Italian Train Questions
May 13th, 2013, 04:25 AM
#1
Original Poster
Italian Train Questions
I will be in Venice, Perugia, Orvieto and Rome with my wife in mid-September.
We will be travelling by train.
1. Can I assume that tickets for all Regional and Regional Veloce trains can/should be purchased at the station the day of travel (or evening prior if convenient)? Is there a difference in price when you buy them?
2. Orvieto to Rome has some Intercity trains mixed in the schedule. In addition to being more expensive and usually somewhat faster, is there a difference when these are purchased (availability and price)?
3. The trains from Venice Santa Lucia to Perugia appear to be part Frecciargento and part Regional trains. What is the best (any chance of no availability or more / less expensive) way to purchase these?
We were in Florence a couple of years ago and I believe all day trips were on Regional trains. If I remember correctly I purchased all tickets from the automated machine just before travel. We do have a chip and pin card.
Thanks.
We will be travelling by train.
1. Can I assume that tickets for all Regional and Regional Veloce trains can/should be purchased at the station the day of travel (or evening prior if convenient)? Is there a difference in price when you buy them?
2. Orvieto to Rome has some Intercity trains mixed in the schedule. In addition to being more expensive and usually somewhat faster, is there a difference when these are purchased (availability and price)?
3. The trains from Venice Santa Lucia to Perugia appear to be part Frecciargento and part Regional trains. What is the best (any chance of no availability or more / less expensive) way to purchase these?
We were in Florence a couple of years ago and I believe all day trips were on Regional trains. If I remember correctly I purchased all tickets from the automated machine just before travel. We do have a chip and pin card.
Thanks.
May 13th, 2013, 05:23 AM
#3
1. Buy regional tickets there. Regional tickets purchases online have more restrictions than if you buy there. There are no discounts for them and no seats can be reserved on regional trains. You must validate your ticket before boarding. If you want to see prices, enter a date on Trenitalia within the next 7 days.
Currently, Trenitalia does not discount tickets for regional trains although there is talk they might start doing so. Some of the area around Perugia is well served by bus lines so be sure to check them out along with a local regional train FCU (Ferrovia Central Umbria).
2. Usually the time difference on this route between IC and R trains is about 10 minutes and the price for IC is double the R train. I dislike the IC trains as they are usually compartments (6 people facing 6 people knees touching no table separating like AV trains) and you have to place your luggage in open racks above your heads.
The IC trains do include a seat, but I've never had a problem with getting a seat on the R train between Orvieto/Rome. R trains are more frequent on this route and I certainly wouldn't hang around waiting on an IC train.
3. AV trains are frequent between Venice and Florence. Book this in advance on Trenitalia to get discounts. Between Florence/Perugia, it's mostly R trains. R trains can not sell out. Buy this R ticket in Italy (you can use the ticket machines in Venice at the station so you don't have to take time in Florence) and validate before boarding (AV or IC tickets have assigned seats and don't need validating - they will be checked on board). I would not hang around Florence half a day in order to catch an IC train to Perugia. I would try to time my AV train to take advantage of an R train leaving soon after your AV train arrives.
Currently, Trenitalia does not discount tickets for regional trains although there is talk they might start doing so. Some of the area around Perugia is well served by bus lines so be sure to check them out along with a local regional train FCU (Ferrovia Central Umbria).
2. Usually the time difference on this route between IC and R trains is about 10 minutes and the price for IC is double the R train. I dislike the IC trains as they are usually compartments (6 people facing 6 people knees touching no table separating like AV trains) and you have to place your luggage in open racks above your heads.
The IC trains do include a seat, but I've never had a problem with getting a seat on the R train between Orvieto/Rome. R trains are more frequent on this route and I certainly wouldn't hang around waiting on an IC train.
3. AV trains are frequent between Venice and Florence. Book this in advance on Trenitalia to get discounts. Between Florence/Perugia, it's mostly R trains. R trains can not sell out. Buy this R ticket in Italy (you can use the ticket machines in Venice at the station so you don't have to take time in Florence) and validate before boarding (AV or IC tickets have assigned seats and don't need validating - they will be checked on board). I would not hang around Florence half a day in order to catch an IC train to Perugia. I would try to time my AV train to take advantage of an R train leaving soon after your AV train arrives.
May 13th, 2013, 08:28 AM
#5
120 days for Trenitalia fast trains. There is also the new Italorail company that you could take from Venice to Florence (they only operate between the major cities in Italy at this point). New trains (just started two years ago) and usually lots of discounts up until departure (lots of 21€ tickets for Venice/Florence). They are taking bookings now through second week of Dec.
http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx
May 13th, 2013, 02:13 PM
#7
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Just an FYI - those 21 E. Venice/Florence tickets on the Italo train sell out quickly - even in March, which isn't nearly as crowded as September. So buy early if you're looking for discounted fares.
May 16th, 2013, 06:21 AM
#8
Original Poster
For Frecciargento Trains.
Is there any difference between Base, Economy and Super Economy in terms of seating, comfort, luggage, etc.
Or is it just a matter of how early the ticket was purchased.
= = = =
For Regional Trains.
Are tickets purchased for a specific train, day?
If I buy a ticket for a specific date (if that's what it is) can I use it for any train that day or do I specifiy and must use it for that train?
Is there any difference between Base, Economy and Super Economy in terms of seating, comfort, luggage, etc.
Or is it just a matter of how early the ticket was purchased.
= = = =
For Regional Trains.
Are tickets purchased for a specific train, day?
If I buy a ticket for a specific date (if that's what it is) can I use it for any train that day or do I specifiy and must use it for that train?
May 16th, 2013, 06:56 AM
#9
>>>For Frecciargento Trains.
Is there any difference between Base, Economy and Super Economy in terms of seating, comfort, luggage, etc.<<<
No. Exact same cars/seats. Base is just the regular full fare price. Economy and Super Economy are advance purchase discounted tickets that can sell out. It's like seeing a sale on airline fares in coach. You can either buy the discounted tickets or pay full fare. Just like on airlines, full fare tickets can be easily changed/refunded while discounted tickets can't.
>>>For Regional Trains.
Are tickets purchased for a specific train, day?<<<
Regional tickets bought online can be for a specific day or time block (sometimes a 2 hour window). They are for a specific route and priced that way (Florence/Perugia) and would not be good for a different route. In the past (and I think it's still the case), regional tickets bought in Italy will be good for your route purchased for four months which is not the case if you buy them online. With a Florence/Perugia ticket purchased in Italy, you could hop any regional train on any day until the ticket expiration date. You validate the ticket in the yellow box trackside before boarding. Once validated, the clock starts ticking and you have a certain number of hours (used to be 6) to complete your journey. That means you could hop on in Florence, hop off in one of the stops on the route to Perugia, hop back on in a few hours and complete your trip as long as they were all R trains within the allotted time of the ticket validation.
>>>If I buy a ticket for a specific date (if that's what it is) can I use it for any train that day or do I specifiy and must use it for that train?<<<
Not sure if you are asking about R trains or other trains. If you are asking about AV or IC trains, you are buying a specific seat on a specific train for a certain date/time. You can not use it for other trains.
Is there any difference between Base, Economy and Super Economy in terms of seating, comfort, luggage, etc.<<<
No. Exact same cars/seats. Base is just the regular full fare price. Economy and Super Economy are advance purchase discounted tickets that can sell out. It's like seeing a sale on airline fares in coach. You can either buy the discounted tickets or pay full fare. Just like on airlines, full fare tickets can be easily changed/refunded while discounted tickets can't.
>>>For Regional Trains.
Are tickets purchased for a specific train, day?<<<
Regional tickets bought online can be for a specific day or time block (sometimes a 2 hour window). They are for a specific route and priced that way (Florence/Perugia) and would not be good for a different route. In the past (and I think it's still the case), regional tickets bought in Italy will be good for your route purchased for four months which is not the case if you buy them online. With a Florence/Perugia ticket purchased in Italy, you could hop any regional train on any day until the ticket expiration date. You validate the ticket in the yellow box trackside before boarding. Once validated, the clock starts ticking and you have a certain number of hours (used to be 6) to complete your journey. That means you could hop on in Florence, hop off in one of the stops on the route to Perugia, hop back on in a few hours and complete your trip as long as they were all R trains within the allotted time of the ticket validation.
>>>If I buy a ticket for a specific date (if that's what it is) can I use it for any train that day or do I specifiy and must use it for that train?<<<
Not sure if you are asking about R trains or other trains. If you are asking about AV or IC trains, you are buying a specific seat on a specific train for a certain date/time. You can not use it for other trains.
May 16th, 2013, 07:10 AM
#10
Original Poster
kybourbon,
Thanks.
Funny thing. We were just in Tuscany based in Florence two years ago. We took trains all over the place and all were regional trains. I always just walked up to the machine and bought a ticket. The machine functions probably changed since Chip & PIN but we have one of those and used it successfully last year in Provence & Paris.
Now we're thinking of some options such as maybe checking luggage and wandering Florence for a few hours before continuing on to Perugia. We've been to Florence several times over the years and know our way so orientation isn't an issue.
It's always good to have options and be able to decide at the last minute.
Thanks.
Funny thing. We were just in Tuscany based in Florence two years ago. We took trains all over the place and all were regional trains. I always just walked up to the machine and bought a ticket. The machine functions probably changed since Chip & PIN but we have one of those and used it successfully last year in Provence & Paris.
Now we're thinking of some options such as maybe checking luggage and wandering Florence for a few hours before continuing on to Perugia. We've been to Florence several times over the years and know our way so orientation isn't an issue.
It's always good to have options and be able to decide at the last minute.
May 16th, 2013, 08:13 AM
#11
Original Poster
kybourbon,
Thanks for you info.
I purchased two Frecciargento tickets from Venice to Florence for mid-September at 19E each.
I forgot to indicate that I would select the seats myself (not that I know what's better or not) (Closer to the door you pull luggage less but more people go by).
The computer selected our seats: Seats 7D and 8D. Both windows and facing each other with that little table in between.
Now of course it would be great if the seats next to us remained unoccupied.
= = = =
One last question. About luggage.
I've been on trains where luggage has to be lifted above, or left in a bin near the door or somehow squeezed in the seat with us or squeezed between the back-to-back seats.
Any idea where luggage goes on these trains?
Thanks for you info.
I purchased two Frecciargento tickets from Venice to Florence for mid-September at 19E each.
I forgot to indicate that I would select the seats myself (not that I know what's better or not) (Closer to the door you pull luggage less but more people go by).
The computer selected our seats: Seats 7D and 8D. Both windows and facing each other with that little table in between.
Now of course it would be great if the seats next to us remained unoccupied.
= = = =
One last question. About luggage.
I've been on trains where luggage has to be lifted above, or left in a bin near the door or somehow squeezed in the seat with us or squeezed between the back-to-back seats.
Any idea where luggage goes on these trains?
May 16th, 2013, 08:31 AM
#12
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Now of course it would be great if the seats next to us remained unoccupied.>
That is one reason I love first class because you have rows with just one seat in them and they can face each other - table in between - an aisle and window seat both - no hassling others to get up and go to the loo, etc. But with the cheap discounted tickets you can be fairly sure that those seats will be occupied.
That is one reason I love first class because you have rows with just one seat in them and they can face each other - table in between - an aisle and window seat both - no hassling others to get up and go to the loo, etc. But with the cheap discounted tickets you can be fairly sure that those seats will be occupied.
