Does anyone have suggestions for getting the best train fares. We had a lot of difficulty finding the right connections on the raileurope web site. When I called them, they seemed rather expensive.

Our train routes are: Pisa to Monterosso and Monterosso to Florence.

Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Sebina

The official site for the Italian Rail system is
www.trenitalia.com

In the upper right corner is a link for English. You can buy the tickets online or you could wait until you get to Italy and buy them at any train station.

I use the train sites a lot for planning, to get an idea of how long a ride it, how many times I have to switch trains and how frequent the trains run between my places. I have never purchased online but I know some people here do that.

Have fun!

I have never purcahsed tickets for Italian trains on-line and I have heard that it can cost you more and that people have difficulty navigating Trenitalia site. Generally I have never had a problem purchasing directly from the station, train tickets are quite cheap by other European country prices, and you can ask (at a big station with an English speaking information) for the best prices as there are sometimes several options. Go to the Pisa station when you first get to town and buy all your tickets in advance.

These are relatively short journeys which are cheap in Italy. Fares are calculated from the distance, and you are not likely to get a significant discount by booking in advance. Use www.bahn.de to check schedules and buy tickets when you get to Italy.

Hi S,

Use www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html for schedules, prices and tickets.

You want Amica fares (20% discount), if available.

If not, buy your tickets when you get there.

The second-class fare from Pisa to Monterosso is 5.10 euros, and from Monterosso to Firenze it's 8.75 euros. There's no need to worry about getting the best prices, or getting discounts or booking in advance.