Trying to get to Salzburg from Venice on June 20th which I was told will be a popular busy day for traveling because of quarterfinal soccer tournament in Vienna and that I should buy now.

Also it was posted that I should buy Smart Fare tickets from Venice to Villach for 19 euro through Trenitalia and then use bahn.de for the Villach to Salzburg route.

Unfortunately, my credit card was denied because I had failed to let the bank know to expect this kind of activity. I since have had no luck in the Trenitalia site - which reading many, many posts is not a huge surprise.

What is a surprise is going through Italian travel agency and they can get me the 19 euro fare, but not electronically and that I could pick up the tickets in Rome. Unfortunately, although flying into Rome, we were headed straight to Tuscany with the car rental.

The agency said they could mail the tickets, but would be 49 euro to mail. That sounds very steep.

I'm surprised that initially it appeared that I could buy these tickets online - and now travel agency says because an international train, it can't be done electronically.

The fare sounds extremely reasonalbe so should I just suck up the 49 euro and have it mailed? Or am I being misled and there's an easier/cheaper way to do this?

I don't want to delay this too long in fear that the train may be sold out.

What do you suggest?

Venice to Villach can't cost much more, about 25% i think if you bought them at the station in Venice

i may be wrong though - 49 euro just for those tickets may be a waste of money it seems

also can price raileurope.com to check on their fares - usually much higher but sometimes have a discounted fare as well.

I used Budget Europe Travel Service (BETS) to book the international train for my Vienna to Venice trip this June. It was slightly more (about $20) than the trenitalia price but w/the trenitalia site I was unable to select any kind of self-service or ticketless delivery.

Byron at BETS was great! He answered all my questions and was extremely helpful. It is probably worth the time to place a call and see if he has any suggestions.

www.budgeteuropetravel.com
1-800-441-2387

I second the motion to check with BETS.

You could also see what kind of fare you can get at italiarail.com.

Thank you for your advice. The response from this Italian travel agency concerns me and wondering if it a one major scam - and is reaping all the beneifts of those who are frustrated by the Trenitalia site. Hopefully I am incorrect!