trains in Italy for first timers
 

Looking over schedules of the trains, I have the option of ordering reservations online. Would you all recommend doing that from here or just waiting until we get there? Also how far is it from the train station (Fi SMN) to the Academia in Florence? We are planning to do a walking tour from the Academia and ending at the Uffizzi for our day in Florence (planning to do the Rick Steve's self guided walking tour). Thanks already.

I've never booked Italian trains in advance, apart from international overnight trains, and never had any problems buying tickets in Italy. Whether you need to book will depend partly on what journeys you're making and what dates you're travelling. Long-distance trains are generally busiest around weekends: Friday afternoon and evening, and Sunday evening are often the busiest.

One question I'd like to add (if you don't mind Hopeline), is, do prices of trains stay constant no matter how close to the reservation time they are, or is it like airline prices where the later you wait, the more expensive it is?

Having just come back from 2 week tour of Italy, I'd say you may as well book train tickets in advance, you get tp pick seats and get your seat number and everything clearly listed, and it doesn't cost any extra to book in advance so saves any potential hassle when you're there. It's easy to do it and in English at www.trenitalia.it, you just register and then you can buy tickets, print them off and there you go. On the train, you sit in your seat and the conductor comes round and checks your print out, and gives you a receipt, really simple. The website is sometimes a bit flakey, telling you you can't buy certain tickets (no basket icon shown) and then when you go back into it 10 mins later the basket icon is there ??!! Just so you know.

From Florence SMN to the Accademia, no more than a 20 -25 min walk i'd say, a tip though, the Accademia houses the magnificent statue of David and some other unfinished Michaelangelo works, but apart from that there is not much else to see, it's only a few rooms. We went on a Tuesday morning mid-march (closed on Mon) and the queues were ENORMOUS, we ended up going back at 5pm and queues were still bad, finally tried again at 6pm (closed at 6:45pm) and we got in, it didn't take more than 25 mins to see the whole thing. I was SOOO glad we hadn't queued for 4 hrs or so as it was disappointing apart from David and the other statues, so either book in advance, or go late like we did.

The Uffizi also had 4 hr queues, so again, i'd recommend booking in advance, they seem to let tour groups in and everyone else just stands around for hours not knowing how long the wait is! Hope this helps. Enjoy yr trip!

The prices in Italy will stay the same until they have a rate increase for all tickets. You can only get prices for Trenitalia for the next 60 days. If you are traveling later than that and want to price a route just pick a date within 60 days to get the price.

Trenitalia has a few special deals for cheap fares which sell out in advance. Otherwise, standard fares are calculated from the distance in kilometres and you pay exactly the same whether you book in advance or buy a ticket before boarding the train. Standard train tickets are valid for two months from date of purchase and can be used on any train except Intercity trains (for which you must buy a supplementary ticket) and Eurostar trains which have a higher fare which includes a seat reservation. Seat reservations are optional on Intercity trains and are not possible on slower trains.
On most main lines, trains run at least every hour, so there is no need to commit yourself to a precise itinerary months in advance.

FYI, we had a bit of a glitch with our tickets that I booked on-line before going (Rome to Florence). The e-mail confirmation says that it is all you need - you do not need a ticket, just get on and you're ready to go. A customer service agent at the station said, no, we needed to print tickets, and offered to do it for us. We didn't check the tickets (don't do this - make sure you check) and it turns out the ticket was for only one of our party of 3 that was on the e-mail. The conductor did not have our confirmation number in his little computer and had questions for us. My Italian is pretty much nonexistent, but fortunately we were sitting next to 2 priests who helped out. Couldn't get better references than that!

I'm sure somebody else here will know the specifics of the train system and whether we really did need a ticket, but just wanted to share the experience! May be better to follow the advice of so many and just get the tickets there.

I was just in Italy in March and I recommend buying tickets there for two reasons - 1) flexibility, and 2) to make sure that you get the right ticket and have everything you need. I never had any trouble getting tickets except for one leg where I had to buy first class because coach was sold out (of course I also could have waited half an hour for the next train if I wanted to save money).

Just a couple of tips:
The trenitalia website is a little cranky, so you may not get a confirmation email (as promised). So when you order, print the last page you see on the website, which should have a confirmation number. You can use that number in the validation machines to get your tickets.

If you're traveling 2nd class, be careful that you don't end up in 1st class by mistake (it happened to my daughter-in-law, who says the cars were not marked). They do not give you the option of moving to 2d class; you'll have to pay on the spot for the difference.

I agree with buying your tickets once you get there. For us it gave us the flexibility to go to the Colloseum in the morning and then take a later train rather than taking a morning thrain as we had anticipated. Th eone thing about buying your ticket on the spot is that the larger stations can have very long and slow lines. Rick Steves recommended buying tickets at the smaller stations or at an American Express office or other travel office that has the Trenitalia logo in the window. Our friends did that in Florence for their trip back to Rome and they said it was an excellent suggestion. We didn't have that option in Naples since we were connecting from a commuter train. If you have to buy your tickets at the main station in a city, just allow yourself PLENTY of time (it took us at least 1/2 hour in Naples and maybe more in Rome to get to the window. Once we got there it was easy and quick).

Forgot to mention: There are a few travel agencies across the street from the train station in Florence, and one of them sells train tickets (the others are mainly tour organizers).

Don't hesitate to get your tickets at that spot. They're very helpful and there's no extra charge.

we just got back from italy in mid april(venice and bellagio). We didn't make train reservations ahead of time. I did print out schedules to know which trains we wanted but we bought all our tickets in the station. There were long lines in Venice-San Lucia, Milan and Verona. We were expecting some lines but not very long. Was usually a 20 to 30 min wait. We came real close to missing a couple trains. Especially when we were switching trains on the same journey but only had a ticket for the first leg.

I would do it the same way again in April/early May but just allow for a little more time in the station. But all our Italy trains were pretty full so I'd be concerned about getting a seat in the late May/June timeframe. Though this was the only time I've ever been to Italy so don't know if the trains get much more crowded.

If you are taking the Eurostar between popular destinations (say Venice to Florence), you should book them ahead. If you go ticketless, you just give the conductor your six digit code and he spits out a ticket for you on the spot.

For non-ES trains, online booking will still necessitate getting tickets at the station. You punch your six digit code in to one of the ticket machines and it outputs your tickets.

We will be in Italy the last 3 weeks of August, and we will be doing train travel on the dates around Ferr'agosto (Perugia to Venice on 8/15). I've heard these are very bad travel dates, because it is a holiday, and so many Italians are using the transportation.

Can Italians buy their tickets earlier than 2 months prior, or does that rule apply to everyone? I'm wondering if there will still be tickets available on June 15 when I am first allowed to purchase them from Trenitalia.

No one can purchase two months ahead. To beat lines at train stations, use the ticket machines. There is an English language option and they are easy to use.

Hello All--Going to Venice in Oct. Never travelled by train (Venice-Rome-Civitavecchia). Is the train ride scenic? Is 1st Class recommended? THANKS

I'm glad I found this forum because I actually have some questions about buying train tickets in Italy. I'm leaving for a trip to Italy in about two weeks and my mom, sis and I weren't sure whether we should buy tics in advance.

If anyone can help, that would be great. We're flying into Rome, planning to take a day trip to Florence and back to Rome, then on to Sorrento. I found a deal with Eurorail where we could each buy a pass that allowed us four trips, but it was pretty expensive -- nearly $200.

Any suggestions on what we should do?

Thanks!

Hi gina,

Railpasses are usually more expensive than point-to-point. Check prices at www.trenitalia.com.

For Rome to Sorrento,you buy a ticket to Naples and then a ticket for the Circumvesuviana line in the Naples station.

((I))

Hi B,

>Venice-Rome-Civitavecchia. Is the train ride scenic?

Not particularly.

>Is 1st Class recommended?

Depends how old you are. :)
It's about 4:30 hr. 1cl is a little more comfy.

((I))

Thanks Ira--We are old enough to want the comfort but not seniors--Thanks Again--B