Did you know that (with the notable EXCEPTION of travel on Eurostar trains), you can break your journey, even more than once, at intermediate stops, and rejoin a later train to your final destination in Italy?

This might come in handy when travelling, for example, between Rome and Florence (break journey in Orvieto or Arezzo or even both); or between Milan and Venice (break journey in Verona and/or Padova); or between Milan and Florence (break journey in Bologna), just to cite a few examples.

Here are the rules to follow:

1. DO NOT break your journey if travelling on a Eurostar train. Your Eurostar ticket is valid only on the train and on the day specified on the ticket.

2. If travelling on any other train, you may break the journey, as long as you COMPLETE the itinerary within:

a) SIX HOURS from validation (stamping) time, if total trip is 200 kilometres or less; or

b) 24 hours from validation (stamping) time, if total trip is over 200 kilometres.

3. If you have an optional reserved seat on the train which you are leaving at an intermediate stop (e.g. an Intercity train), you won't have a reserved seat on the train which you join later in the day to complete your trip.

4. If your ticket is for an "ordinary" train (Diretto, Interregionale or Regionale), and you later join a higher category train (e.g. Intercity), you will need to pay a supplement at the station before boarding the second train. Otherwise, you'll be subject to paying a penalty for having boarded the Intercity train w/o the proper ticket. The converse is OK (boarding a lower category train such as the Interregionale with a ticket for an Intercity train)

TIPS: If you break your journey, respect the time limits scrupulously. When in doubt, buy two separate tickets for each leg of the trip. The difference in cost is usually minimal. Sometimes, you may find youself on a jam-packed train w/o a seat reservation. If your trip is very long, you should consider leaving the train at the next stop, and boarding a later train, always respecting the timeframe and train-category requirements noted above. Sometimes the local trains have empty seats, while the Intercity train for the same journey is jam-packed (e.g. Milan to Venice).

By contrast, breaking a journey on an intercity BUS is usually not allowed.

GAC,

Thank you so much for the string of informative posts - you're the best!