Train travel in Italy
 

We are planning to use the train system when we go to Italy in May, and have a couple of questions. We will be traveling from Venice to Florence, to Monterosso then to Rome. ( in a weeks time)
What is the difference between Trenitalia and Rail Europe?
Which would be advisable? And what train would be the fastest?
Thanks for any answers.
Grandma Carol

Trenitalia is the official Italian train system.

RailEurope is a service that sells the same tickets and then charges you extra fees for doing so.

There are dozens of trains between the points you mention. Look at www.trenitalia.com for fares and schedules. Pick the trains you want. Buy the tickets in Italy.

P.S. Four places in one week are far too many; you'll spend more time on trains than *in* places. Eliminate Monterosso; it's the most time-consuming to get to.

I agree with Zerlina.

Venice in May is absolutely gorgeous and relatively tourist quiet. The hordes don't begin until June. I would want to spend the entire week there. Florence will be crowded with long lines into everything. I would NEVER combine a north/south trip in Italy with only one week available, especially by train. I view that as insane. Rome is great in May, too, but it deserves at least four full days at a minimum. Train travel is the just one concern here, unless you're hoping for fond memories of what a Eurostar interior looks like.

Thanks for your replies. We are leaving Venice after a 3 night stay, then going to Florence just for one day quick site seeing, Cinque Terre for 3 days then to Rome for 4 days.
Sorry to have made it sound like we were doing a whirl wind trip.
So buying our train tickets at the train stations is the best bet? I feel we would be more likely to goof up buying them last minute, we don't speak french and are not familiar with the rail system. Any suggestions?

In Italy they speak Italian.

You can buy tickets at ticket windows, but you can also buy from machines that have an English option. Also, you can buy all your tickets at the same time at the Venice train station if you know your schedule for your other trips.

At the Venice train station there are helpful English-speaking Trenitalia consultants who an help you. Or your hotel in Venice can advise about a nearby travel agency that can sell you the same tickets.

Opps Sorry I met Italian.
Thank you ellenem for your info.

Since you seem so concerned, here's a link to a website that dscusses everything you ever wanted to know about train travel in Italy.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/trains/index.htm

Italy has more than one Monterosso. The itinerary still sounds insane to me.

The trains in Italy are easy to use. The slowtrav website gives a good overview of using trains in Italy. Its easy to use the ticket machines in the stations. You can also get tickets at any travel agent who displays the trenitalia logo.

Train travel between cities makes alot of sense. Just be sure you can easily manage your luggage yourself. When boarding the train you often have to climb 3 o4 step narrow steps to get up from the platform. If you have small bags they can go on the overhead rack (if you can lift them up) - larger bags often have to be left at the end of the car.

If your schedule is fixed you can buy all your tickets in advance in Venice - at the train station or a travel agent.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...f-the-boot.cfm , you might like to check into this thread for how to book discount tickets ahead, it's very helpful.

Hi GrandmaCarol
3 years ago my husband and I travelled by train from Interlaken, Switzerland to Cinque Terre in oneday. |it was a long one but doable. Cinque Terre is one of my favourite places. |We were there in Sept, no crowds at all. We stayed in Manarola for 2 nights then on to |Venice. As we had a tight schedule we would most often spend the better part of a day on the train. Other than in the stations when we would have to transfer, the trains were very relaxing. BUT! We did find that speaking only english and not understanding italian at all was a challenge. At one point, the departure platform for our train was changed at the last minute. The change was only announced in italian. Needless to say we missed that train. As it was the first of 5 connections for that day, it messed up the whole days travel time. My advice is ask a lot of questions to double check that what you assume is going to happen actually is going to happen. helps to avoid alternative planning that you may not be prepared to do.
Also, we witnessed a lady missing her train and as she was hysterical it was obvious she was separated from the rest of her party - hopefully it wasn't any children. That was when my husband and I made plans on what to do if we were separated - where we would meet.
Good travels

following on from Colleen's comments.... Also keep in mind that when trains are departing the platform there are no major announcements, no blowing of whistles etc. There is just a TINY little toot and off they go. You need to be on board well before the departure time.

We were running late for a train one time and the only clue that it was about to depart (Florence to Rome) was that the train staff who were on the platform stubbed out their cigarettes and jumped on board. With that, off it went, fortunately we jumped on at the same time as the staff. Too bad for anyone who didn't realise.

The ticket machines are easy. The first screen gives you a language option. You can go right through the screens choosing trains, seats etc and then the very last screen asks for cash/card details.

I think you won't have problems with trains in the main stations like Firenze Santa Maria Novella or Roma Termini as there is a new dumb-proof information system.
For Eurostar AV trains (in Florence SMN and I suppose also Rome and Venice) there is an information desk just in front of the departing platform.
Little train stations can be an issue (their look can change from region to region).

At the station there will be a board or tv screen announcing the departures,and track number. Keep your eye on it. The track no. can change. Once your train arrives get to the track and get on. Don't trust what the departure screen said an hour ago. Once you get the hang of it, its fun and easy, but do read the slowtrav commentary on trains in Italy. It really is easy.

when we went to Italy, we were going to be there for three weeks, so went to a travel store and they will make your reservations for free. We had all our reservations made within the first two day - so no time required to go early and get tickets. We also would go online and go to a language translator and have in italian what we needed to say at the train station. This was very helpful as the trains come and go quickly and you need to be able to converse rather quickly at times.

I was there last year and took the advice on fodor and bought the tickets at the station as advised. its really easy and there are atleast a couple trains everyday. i would suggest riding eurostar- a lil more expensive but totally worth it. the ride from florence-venice is real pretty. l

Your best bet (IMO) if you have an AmEx card is to use the AmEx travel office in Venice when you arrive to buy tickets. They'll speak English (or at least someone in the office will), will be proficient in Trenitalia routes, tickets, etc., and don't charge a fee.

However, if you don't, I agree you should just buy them at the station. You could go the first day in Venice if it would make you more comfortable.