Buying from the UK for the trains in Italy (probably ES Italia)where is my best bet? Or should I buy on arrival?
Is first class worth it when you have luggage?

Also if we decided to stop off in verona on our way to venice does anyone know of somewhere we can leave our luggage?

I usually walk over to the train station and buy the ticket one day in advance. Can you do this?

I would consider first class only if it was a night train for the additional security.

www.trenitalia.com for online tickets - and can get cheaper tickets and 2-4-1 at times so worth looking.

That said a notoriously fickle site to work - but Fodor Italian rail experts like Ira seem very willing to help you if you encouter the all-too-often snags in what should be a simple operation.

Most large stations in Italy have manual left-luggage places and no doubt Verona does as well but i couldn't say for sure. Hopefully someone else will or you can ferret out info on trenitalia.com Italian versions i think.

If buying on line too much trouble, I would buy the tickets on arrival- easy and convenient. But if you really prefer to buy tickets ahead in UK, you might like to try Rail Europe Travel Centre on 178 Piccadilly, London (near Piccadilly Circus), from my expereience years ago, their prices seemed reasonable.

In Verona, you could find luggage storage place at Verona Porta Nuova station.

Except for possibly saving money online just buy your tickets when you get there - no problem getting on trains - lots of trains, tons of trains, zillions of trains! And if they're short trips online savings may not be worth the often incredible online hassle.

Hi TYP,

1. If you know which trains you want, I suggest thta you buy your tickets onlone at www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html.

Your email confirmation is your ticket.

2. You still have to lift your luggage up the steps onto the train and then onto the luggage rack.

3. There is left luggage storage at Verona PN.

From whence are you starting that you are going to Venice via Verona?

When and where to buy depends totally on the circumstances. Day, time of year, rush hour, busy route? Do you need to take a very specific train? Are you getting on a train as soon as you arrive? Do you have to be in Florence at 9am for your reservation to see Davide? Then buy online. Wait till around 30 days before when all the routes are published. Other than for those reasons or for short distance regional trains where you can't make seat reservations anyway, you can buy on the spot.

We never buy our tickets online -- always buy them at the station, and rarely have needed even to buy them ahead of time. Since so many trains require reservations, you might as well do everything at once: buy your tix, make your res. It's just so easy to do at the station, and, as long as you know how to read a train schedule, you won't have any problem.

This last trip was the first time we didn't bother buying first-class tickets. Absolutely no problem -- such a small difference in amenities, not worth the extra expense.