Hi,
My husband and I will be in Italy in the April/May timeframe, travelling between Cinque Terre, Florence, Siena, and Rome by train. I've read so many different things about getting around Italy by train but many of them are conflicting. Any advice would be appreciated. Is it better to buy my tickets in advance? Is there a better website to buy them on rather than trenitalia? Thanks in advance for your help!

Many of your trips are on more local route that do not offer advance purchasing. The longer-distance trips are on popular routes that have frequent trains. I would wait, since so many people experience intense frustration with the online purchasing process at the trenitalia site--which is where you will get the best prices.

If you're hoping to get a discount of some kind, you can still wait until you are in Italy--as long as you purchase by midnight of the day before your departure, you can get the 20% Amica fare discount.

It's conflicting because of personal preferences. It also depends on if you are trying to get tickets during high tourist season to popular destinations or over night trains with limited sleeping berths. I usually buy tickets a day or 2 ahead of time when I get to Italy, once we have decided the approximate time of day we want to set off to our new destination.

However, we did arrive at the Bologna train station and purchased tickets about 30 minutes prior to the train leaving, with no problems. While I was there I pre-purchased tickets from Bologna to Zurich because there were specific trains I wanted to be on and din't want to risk having to settle for our second choice.

I know I didn't give you a straight answer, because there isn't one. Do whatever make you the most comfortable, but it is nice to have the flexibility to change your mind once you are there.

Thanks for your replies. What is the Amica fare discount? I'm not familiar with it.

Hi D,

At http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
pick a train and check the fares.

The Amica fare is less, but is not refundable.

Fir what you wish to do, you can buy your tickets when you get to Italy.

For Florence to Siena, I suggest the SITA bus. It takes you into Siena and your luggage goes under the bus.

For Siena to Rome, you might want to take www.senabus.it - 5E to Rome Tiburtina station.

It's just personal preference. I am not much of a pre-planner and have been able to buy train tickets as I go along, with no problems.

Thank you everyone. You've made me feel much better about waiting till I'm in Italy to purchase my tickets.