travel off-season.

MichaelT

I tried for weeks to buy tickets online through the Trenitalia website and even resorted to calling on the telephone. Each time I called and was told the lines were busy, I was charged
about $5.00 for one minute.
Please do not make that mistake - we had no problem buying tickets in Italy, just stay on trip ahead on purchasing.
AKNIC

sherhatfield, I take your point as regards countries where booking ahead can be a lot cheaper (I would never turn up & go in the UK for anything more than a local journey like Glasgow). But that doesn't apply to Italy.

And what if you arrive at the station too late for the train you've booked ? I would worry more about having to be there at a set time. Surely it's easier just to buy tickets for the next train after you arrive (assuming it's one which runs fairly regularly) ?

Very good question, LJ !

OK - I've had it with trenitalia.com! I've never bought train tickets on-line before, but this time, I am traveling with friends on an overnight train from Rome to Venice. They will kill me if we aren't able to get a four-person sleeping compartment!
So, to avoid a possibly grisly death, I've been unsuccessfully trying the trenitalia site with all my cards, my husband and all his cards, and one of the travel companions and all his cards. No luck!

I need to contact Marco at Pantheon Travel, I guess. Does anyone have his e-mail?

Thanks for your help!

Rome to Venice on an ES train is only 4.5 hours . . . get an early train and be there in time for lunch.

bookmarking

Ellenem,
Thank you for the suggestion, some members of our group wanted the overnight train experience.

The "overnight" train leaves Rome at 22:50 and arrives at Venice SL at 5:30. The train makes 11 stops over the 6.5-hour trip. I can't imagine sleeping very well through a train stop every 30 minutes or so.

MichaelT, thanks so much for this wonderful, detailed user guide.

I would appreciate some feedback (from you, or anyone else who has the time) about my thoughts on buying train tickets from Rome to Naples.

Until I read your post, I assumed we (family of 5) could just turn up at Termini station in Rome early in the morning in December (about 7am) and buy our tickets to Naples from a ticket booth. Would it be better for us to buy these tickets in advance? Also, should we buy return tickets, or is it OK to just buy the tickets back to Rome from Naples train station at the end of the day? This is just a day trip to Naples because we're going to Pompeii for the day (my understanding is we'll buy tickets to Pompeii once we arrive in Naples).

Just turn up & buy them on the day. The self service machines have an English language option & shorter queues than the ticket booths so are easier and quicker. You may as well buy returns as long as you don't mind comitting yourself to which train you'll get back. There is no way you won't get on the next train, at 7am in December. Personally I wouldn't go from Rome to Pompeii as a day trip, especially when the days are at their shortest, but each to their own.

Michael,

Thanks for the tip about being able to display prices on the Trenitalia website for R tickets by specifying a date within 7 days of the current date.

I read elsewhere that a holder of an American Express card in the US was able to use the AmEx travel services to book train tickets from Venice to, I believe, Florence. The AmEx agency in Venice made the purchase for the specific train requested, at no extra charge, and the traveler picked up the tickets while in Venice. That person was able to take advantage of the Amica fare, too.

We used the American Express agency in Venice to purchase all our train tickets. We arranged this in advance from the US, via email, then picked the tickets up once we got to Venice. They did not charge extra, and we got the Amica fare. We are not American Express credit card holders.

We saved over $100 by getting the Amica fares (family of 4, multiple trips). That's why we wanted to purchase in advance. Had no success on Trenitalia.com - have bought tickets in the past from them online, but couldn't do it this trip, even after notifying our credit card companies, trying our numerous cards, setting up multiple user id's, etc etc.

Hello All,

MichaelT - It was like you were talking right to me (thanks) however still can't book and yes I have the account, called the credit card place ect...

Question (anyone) is there a email address to use to get help if online is a bust?

I really want to book since I am going from Rome to Venice on a night train and see that some of the cabins are already booked. I am afraid to chance not getting a ticket for a cabin and have to ride in a seat for 4 (plus) hours.

In a word....Help! All advice welcome except "it is simple"

Thanks in advance.

Bless all that got it to work *smile*

Neotraveler6,

You could book your ticket by phoning the Trenitalia call center. See here: http://tinyurl.com/5kscjd.

Preface: I have always in the past waited until I get to Italy to purchase tix, but because we want to get an overnight sleeper from Rome to Palermo, I wanted to do it ahead.

So...now...I don't know WHAT I just did...

After about 3,000 unsuccessful attempts, I gave up. Five minutes later, I receive an email from my BofA Debit card saying:

Dear [LucieV]

Thank you for registering to Verified by Visa services. This free service provides added safety when you shop online.

Activation Details:
Activation date: 09/14/2008
Merchant at which activation took place: Vendita Biglietteria

Amount of purchase: 250.00 EUR


The problem is that it has now been over 3 hours, and I have received NO confirmation email from Trenitalia. In fact, the last transaction that I had with them on their website said "transaction denied" (or whatever the verbiage is.)

I have called BofA and they're looking into it, but I'm pi$$ed off & confused.

Hello ALL,

Ok no such luck with vitural credit card number (ugh)...I am going to have to call (ahhhhhhh)

LucieV-I had the same thing happen with my card however no money was withdrawn. Visa has a extra security protection that will make you verfiy before you can book some items online...I don't think you were charged even with the item summary. Visa show you the item summary to ensure you want to contiue however that does not mean it went through. I hope all is well. You are not the only one (hope that helps).

Neo

Absolutely fabulous..and guess what? When you click on the English version you get the "this page does not exist" message.

I think I'll wait and have the hotel concierge do it.

Pantheon Travel and Marco's e-mail is 'Pantheontravel@hotmail.it'
This is in Rome.

He can buy the tickets for you and send them via e-mail.

This may be of interest to Australians.

I too tried to buy tickets online through Trenitalia, with no success, even though I tried everything that has been suggested on this and many other threads.

I heard back from my Australian credit card companies today (Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club). They have all told me that they have had so many cases of fraudulent activity resulting from their customers placing orders online with Trenitalia that they have blocked all online transactions through this site.

boomark

Michael T - most entertaining post. Today was the first time I looked at the train schedule and only wanted an idea of the cost to take the train between cities. I was surprised their wasn't drop down boxes that listed all train stations to select your departure and arrival cities. I quickly realized that I needed additional information and did a search for "train ticket" on this forum that I had bookmarked. I had a great time reading this post and think that you could have excerpts published somewhere. As for anyone who claims Trenitalia's website is an easy, transparent website - I would have to disagree. But please by all means keep the argument going as it makes for some good reading.

Thanks Pumkin. It is a kind of an amusing post when I look back at it.

Ok -I admit that I didn't have the time to read all 68 responses so forgive me if I'm repeating.

I just got back from Italy. Before we left, I read this original post over and over - then I was unsuccessful at buying tickets over the web. After a week of worrying about it, I gave up and just decided to buy the tickets once I got to the Italian train station.

Everything worked out great - and the tickets were about the same price as they were on the internet - and much easier.

Hi SavTRav

That's great news, especially for me as I have also been unable to buy the tickets online and am going to be purchasing them once I get to Italy in a few weeks' time.

Would you be able to tell me if you were unable to purchase the tickets online because your credit card company wouldn't authorise the transaction? Did you pay for the tickets using your credit card when you got to Italy, and if so, did you have any problems getting the transaction approved?

Ozziez,

We tried to use our credit cards while in the USA. We tried many different ones MC, Visa and even Amex even though they said it wasn't possible.

I never knew exactly why the transaction didn't go through. We even called our bank to let them know the amount that we were about to charge.

Once we got in Italy, we made sure to go to the train station the first day and bought all our tickets at once. We used the exact same credit card that we were unsuccessful with in the States. And we found the DIY machines fairly easy to use. We never waited in the line to talk to an actual person.

I would still recommend letting your bank know that you will be in Italy - that way you will have no problem on any purchase, not just the train tickets.

Another thing we noticed at ATMs (this was not a problem at the train station) that if we tried to get out too much money from the ATM, the warning message said that our cards were not allowed to do International transactions, but if we lowered the amount we were asking for we had no problem.

Don't sweat the train tickets and have a great time.

Isn't that what some of us said to start with ? Why bother with the hassle of Trenitalia, just buy your tickets at the station.

Thanks so much for the info SavTrav. Very useful.

Hi Caroline - Yes, I am going to buy the tickets at the station in Rome, however I was asking whether SavTrav had trouble using a credit card to do so. The whole reason I ( and most people who have trouble using Trenitalia) cannot buy tickets online is because the credit card authorisation won't go through. Just wanted to find out if the credit card transaction is accepted once one is in Italy.

Oz - Some of the ticket machines use credit cards and some are cash only. I had no problem using my credit card in the machines. If you enter Termini from the front there will be rows of machines right inside the front doors. If you are arriving by subway, just go up to the ground level.

Thanks Kybourbon!

Thanks for the in depth report. I tried to get tickets through the web and finally gave up since everyone said it was easy to just do it there.

Just another tip if buying tickets at the Italian train station machines.
The machines that accept cash are not the same ones that take credit cards. Look for the machine with an extra machine to the right side of it - that's the cash box. We found it pretty easy. It was surprising how cheap train travel was in Italy.
Happy trails.

bookmarking...and thanks!

This is all very interesting. I have never had a problem and the transaction has always gone through with no glitches.

I only buy tickets ahead of time if I know there is going to be a problem like a strike the next or previous day or heavy holidays, etc.

I have only had a problem once with a machine and that was in Caen. I think it might have been the Visa CC problem that many people experience in Europe. But when I went to the ticket counter it went through fine.

Michael,
Great thread - and started exactly a year and a day ago!

Thanks for the info. I was trying to purchase tickets just this morning and stopped when I got to the seat # selection. I posted a question on another thread, but it looks like you've answered my question, so I guess I'll just take pot luck.

I'll try tomorrow and report my results.

bookmark

Fantastic post - thanks MichaelT! One question - how do you find the Amica fares? I am too far out to book yet, but I have played around with closer dates and don't see the Amica fares. Do they only come up when you get to the purchase screen? Thanks!

Wait - I may have answered my own question regarding Amica fares. Are they only for long distance trains and NOT for R or IC trains? (I am travelling from Monterosso-Florence and then later from Florence-Venice).

Should be available for some IC trains. If your trip involves an r or d train then you won't get option of selecting Amica. If it requires changing trains such as Florence/Pisa and that portion is IC and the Pisa/Monterosso is R, then price/buy your tickets separately to get Amica on the Florence/Pisa train.

To find Amica fares, pull up a schedule at

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

and click "Buy" (shopping cart) for the train of you choice.

In the next window you "Choose a rate" from a scrolling menu. "Amica" is on the list.

If you can't get Amica, you probably want "Standard."

Greatpumkin: "But please by all means keep the argument going as it makes for some good reading."

That's what I'm here for GP. First of all Michael, thanks for the info.

My story: In 2005, after getting a few questions answered on Fodor's, I twice bought four tickets on the Trenitalia website (from Florence to Venice and also from Venice to Rome). I did not find it a difficult process. Just so IKemerson doesn't feel that I think I am superior, I also put the wrong gas in my rental car on the same trip.

My question (and I am not being a wiseguy), has the Trenitalia website become more difficult to use since I bought my tickets in 2005?

Kybourbon - duh! Why didn't I think of buy the IC and R sections separately? Great idea.

thank you ellenem - I am going back in.

BTW - I just saw on the Trenitalia site that they are NOT accepting any Amex charges right now.

I just attempted purchasing tickets at Trenitalia's website to no avail. I called my bank first to let them know of my purchase plans. It didn't work and the site made me sign up for "Verified by Visa" as I've seen before on this thread. I called my bank again and they said they'd try something different but the note was in the system and holds to purchase abroad were taken off. I tried again, still no tickets. I think my bank may offer a Virtual Credit Card and if so that will be the third try I suppose...

lindatork - It's not the distance for Amica fares, it's the type of train. You should be able to get them on AV, ES, ICPlus, and IC (not on R, IR, D), but they can sell out and have to be purchased at least 24 hours in advance.

>>> maitaitom on Mar 17, 09 at 01:57 PM
My question (and I am not being a wiseguy), has the Trenitalia website become more difficult to use since I bought my tickets in 2005?<<<

Beginner's luck.

"Beginner's luck."

From the looks of the many anti-Trenitalia posts, you just could be right.

Linda,
There is no reason to buy a ticket for an R train ahead of time--they are not reserved seats. You just get on ANY R train headed for your destination and find a seat, so having tickets ahead of time is of no benefit. It's like buying a ticket for the local bus.

Me? In almost two dozen trips to Italy, I've always traveled by train and never had a ticket in hand before I arrived in Italy. It is easy to do once there and causes no agony on this end.

Tom--I think credit card issues and different systems working with the Italian system is what causes most of the problems. I just don't bother with it, aside from using the site to check and print schedules.

Finally got it to work via PayPal Plug In, which gives a single use credit card #. This Plug-In works on either PC or Mac; I believe the PC version you have to download but the Mac version you use straight off your web browser.

I believe this is the correct link:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_vdc-plugin-intro

Just saved myself $15 on train tickets since I could get the Amica fare in advance!
Hope this helps others!!!

I've been trying for a week to buy tickets through Trenitalia, and while the site is very handy for finding a train and making an order, the contractor they use to process credit card transactions is having problems.

I started by reading The Man in Seat 61 site, a wealth of information. I want to buy through Trenitalia as they offer substantial discounts (which are often difficult to decipher on their web site), but suffice to say that they booked me, using the Smart fare and second class, from Naples to Lugano in May for 84 euro, far less than I have seen anywhere else. As I said, the Trenitalia site happily set me up for the purchase (registering with the site was easy), but my multiple attempts to pay have all failed.

I have a Visa and a Mastercard, each with the online protection feature enabled, and my cards have had no problems with other recent overseas charges. On my first attempts, the system seemed to think my cards did not have the protection feature enabled, and routed me to a site run by my bank to get the feature enabled; the bank site bounced the request (apparently because my cards were already enabled. After a few attempts (I always assume that I might have made a typo), I was refused further access. I called the bank and they suggested I reregister the cards, which I did. Meanwhile, the Trenitalia site gave me a time out for too many attempts. This morning, my time out had apparently been rescinded, so I tried again. This time the credit card processor properly asked for my password (apparently having concluded that my cards were registered) and appeared to process the transaction, but then reported the charge had been refused (which my bank insists is not so, and is not consistent with recent charges I have made for hotel reservations, etc.), so I have to conclude that the processor used by Trenitalia is not up to the job. I'm now going to try the virtual credit card mentioned above.

I agree with posters who say it is pretty easy to buy tickets at the station, but if you know in advance that you will be taking a relatively long trip, the discounts available for an advance purchase are not insubstantial, and you lose them by buying from other than Trenitalia, or by buying at the station at the last minute. Fortunately, we will be staying in Rome for a week before going to Naples, so I should be able to buy a Smart 2 discounted ticket at the station when we arrive in Rome.

ClevelandBrown,
Any luck with the virtual credit card?

I went to my bank, and the Visa and Mastercard web sites, and apparently the virtual credit card has not caught on, at least where I do my banking. I think paypal offers it, but I closed my paypal account a few years ago when they couldn't, or wouldn't, provide information on the costs of an international transaction, and I reached the conclusion that they were inept or incompetent. I had been looking at using them to make payments on apartments (we often stay in a town a week or two and like to use an apartment), which is a constant problem, but few apartment owners will use them, so I'm still forced to get a huge wad of local currency at ATMs on arrival, and pay cash.

I tried the link above for Pantheon travel, but it didn't work (perhaps server problems), but the Trenitalia site still has a list of agencies and I'll see if I can link through there. If nothing else, I'll buy at the station when we first arrive in Italy, and I think that will still be less than buying from one of the US agencies.

Since our train will originate in Italy and end in Switzerland, I tried the Swiss rail site and that worked flawlessly, but their delivery options were to pick up the ticket at any station in Switzerland (!) or pay to have it mailed to me, and my frugality gene kicked in at that point.

Trenitalia site rejected all 3 of my CCs, just before the USD did its nose-dive again. Looks like it will cost me a lot more by the time I can go and buy the tickets in person.

clevelandbrown,

Have you considered opening an account with www.xe.com/fx? I use mine to send gift money to relatives in the UK and to pay deposits at B&Bs that don't take credit cards. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer, and a bank draft in the currency of my choice is sent by US mail directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. For security reasons it takes a little time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that.

To avoid having to get large amounts of cash from ATMs to pay the rent after you get to Italy, you could have a draft for the balance made payable to the owner but mailed to you at home. Take it with you and hand it over.

I'm glad to finally hear from someone that xe.com works, as it seems a good solution. I opened an account, which as you know involves some work, but since I have had it I have had a run of rental agents that insist on cash, rather than a check delivered well in advance. Myself, I would always take the earliest payment if I were renting out.

Well I just tried and it didn't take my credit card, the same account and credit card I used back in 2007.

They want me to fax in documents like tax numbers and so forth.

Ridiculous.

Well this post has been going on for a year now and there are just as many confused travellers wanting to use Trentitalia....including me. Used all my Credit Cards....all my helpful Bank Managers and all my intellect...but everything failed . So now I have decided not to go to Vienna from Venice but fly off to Prague instead. hope Wizz Air does not fail me!!!. But one last hurrah for Trentitalia...in the space of just 24 hours, I got 2 phone calls from their Helpline, 2 wonderfully polite agents, full of humour and speaking perfect English, giving me different options to buy tickets...the easiest is to pay full fare and buy a ticket at an Italian station. Thank you..thank you...thank you..

I wouldn't pay full fare at a station. A full fare ticket (flexi) is more expensive (20% higher priced than a standard ticket) as it lets you make changes similar to full fare airline tickets. I would attempt to buy upon arrival and get Amica fares. If not available, you should select standard fare.

Has anyone tried calling overseas to see if they would take your credit card over the phone?

I looked at the Posto Click thing. They give you 24 hours to confirm the reservation though.

Yeah they would have to let you buy Amica fares over the phone or else might as well chance waiting until you get to Italy.

Can you buy at Tourist offices or do you have to go to the Termini?

You can buy at travel agencies with the Trenitalia logo in the window. You can buy train tickets for anywhere in Italy at ANY train station from clerks at tickets windows or from automatic machines that have English options.

Are there any near Navona/Pantheon area?

anyone try purchasing rail tickets thru Travelocity?

Travelocity just rolls over to Raileurope which marks the price up and adds a mailing fee. Buy them in Italy.

Michael T, thank you so much for your thoughtful post. My fiance and I are traveling to Italy on Oct 4, 2009. We're first staying in Ravello, then to Rome from there. I needed to buy train tickets from Salerno to Rome ahead of time because not only does the hotel in Ravello need to know when to schedule a time to drive us to the train station in Salerno, but the B&B in Rome needed to know what time we would be arriving. I didn't want to wing it and hope we'd get the train times we wanted AFTER we got there.

Anyway, I tried to order the tickets on the TrenItalia.it site and it kept denying my credit card. I tried over and over thinking I mistyped something, then got locked out. I called my bank to be sure I was entering my name exactly as the bank had it, etc. and they said everything looked fine. I made a new account on the TrenItalia site and tried again but no luck. I then decided to call them by phone and order that way. When the lady on the phone tried to put my card through, it wouldn't work even for her. She then explained that their system would not recognize a number of American credit cards for one reason or another. She said my only options were to buy the tickets at the station once I got to Italy, or try to find an American travel agency that could book them for me. Mind you I was about to blow a gasket at this point out of sheer frustration. While I was searching the internet for an agency to do this, I came across your post. It somehow made me feel better that I was not alone in my angst, lol!

As I read through all the replies to your post, I stopped on
acswift's answer and thought it sounded like a great idea to go through PayPal and get a single use MasterCard number through them as I already have a PayPal account linked to my bank account. So I went to PayPal and downloaded the plugin I needed (used the link he provided), set everything all up, and got my single use MasterCard number. I went to the TrenItalia site and started all over again and everything went through like a charm!! I was so very happy!!!

Not only did I want to share this with everyone, but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write your article, and I wanted to thank acswift for posting his excellent idea!

stargazer - Glad Paypal worked for you. Many people worry too much about tickets in Italy, but it's good to know Paypal will work. I think you will find when you get on the train (if it's AV or ES) to Rome that it's half empty. That's been my experience, even in high season, except for commuter trains. Were you able to get the Super 60% discount?

I'm not sure what the total discount was but it was a lot cheaper than booking on RailEurope or Eurostar. We got two 2nd class tickets on the Eurostar train (no train changes) from Salerno to Rome for 33,30 EU each (total 66,60). The hotel's transfer service wanted to charge 480 EU for the trip to Rome so that looked like a great deal to us as it was.

By the way, do you know if the train station is safe to wait around in at Salerno, I read some things that said the surrounding area is considered the worst area in all of Italy. That made us a little nervous.

The area around the station in Salerno is just fine for being dropped off by a cab.

The price you paid is 33,30 EU is EXACTLY the fare you would have paid if you had booked at the station, today.

I know I am in the minority and that folks really like to book ahead, but for those who don't want to fuss with PayPal or any other time-consuming system, it still works if you get to the station and just go to the self-service kiosk.

Doesn't the Amica fares expire if you wait too long?

In my case, I saw low fares for Rome to Naples and back but I waited to buy until just the day before travel and it was somewhat more, somewhere between 5-7 Euro more.

So I went ahead and bought the return at the same time.

Amica is an "as-available" fare, like getting frequent flyer tickets. There are a limited number of Amica seats availble on a particular train and they are ionly sold until midnight of the day before departure.

>>>The price you paid is 33,30 EU is EXACTLY the fare you would have paid if you had booked at the station, today. <<<

I believe the online fares are at a 5% discount so you will pay just a bit more at the station over buying online. The other discount fares range from 60% off (30 day advance purchase), 30% (15 days), 15% (7 days) or Amica 20% off (24 hour advance purchase).
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=227f805cc9740210VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

I, too, received a message saying my credit card was denied. Luckily, because I read these post, I knew there was a chance that the credit card purchase actually went through. I waited until the next morning to check my credit card purchases on line, and sure enough the 2 train purchases had gone through, even though the web site had said my credit card was denied.