Eurostar Italy Ticketless Online purchase - any good?
 

Has anyone tried buying the ES ticketless ticket online? HOw does it work? do you just print it out at home, and bring it with you and get on the train? or do yo have to get it stamped? May save time but what if you lose the printoit?

I just got back from Italy where i used the www.trenitalia.it website to purchase a ticketless Eurostar ticket. They will send you an email after the purchase, in which you are instructed to simply bring the email onto the train with you and show it to the conductor when they approach you for your ticket. The email has a confirmation code, etc on it. We had no problems, although it was fairly apparent that our particular conductor did not see many of this "paperless" tickets. She did have a PDA that she used for reference, and then she hand wrote a ticket receipt for us.

We were there last week as well, and also used the ticketless option. Our conductor had apparently seen more of them, and plugged our number into his little computer and printed out our receipt. It was very easy. No need to stamp or validate. Just find your car and seats (they will be on your confirmation) and sit and enjoy the ride.
dw--nice to see you're back. Again, sorry I didn't see your reply on my post until I got back. Would have been nice to meet in Venice. Hope you had a wonderful trip.

>...what if you lose the printoit?<

Make a copy of the printout in case you lose the printout.

Make a copy of the copy in case you lose the copy.

Make a copy of that copy in case you lose that copy.

Make another copy in case you lose all the other copies.

Ira, you're too funny.

Returned from Italy yesterday. Bought ES Rome -Florence on line before leaving Australia. System was great if there r no stuff ups.
ie: Standing on platform feeling really chuffed with ease of booking on line while watching q's of people scrambling for tickets - when husband suddenly realised he had left passports in hotel safe (life's rich pageant etc etc) - at that stage we were ready to board and there was no way we could get to hotel and back in time for train. On line booking confirmation states "can change reservation up to 1 hour after train leaves" so he rushed back to hotel & I q'ed at 3 differenct places to get booking changed. Basically they didnt want to know cos it was internet booking. Can be changed by telephone but he had the mobile - I bought phone card but couldnt get any answer from number. Trenitalia Information desk sent me to Customer Service who sent me to "Desk 33". Girl behing counter used her mobile to get new seat numbers etc. The worst that could've happened was we would have to pay twice - but it was all okay... and it was good to have the 1 hour "after" train left clause - cos stuff ups do happen when travelling. On train we gave code to conductor who printed out a receipt/ticket - no problem.
In Florence we q'ed (painful)for tickets to Venice - seats were 95 & 96 but were not together - one behind the other... so we changed with other people etc - but I didnt think actually buying from a "live person" was very successful.
We ES back to Rome on Saturday & I bought tickets online on hotel computer using my pre-existing password. Very painless - also discovered that at station using self service machines - u can key in your code number given on line and surname of booking and machine will print ticket for you then and there. If I had known this in Rome maybe I wouldn't have had trouble getting tickets changed.
Hope this helps

WARNING ABOUT TRENITALIA TICKETLESS TRAVEL:

If you miss your scheduled train, you must secure alternate travel (on a later departing Eurostar Italia train) within ONE HOUR after the scheduled departure time of your originally scheduled train. Otherwise, the ticketless reservation (biglietto elettronico) becomes worthless, and you lose your money entirely!

(BY CONTRAST, if you have a PAPER(traditional) ticket (biglietto cartaceo), you must make changes with 24 hours after the departure time of the originally scheduled train. The change will cost you 3 Euros if made after departure time, but within 24 hours thereafter).

This restriction becomes especially critical if you hold a ticketless reservation for a Eurostar Italia train departing soon after the scheduled arrival of your inbound flight. If your flight arrives late, or if you lose time in immigration control or customs, or in commuting from the airport to the train station, and you miss your train by more than one hour, you're in trouble (as far as concerns using the reservation for a later departing train).

To avoid unpleasant surprises, DO NOT buy an electronic ticket if there is a chance you'll miss the train. Instead, reserve a LATER departing train. You can always change to an EARLIER departing train, without any fee or penalty, by exchanging your electronic ticket for a paper ticket at the station ticket window, so long as this is done PRIOR to the departure time of the originally scheduled train. Otherwise, you have only ONE HOUR to make the change, and it will cost you 3 Euros.

After the expiration of the ONE HOUR grace period, your ticketless reservation loses all value. Tough luck .....

Also remember that between Rome and Florence, there is a Eurostar Italia train leaving every 15-60 minutes. Each train accommodates up to 590 passengers in two classes of service.

Here are a few other frequencies of Eurostar Italia trains:

Rome to Naples: every 60 minutes
Rome to Venice: every 2 hours
Rome to Milan: every 60 minutes
Rome to Spoleto: every 2 hours
Rome to Reggio Calabria: 4 per day
Milan to Venice: nearly every 2 hours
Milan to Naples: every 2 hours
Milan to Florence: every 60 minutes
Milan to Turin: 5 per day
Florence to Venice: every 2 hours

Good information, GAC.

>This restriction becomes especially critical if you hold a ticketless reservation for a Eurostar Italia train departing soon after the scheduled arrival of your inbound flight.<

Don't do that. :)

Another time-saving option is to simply purchase tickets from the kiosks located in all the train stations. We just returned from Italy and never had to wait in line behind more than one or two people. Plus, the process took about two minutes.

The line at the reservation counters on the other hand...good thing we avoided those.

All above is relevant - however maybe it depends on time of day when travelling cos all our trains were full - with groups /couples etc swapping seats in totally crowded ES carriages - we travelled 3 ES - second class and 2 x 1st class (no less crowded) from 6 - 21 Oct 04 - I would not like to be purchasing ticket in kiosk or where-ever before train departed... Heaps of people ... We travelled Venice-Rome last Friday and 1st class was absolutely full. Everyone was complaining & swapping seats. We discovered coach 3- first class is conductors carriage and does not have allocated seats - so just go and sit there - if u have appropriate ticket and right class - seat number doesnt matter - possession is law.... 2 of our trips we used coach no 3 - it works! If u dont care wot train or when u arrive - dont need to book ahead but we found still heaps of people around - ie heaps of tourists and trains were full ...we travelled mainly 10am - 12midday = full

Back from our trip for a mere three days, and I?ve already forgotten the details.
We knew how long we would be in each city. So when we arrived, we visited the kiosk (much shorter lines than the reservation/ticket office) and purchased our tickets ahead of time for the day we were planning to leave. Sounds like it saved us a lot of headaches...sorry to hear about your experience.

Why is Ira funny? I DID make a copy of that copy in case the other copy was lost. I also made copies of all the various messages from trenitalia because by the time I was finished I couldn't tell which one was the ticket, and I made copies of those too, in case they got lost. I presented the conductor with a novella. He was nice enough to let us back in another door when we accidentally got off at the wrong stop in Venice with all of our luggage (Venice Mestre was the wrong stop.)

Danaeye, trenitalia actually has an on-line record for you of your transactions, and you can access it with your name and password. So if you remember that you can print out a new ticketless ticket!

I don't think ira was making fun of you per se. Just of "paperless tickets".

I had written another reply about this Eurostar stuff and my puter signed off and it got lost. I was just at the part where I thanked the Fodorites who warned me about NOT getting off at the first Venice stop.

As a matter of fact my mother was getting all her stuff ready and indicating it was time to get off. I told her no and she said she had been there 20 yrs ago and it was the right stop. When I asked another passenger whp do you think was right? :)

Hey Plmn,

>...my mother was getting all her stuff ready and indicating it was time to get off.<

Of course. :)

These are all very helpful indeed. Husband and I will be in northern Italy for first time first part of June. My question about train travel has to do with the ticketless option online and reservations versus tickets. In other words - we plan to purchase first class tickets, but I've heard we should also have specific seat assignments or the reservation is just to be on that train. Am I making myself clear? Does that only have to do with buying tickets at kiosks? Thanks for any help.

Now that I've read all of this I will immediately print out an extra copy of my paperless ticket and stash it in a different place. Luckily, the train travel booked is after staying in Venice for 3 days and not after a long flight. 2 days and counting......

If you have a railpass ( Trenitalia or Eurail France/Italy, not purchased yet) what is the best way to make reservations? -

* online before we travel to Italy (I know the days of travel but not exact times of day yet)

OR

* at train stations when in the cities of Rome, Florence etc.

I intend to have:

7 nights Rome, day trip to Naples, travel Rome to Florence
3 nights Florence
travel Florence to Venice
4 nights Venice, day trip to Verona
possibly take night train Venice to Paris

Hi Lave,

If you have a railpass, you can't buy reservations from Trenitalia online.

It is unlikely that you will want a railpass.

Enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com. Click "only if it saves me money".

((I))