Booking Train in advance?
 

I am going to Italy in Dec. Should I wait to book the train when I get there or book it now?

Hi A,

You can get the reduced Amica fares up to midnight of the day before you wish to travel.

** IF ** they are available that late.

((I))

Where do I book the Amica tickets? Do I have to go to the train station the night before I want to travel?

ira says you can get the fare UP TO midnight. You can buy them earlier. Yes, at any Italian train station - you can use a machine or a manned counter.

I did it on line at Trenitalia to get the Amica fares. It went smoothly AFTER I told my credit card company that I was going to charge a purchase overseas. If you do that before hand, it shouldn't be a problem.

Yes, at any Italian train station - you can use a machine or a manned counter.

i asked some other Italy train expert if you could buy Amica fares on the machines and they said no and had to go to ticket window

when i was playing around with them last Jan i did not see Amica fares on the machines

You are always right it seems but just asking again if this is so.

Oh, I didn't know you can't get AMICA fares from the machine. Good to know.

I don't know except someone who seemed to know said that recently.

I'll look next Jan on my next trip.

Is it better to get a rail pass if you are going to be going on more than one train? Or is it easier to buy tickets from the service center each time you travel?

Unless you're going from Venice to Sicily and back to Rome the Italy Railpass is not cost effective.

what trains do you plan to take

and you can buy all your tickets at once - say in the airport train station at Rome so you need not go to the ticket window everytime and there can be long lines there

I found the automatic machines to be idiot-proof and quick so if i can do it i'm sure you can

About amica fares. If I'm using the machine it's because it's an on the spot purchase. Therefore Amica fares seldom show up because of the midnight restriction. Amica fares are capacity controlled and will not appear when they are sold out. The only time I have seen Amica fares offered on the spot are on some AV runs. I'm not sure, but I don't think the midnight rule applies to AV. In any case Amica is a special fare and subject to all kinds of curious restrictions. If you see, take it.

I am taking a train from Rome to Florence, Florence to Lucca, Lucca to Florence, Florence to Padova, Padova to Vicenza, Vicenza to Padova, Padova to Bassano del Grappa, Bassano Del Grappa to Padova, Padova to Florence, Florence to Rome. So that is a lot of trains, but since the cities, except Lucca, are close we are doing these in 4 days. So we can get a saverpass for 165 dollars, but i don't know about if we would have to make reservations and then if that would make it not worth it to get a pass.

Many of your train trips (Florence to Lucca, Lucca to Florence, Padova to Vicenza, Vicenza to Padova, Padova to Bassano del Grappa, Bassano Del Grappa to Padova, Padova to Florence ) are on local trains which may not offer reservations.

so would that make the rail pass more effective then, since i would only be making a reservation for the EuroStar from Rome to Florence and back from Florence?

go to www.trenitalia.com and see what the fares are and then compare against a pass

Most agents in US will charge $18 mailing fee for orders under $399 - another factor. (Though BETS www.budgeteuropetravel.com, who i always recommend for their competence and accessibility charges none except real rush orders i believe)

But as regional trains are so dirt cheap i still think the railpass may be overkill. It does however allow you to just board any regional train any time you want.

If you take an IC+ or ES train then with a pass you must pass 5 e and 15 e respectively in either class

You can just hop on IC trains like regional trains as reservations are optional on those.

Railpass could be viable if you do that in 4 days.

You can go to http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html and check the fares and see if the rail pass is a better deal. We bought the pass our first trip and even though we took the train for 4-5 trips, we figured out it would be cheaper to just buy the individual tickets. The fares are usually a lot less for regional and IC trains than for ES.

Florence to Lucca is about 5 euro. Padova to Vicenza is about 4 euro to 12 for a first class and Padova to Bassano is also about 4 euro.

gemmarlv, Here are current costs for your itinerary on the fastest trains offered:

Rome to Florence 33.00 euros (ES 2nd Class, Amica fare 26.40)
Florence to Lucca 4.90 euros (R 2nd class only)
Lucca to Florence 4.90 euros (R 2nd class only)
Florence to Padova 25.00 euros (ES 2nd class, Amica: 20.00)
Padova to Vicenza 9.10 euros (IC 1st class; for R train, fare 2.90!)
Vicenza to Padova 9.10 euros (IC 1st class; R fare 2.90)
Padova to
Bassano del Grappa 3.40 euros (R 2nd class only)
Bassano Del Grappa
to Padova 3.40 euros (R 2nd class only)
Padova to Florence 25.00 euros (ES 2nd class, Amica: 20.00)
Florence to Rome 33.00 euros (ES 2nd Class, Amica fare 26.40)

By my estimation, that comes out to 150.40 euros, and if you were able to get Amica fares 127.60 euros, both of which would be cheaper than the pass you suggest. All of these include reservations for the trains that can be reserved except for the IC, which migth cost 3 euros extra for a reservation.

Wow guys!! Thank you soo much. This was a lot of help. I think I am going to not buy the pass and just buy the tickets when i get there or as I go. Thanks!

I actually like regional trains better than ES trains

regional trains stop at about every hamlet, many locals and schoolkids use them for short commutes, etc.

just a slower train for short distances - especially enjoy stopping at the small stations and seeing what's up.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is an Amica fare? I am going to be in Italy in January and plan on taking the train from Rome to Florence and from Florence to Venice. Is it best for me to buy seperate tickets or a railpass? Is there any advantage in buying the tickets in advance besides the fact that you wont need to stress over it? How long are the train rides between these cities? Thank you.

Rome-florence 1.5 hrs on EuroStar (ES) trains

Florence-Venice 3.5 hrs or so

You do not even come close to realizing benefits of an Italian railpass - not even close - forget that and i'll let someone more expert like Mimi or Ira or TimS comment on the Amica fares which are discounted over normal full fare but come with restrictions

Here is a description of the Amica fares: http://www.trenitalia.it/en/promozio...ffa_amica.html. I believe it's 20% off the regular fare with a few more restrictions than the standard fare. It did save us some euros on our fare from Florence to Rome.

We booked ahead of time for the Eurostar and had the equivalent of an e-ticket. I found the Trenitalia site easy to use, once I let my credit card company know that I was making an overseas purchase. Other's suggest waiting until you get over there. It's whatever you are comfortable with.

Thanks. This forum is so helpful in planning trips!