I will be traveling to Italy in Oct. and I wanted to know if I should purchase all of my train tickets now or should I wait and get the tickets/seat reservations there? I will be going from Pisa to Florence; Florence to Santa Margherita Ligure; and Santa Margherita Ligure to Venice. My husband thinks we should wait and I say we should do it now. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!!

I'm a believer in flexi-passes. The Italian flexi will give you 4 days of travel in 1 month for $239.00 1st or $159.00 2nd class. Go to Ricksteves.com for ordering and comparisons.

- <BR>Sarah: <BR> <BR>Before you choose to opt for a flexi-pass, do a price comparison. As per Helen's post you can access the website for train schedule & check on prices for each of the point to point destinations that you've cited. <BR> <BR>As for timing -- if you do decide to purchase train tickets, then it's fairly easy to do so when you go over there (very do-able when traveling outside the busiest months during summer). Should your better value be with the flexi-pass, then I think that may be something you have to purchase here, before you get to Italy.

If you do decide on point-to-point tickets (and I have a feeling a price comparison will prove it to be cheaper so definitely do one), it will be cheaper to purchase your tickets in Italy. Also, please remember that the Flexipass does not include seat reservation costs.

Try www.railsaver.com to compare pass vs. point-to-point ticket costs.

I was in Italy in May 2000 and took a day trip from Florence to Pisa (and back) and then took an intercity train from Florence to Venice. Florence to Pisa is a short trip -- it's basically a commuter train. There are trains about once an hour (maybe even more often). I wouldn't see any need to purchase tickets in advance. Going from Florence to Venice, I purchased tickets and made seat reservations at the Florence railway station a few days in advance of our departure for Venice. I wanted to make sure that and my traveling companion and I got seats together. I had no trouble doing this, but the train was fairly crowded ... not packed though ... so if we waited until the last minute it could have been more difficult. I have no information on how prices compare between buying tickets here vs. there.

I think you will find that point to point tickets will be cheaper, if thats a concern. They are easy to buy in Italy from the station or a travel agent. I would buy a day or two early if want to be sure of getting a reservation.

Thank you so much for your help. I have never been to Europe much less Italy and I have no idea what to expect. I believe point to point tickets are going to be the cheaper option. I will wait until we get there to purchase the tickets. It seems like it is not as big of a deal as I had imagined. Thank you for all your suggestions. I appreciate it greatly.

I have priced train tickets for a similar journey on a point-to-point plan and found that they cost was much cheaper for two people than one buying a one month pass.

I have an Italian flexi-pass and will be in Italy, hopefully, 9/27. I am a little concerned that I don't speak/understand Italian well enough, (have been learning with tapes), to negotiate the stations, directions, etc. How difficult is it communicating with the people working in the stations and reading the arrival/departure boards, finding the right train, track, etc. I plan on arriving with plenty of time before departures so I am not rushed, but I am still a little nervous about this. Any suggestions from you seasoned train travellers?

Dear XXXX: I also have the same concerns which is why I though buying the train tickets online (in english) would be a good idea. If anyone has insight as to the complexity of a non-italian speaking person negotiating the train stations, it would be greatly appreciated!

Helen: Thanks for the advice. That makes me feel MUCH better. I am very anxious to try my Italian, but a little worried that once I get there I will forget everything I have learned. Thanks again!!!

We were in a few small train stations where no one spoke English. Bring a pad with you and write the essential information (destination, date, etc.) to present to the ticket seller. That helped us a lot. Otherwise, stations in large cities often had English-speakers. The signs/charts are easy to figure out.

Hi Sarah. My recommendation is that if you know where you are going and your dates are pretty much set, then I would buy them now. We decided we'd buy them over there (just got back a week ago) in case for some reason we were going to change our schedule or if they were cheaper, etc. However, because we didn't know the train schedule before hand we'd end up going to the train station whenever we'd get up that morning and take whatever train was going out next. Well, this isn't the most optimal option since if you can get on a eurostar -- that's always the best bet to get to your destination as fast as possible. Instead for example, we went to the station in Venice wanting to go to La Spezia (Italian Riveria) and ended up taking a regional train that took us 6 hours!! Because we took the first train going out. However, this could be avoidable next time I'm sure by simply looking at teh schedule and seeing what trains are leaving that day. Also we tried to go teh AMEX office the day before to look at the schedule, buy our tickets, but they were closed. Anyway, it's just good to know the train schedule of the days you're leaving and when exactly is the fastest train that day. And probably even better to go ahead and buy your tickets now so you also don't have to wait in long lines (we did in Florence). HOpe that helps