While in Italy we are planning on taking 2 journeys by train. One from Rome to Naples on Oct 16 and one from Venice to Florence on Oct 23; both journeys are on EuroStar. I know you must have reserved seats. My question is how far in advance you must buy the tickets? We would really like to just decide on the day of travel which specific train (time) we want. Is that possible? How great is the risk that these routes would be sold out (October being a shoulder season)?

Yes, your plan is possible. The seat reservation is provided automatically with your ticket.

There are almost hourly departures for those routes. You can check the schedules here:

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

>>>both journeys are on EuroStar.<<<

ES is a type of train. Both journeys are on Trenitalia which is the Italian train company. Types of trains - AV (fastest), ES, ESCity ICPlus, IC, R (slowest). So it depends which type of train you select.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD
I've had no problem buying last minute even in summer, but would attempt to buy a day in advance to take advantage of the great fall sale on Trenitalia (19€ and 29€ specials). Must be booked by midnight of day before and subject to sell out (the fare, not the train).
http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/cms...003f16f90aRCRD

We took the train from Venice to Rome (goes through Florence) and it was very easy. There are green "do it yourself" machines (CC only) that you can use to make your reservations at the train station. There are about four or five machines near the line for the ticket windows. They're very easy to use and if for some reason you do need more help, the people at the ticket window are very friendly and helpful. If you're curious, there are photos of the machines and the Eurostar seats up on my trip report (2nd album, at the very end). I thought the train was really nice.

When we got to Venice (got in Thursday to leave on Sunday), we reserved seats on one train and then changed our minds and changed the reservations to another train. There was no fee for this. It might work well to make a reservation a bit ahead of time (a few days) and then change it if needed. That way if by some fluke the trains are really busy that day, you'll at least have seats on a train.

Thank you very much. Love those quick answers, and sales too!

If you want to get a specific train, then it works well if you buy a ticket the day prior to travelling. If you can be a bit flexible, then you can stroll up and take the risk that your preferred train is fully booked.

This happened to us in Rome, but it only meant that we had to take a train about an hour later. We were travelling from Rome to Venice, and it was no big deal.

The ticket vending machines are really easy to use, and “speak” English. I wish that the Australian rail system was as good – and cheap – as the Italian system!

If you are taking a "reservations mandatory" train (like the ES) you should buy your ticket more than an hour ahead, or you will pay for the reservation but not be assigned a seat. We actually did this on one train, from Pisa to La Spezia, and it was not a problem finding seats (in first class), but we may have just been lucky.

I would suggest you decide on the time and buy your tickets the previous day. That way you'll be able to get the time you want and be able to plan your day without having to get to the train station too early.

>>>If you are taking a "reservations mandatory" train (like the ES)<<<

I'm not sure exactly what enzian is talking about, but for the last year trains in Italy are reservation only except for the slow R trains.

>>>or you will pay for the reservation but not be assigned a seat. <<<
>>>We actually did this on one train, from Pisa to La Spezia<<<

Still not sure what enzian means by this, but the train between Pisa and La Spezia was likely an R train on that route although there are a few that aren't. You can buy a ticket in advance for R trains, but they aren't for a specific time (ticket is good for a couple of months) and there are no seat reservations at all on R trains.

And 2nd class is perfectly lovely on ES trains! Do not let anyone talk you into 1st class seats. Waste of good Euros!

Buon viaggio!

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