If we purchase a ticket from Venice to Vernazza - it appears that there are either 3 or 4 different trains involved.

I assume that when you buy the ticket, it is for all the trains involved?

What happens if for some reason we make a mistake, and miss one of the connecting trains.

Do we just wait for another one to come along - and how would we know which one (would it have the same number)? Or would we have to purchase another ticket?

Thanks

When you buy a ticket, it is for the destination purchased, regardless of the route. You are expected to sort it out if you miss a connection and you will have to check with the ticket office in the stazione en route. Not all trains are created equal in time or cost.

Hi M,

Your first train will be an ES* or an IC. The others are R trains.

Only the ES* require reservations.

If you miss an IC or R train, your ticket is good for the next R train.

You find out which train to take at the station. There will be a board listing all of the arrivals and departures.

Go to www.trenitalia.com and enter your route.

You will get a menu listing the trains.

Click on "details".

You will get a menu showing all of your trains.

Click on the train number for the full route of that train.

If you miss yours, you want the next one that follows the same route.

There will be a long wait between trains, so try not to miss your connections.

Train fares in Italy are calculated from the distance travelled. A standard ticket is valid two months from purchase. Before boarding, you must use the yellow machine in the station to stamp the date and time on the ticket: it is then valid for six hours (for a short journey), 12, 24 or (I think) 48 hours, depending on the length of the journey. Within that time, you can change trains as often as you like, stopping for cups of coffee, lunch or whatever, so long as you stick to the route specified on the ticket and keep within the time limit.
If your journey includes a seat reservation on an Intercity train, if you don't catch that train, you can catch any other train but will not have a reserved seat. There is a supplement for travelling on Intercity trains so, if you have paid only the basic fare for any part of the journey, you'll need to go to a ticket office to get a supplementary ticket for an Intercity train.
If your journey includes a Eurostar train, the rules are a bit more complicated and, if you miss your booked train, you'll have to go to a ticket office to re-book. If your journey is on a local stopping train, your ticket allows to get on any local stopping train within the validity of your ticket.
The Trenitalia web site gives the details of the types of trains in your journey.

Great info ... and very much appreciated.

Thank you all!