do I need train tickets in advance?
 

Going to Italy for 2 weeks at the beginning of June - flying into Milan - taking the train to Torino, then to Varenna, then to Mantova and then to Milan. Do you think I ned to get my train tickets in advance? (I'm inclined to say no)

No !
But you may want to buy them all at one time when you buy the first ones. Milan is the hub for all of these connections..

Need? No. One less thing to make time to do whilst you're over there? Definitely. I had my tickets on my PDA and never had a problem. Mind you, God help my mortal soul jhad I lost and/or dropped my PDA. But that's another story. :D

Knickerbocker, Where did you purchase your advance tickets?

Just as as follow-up, a hard copy (should gravity affect your PDA,) is never a bad thing

KL467 - Purchase from the rail websites for each country. Most don't let you purchase more than 60-90 days in advance. There are other resellers/brokers (such as RailEurope),but they mark the tickets up.

BTN-
Just checking the Trenitalia website regarding trains from Milan to Torino (05/31). Some trains say I can buy (shopping cart), some say no. Does the no mean I can't buy online? I can't imagine every seat on 3 trains to Torino are completely sold out. Any thoughts?

They aren't sold out. The R, IR, D trains can't be purchased in advance online unless it's within one week. Try entering a date within the next week if you want to price these trains. You can't reserve seats on these types of trains.

thanks kybourbon....