Lawyerlady

Hi all, my husband and I are currently planning our first trip to Italy. We will be there from November 23 until December 2. We are flying into Rome and plan to take a train from Rome to Florence, and then another train from Florence to Venice. We would like to take the Eurostar Italia train, first class.

We're not yet quite sure of the times we'd like to travel, and I find the Trenitalia website exceptionally confusing. As such, I'd prefer to wait until we arrive in Italy to purcase tickets.

Is that a bad idea? I definitely don't want to face a situation where all the first class Eurostar seats are booked. I imagine we won't face this problem in the middle of the low season, but I'm a complete novice about this so I thougt I'd ask the experts. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

hopscotch

Since you are a newbie to Europe's trains the site at http://tinyurl.com/eym5b will certainly help you get started.

As for your specific route and the Eurostar Italia, you should have no problem buying your tickets and reservations after you arrive in Rome, assuming that you will be there for the weekend and plan to go on to Florence mid-week. The reservations are only €3, about $4, so if you change plans it is not much of a penalty to buy diferent reservations.

elba

I've taken that route several times. I usually bought my tickets a few days ahead. I never had a problem even during the busy season.

kybourbon

You want have a problem booking tickets in Rome. On ES trains, 2nd class is fine, especially on such a short trip as Rome/Florence (90 minutes). There is a discount (Amica - 20%) usually available, but must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. I'm not sure what Hopscotch means about reservations being 3-4 E since ES trains are reservation only and included in the price of your ticket. You can't buy an ES ticket without a reservation. The only time a reservation isn't included in the ticket is if you have purchased some type of multi-day train pass.

Lawyerlady

Thanks very much. It doesn't sound like I should be concerned waiting to book until we arrive in Italy.

Andrew

I booked most of my train trips in Italy just before departure, from one of the ubiquitous ticket machines at the stations (except in Cinque Terre). I had done research ahead of time however so I knew what train service was like, what the approximate times and prices were, etc. on a particular route so I knew what to expect before making the purchases. Usually I didn't want to commit myself to a particular time, but I never once had a problem with a train sold out. On my first train trip I flew into Rome and immediately got on a Eurostar train to Venice - booked 10 minutes before depature at the station- and it was half empty, on a Monday in early October.

Only once did I make an Amica reservation, on a train I HAD to be on, and it worked out fine. I had my hotel print out the confirmation.

LucieV

You will have no problem whatsoever. Even in high season, we buy our tickets when we get there. At the train station. We've only used an agency once, and even then we could have just gone to the train station. It is really a piece of cake once you get the hang of it. People are always willing to help, too.