italy trains - buy here or there?
 

DH and I are going to Umbria and Tuscany in March. I'm usually good on the net, but Trenitalia is not accepting my credit card. I need trains from Rome to Orvieto, then to Perugia, then to Siena, then back to Rome. My worry is Siena to Rome because it's the day before Easter. But I think when I get to Rome (first leg) on Mar.8 I can probably secure tickets, no?? Any advice would be appreciated, as well as bus and train day trips from Orvieto and Perugia. Is Civita di Bagnoreggio really hard to get to??

Most of those trains are regional trains on which you cannot make reservations in any case.

Actually i just a few weeks ago rode most of those trains and they were sparsely filled - in any case just buy these incredibly cheap tickets in the automatic ticket machines in stations as you can't reserve on most anyway. There are a few trains like Rome-Orvieto that may be IC trains upon which you can reserve but i'm thiking the day before Easter will be very slack anyway on these type trains - there are also very frequent trains on these lines.

Siena to Rome requires taking the slow regional train to Chiusi then transfering to either IC or Regional trains to Rome - no thru trains i believe

The bus between Siena and Rome i think is also a viable option as it may be for say Perugia to Siena as trains take a round about route on that route.

Thanks PalenQ - the buses you mention sound like a good idea. I appreciate the feedback -- looking at towns like Spello, Gubbio, etc., on Trenitalia, I see that one can't buy tickets anyway.

Gubbio - only by bus - i took one once from Perugia to Gubbio - Gubbio a very very fine old town

Spello i believe has a train station but a few miles below the hill town

Buses usually go up into the hill town - like in Siena where trains for obvious reasons let you off at the bottom of the pile.

Google SITA buses - the national, i think, Italian bus company.

From Perugia buses also go to nearby Todi, another famous hilltown

PalenQ, the bus idea is getting very appealing for day trips! Thanks!

francegirl,

I ran into this issue with regional trains on Trenitalia in December. What I discovered is that you can buy tickets on the Trenitalia site for regional trains when you're within 7 days of travel. Try plugging in a date that is within 7 days from now and see if it shows you the $ sign on the right to let you purchase. If it does then it will likely work when you're witin 7 days of your desired dates.

michaelt - the site was letting me buy, it got me right to the end of the process, and then denied my Amex. I've read that other people have problems with this, and that Trenitalia says it's the credit card company's problem, although all seem to agree that it's Treitalia's problem! if I plug in 7 days from now --- can I use the tickets at the end of March?? Scared to do this.....

In May, I will be traveling basically in the same area, francegirl's question caught my eye.

I just followed MichaelT's suggestion and he is right on the money about purchasing tickets on a regional train within 7 days of travel. Wow, you learn something new every day!

I was going to resort to buying tickets from travel agencies in Perugia and Lucca that are listed on the Trenitalia web site. According to the web site, these travel agencies do not mark up the cost of the ticket.

It looks like I will be able to purchase within the 7-day period from Roma to Perugia online also.

Thanks francegirl for asking this question.

wy buy regional train tickets in advance? the station machines are a snap to use - all in English and will take your card

you may decide to take a bus, etc.

Rome-Perugia however is also served by Eurostar trains that you may get a discount by booking online or at least be assured of the obligatory seat reservation to put angst at rest

Also try calling AMEX as they may be putting a block on foreign transactions for your security

Before going to Europe always inform you charge and ATM card issuers that you are going to be using them in some specific countries or else they IME could well be blocked by the issuer

I think I'll have to go to a train station or an agency to buy my end-of trip tickets. I really want to travel light and not take my laptop (last trip to Europe DH dropped in at the airport and it was rendered useless anyway LOL, so I might not have access to a computer 7 days before I can get regional tickets. I think I should buy my tickets for the next leg of the trip as I arrive at my destination -- makes sense???

Glad to hear that the ticket machines are easy. And yes,we'll be taking buses. Amex has never been a problem, nor has my bank ATM Visa card. However, this trip I will let them know in advance. Thanks for the advice.

Hi FG,

For Siena/Rome you might want to take the bus.

5E for downtown Siena to Roma Tiburtina. No luggage to handle.

www.senabus.it/

((I))

ira, I might just do that!!!Grazie!

PalenQ,

Yes, there is a Eurostar train on the Roma-Perugia route; however, on the day I'm traveling it isn't until 1:30 in the afternoon and we're arriving Roma at 7:25 a.m.

francegirl, you are getting a lot of good advice.

Yes I am, thank you all.