Will I be able to purchase tickets and reserve a seat from the U.S. before going to Italy in August?

Yes, from www.raileurope.com (1-800-4EURAIL) - - and maybe from some other sources as well - - but you will pay a premium of 40 to 100% (my guess). <BR> <BR>It depends on how may tickets you need. Specifically, they will charge you $30.00 (USD) for 2nd class, plus $11.00 reservation fee, plus $10.00, postage and handling (this latter amount is NOT per ticket). <BR> <BR>So, $51 for a ticket that might cost you $20 to $24 (again, guessing, but I am pretty sure) in Italy, with none of those additional fees. You can find information (but not buy tickets) directly from Ferrovie del Stato at the website www.fs-on-line.com - - has English option, too. <BR> <BR>Type in the correct names of the cities, and not translations from any other language, (like English) - - i.e., Milano and Firenze, not Milan or Florence. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR> <BR>

Just Curious: Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to buy it in Italy (and in August not a problem - or does the Ferraugusto make train travel a problem?)? <BR> <BR>Question more for my own edification than to help the poster. <BR> <BR>

Meant Ferragosto, not whatever I typed previously...sorry

Didn't I make it clear? <BR> <BR>40-100% more here. <BR> <BR>Better to buy it there. <BR> <BR>

Trains are every hour on the hour, plus extras in between. Takes nearly 3 hours, Just turn up, buy a ticket and go.

I agree that you should just wait to get to Italy to buy the tickets. If you buy it a day or two in advance, you should have no problem with availability. But if you're really want to buy a ticket in advance, you can use the "www.fs-on-line.com" site to order tickets. You can reserve seats and purchase tickets using a credit card and can avoid a premium by picking up the tickets once you are in Italy from an automatic ticket machine. Not all trains can be reserved through this site and you must register on the site the first time you want to use it to but tickets. Good luck!

I agree. My husband and I priced everything over here, then realized it was cheaper to buy tickets in Italy. This also allowed us to stay in a town for as much as we wanted. We went all over Italy and never had a problem getting tickets. We usually purchased 1 day ahead of time. Good Luck!