Will travel from Venice to Siena to Rome to Naples over the Easter holiday and need to know how I can make train reservations? Rick Steves has a site for train schedules but it will not allow purchase.<BR>Can I wait until arrival and purchase tickets? Should I purchase my entire itinerary at once on arrival (even though it would limit me and force me to decide what times without flexibility)?

&lt;&lt;Can I wait until arrival and purchase tickets?&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Yes. And you should, in my opinion.<BR><BR>&lt;&lt;Should I purchase my entire itinerary at once on arrival?&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>No. Well, you could, I guess but you already understand the downside. Weather, your mood, things that excite you or aren't as interesting as you expected -- all these can influence what time of day you move from point A to B. The disadvantages of locking yourself in outweigh the need to stand in the ticket line a few additional times, as far as I am concerned.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Rex <BR>Thankyou for your advice! Would there be any problem getting a seat since it will be during the Easter week?

Well, naturally, I can't totally advise on any specific date - - and there could be a big difference between buying 24 hrs, 8 hrs, 3 hrs and 20 minutes ahead. But I have to think that 24 hrs ahead is almost always fine - - you're not talking about a big block of seats for a group, right?<BR>

Possibly. Easter weekend & week is busy in Italy. As soon as you get to Italy (assume that you are starting in Venice?), buy your tickets for your first travel segment, Venice to Siena. You can purchase train tickets at train station for any departure/destination points and for several weeks ahead. Or if the train station is incovenient or too busy, can also buy tickets at travel agency in Venice. <BR><BR>On your Venice-Siena trip, rather than using only the rail, you might find it more convenient to take the Eurostar train from Venice to Florence (schedules at www.trenitalia.com); then take the SITA bus from Florence to Siena (bus trip is 1 hr, 15 min). SITA buses are for intercity travel, so there is storage underneath for your luggage. I'll provide several websites that may have bus info --- it's been awhile since I checked if these URL's are up to date.<BR>-- http://www.sienanet.it/web/train/welcome.asp<BR>http://www.lazzi.it/senaautolinee/index_e.htm<BR>http://www.tiac.net/users/pendini/bus.html<BR><BR>Reason for opting to take bus rather than train to Siena is that bus station is closer to city center. From train station, you'll either take a taxi or bus up to Siena. Believe distance is 3 or 4 kilometers.

Rex and Sara <BR>Thankyou so much for the valuable information! I can't tell you how much more focused I am now than when I posted the several messages I posted a few hours ago! How much we can learn and cut down on MAJOR mistakes by just helping each other with past experiences! <BR>Thankyou!

there you are! tried to find this post again & had forgotten its' title.<BR><BR>I definitely know this website is active:<BR>http://www.florenceitaly.net/<BR><BR>Once you access, scroll down to a link for timetables on train/airport/bus. Should be helpful in your travels.