Riding the Eurostar in Italy. This was the most stressful part of our recent trip. We took the train from Rome to Florence. The train station is very busy and you cannot rely on the ticket sellers English skills. Here are some tips: 1) DO NOT BUY FIRST CLASS TICKETS. We did and basically ended up fighting for a "reserved coach" seat on a very crowded train. It was a complete waste of money and coach seats are fine (except when you pay for 1st). 2) ASK ANYONE FOR HELP IF YOU ARE TRYING TO FIND YOU TRAIN. Italians are quite nice when approached, tho they may not seem it in their hustle to catch the train. Asking can avoid some potential confusion such as the train not leaving on the right track. 3) ASK FOR RESERVED COACH SEATING. This might not be available on all trains, but it is highly recommended. We traveled off season and the trains where full. 4) MAKE SURE YOU GET EUROSTAR TICKETS. We had asked for ES tickets to Rome and got the regular local tickets. The conductor wanted not only the additional cost, but also a surcharge for a ticket adjustment (around $15). We successfully refused to pay surcharge. It felt a little like a scam, so be careful and TAKE YOU TIME when using Eurostar Itaila.

You can avoid all those problems by booking your 1st class Eurostar ticket through raileurope and reserving your seat ahead of time. (You can also reserve a seat through a local travel agent in Italy.) I did the Rome-Florence 1st class Eurostar route (with a reservation) and had no trouble at all.

Sera: it sounds good in theory, but my problem is that Eurail won't book more than 2 months before, and we will already be in Europe. Not sure how or where to book Italian train travel while we are in Italy. And when we tried to reserve seats through travel agents in Italy, they wouldn't do it as we already had Eurail (or Italian rail) passes. Last summer we paid almost $40 each for a supplement and reservation from Bologna to Florence on 1st class tickets we already had with an Italian Rail Pass. This was done at the Bologna train station, and they insisted I owed that much if I wanted to travel the train -- and reservation was compulsory.

Sorry, on previous posting I meant, "not sure where to book Italian train travel while we are in Greece."

Patrick, <BR>I would try an American Express office, or other travel agent while in Greece. I'd be surprised if Amex could not get you a seat reservation on an Italian train. <BR> <BR>We also booked our first class tickets for Italy in advance via Rail Europe with seat reservations. We were told the seat reservations were required on the Eurostar trains. Other people did seem to be struggling to find seats, we had no problems. First class was less crowded, more quiet, and had bigger seats than 2nd. None of these was a very big deal, but I found it more comfortable.

Hi, <BR> <BR>I thought I'd just add my two cents worth - you are right, Italian rail authorities are HELL to work with!! <BR> <BR>We travelled from Montreaux (Switz.) to Milan, - train was slightly late and decided to stop halfway through the platform. We had to run with our ever bulging backpacks for about 200 meters, up one platform, dodge the crowds to the other platform on the othe rside of the station - thank goodness that train was late too. Of course, at that time we didn't know about the 15 mins lee-way that they give latecomers. *grin* <BR>Naturally there were no seats available. <BR> <BR>Anyway, we went to Padua and the next morning decided to get tickets for the next train to Venice. Turned out to be a Eurostar train... but we were given normal tickets. We realized this and spoke to the guy on the platform who assured us that for the ES, out tickets were fine. So we waited.. and waited.. and would you believe it... it didn't turn up. So we had to wait another 2 hours for the next train to Venice. <BR>No, we didn't get a seat then too. <BR> <BR>Three days later, train from Venice to Florence.. well, didn't show up as well. And when we bought tickets there... we tried to book our seats but were told that you couldn't book seats on the train. Few days later, we actually got on a Eurostar - and we didn't get seats - how they get to sell more tickets than seats I don't know, but it seemed that sitting was a privelege and luck. <BR>In any case, our train from Pisa to Naples went well.. until we wanted to get off at Naples - the platform wasn't long enough for the train, so we had to get off at Pompeii instead and walk from the Pompeii train station, to the Pompeii Circum-Vesuviana Station - 2km away. By that time, we decided to just head for sorrento. <BR> <BR>We'd travelled all around Central and some of East EUrope by train by then.. Italy was our last stop. IT was the most stressful point of our journey.. but we soon learnt not to expect reliability or service. Beware of "porters" ready to find you a seat, and then ask for tips - apparently with a set minimum for tipping and most of all, be prepared to wait a few hours for trains which don't turn up. <BR> <BR>In spite of all that, Italy was still a great place to visit. Mind you, we were travelling with our Eurail Pass and where we tried to book seats, we were told that we couldn't. <BR> <BR>Word of advice: Don't leave it to the guy at the counter to tell you how you can get from A to B or to see you correct tickets. Check thoroughly. Make sure you are clear about where you want to go and ask questions. Don't expect to be told - some of them were really nice. But not all, some just wanted to get you out of the way. <BR> <BR>That was our experience anyway <BR> <BR>Amanda.

Patrick: Strange you couldn't make a reservation with a travel agent. I've done this with both an Italian rail pass and point-to-point tickets. Given the vicissitudes of the Italian rail system, the last time I went by myself I bought point-to-points tix through rail europe and just stuck to a schedule. But when in Italy, dealing with the American Express office sounds like the best advice <BR> As for Amanda's hellacious experience: God love ya! I can't imagine having to get off in Pompeii and taking the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples. Don't blame you for going straight to Sorrento

I had no such problems. Most large stations have multi-lingual ticket machines (Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and more) from which you can buy tickets several days in advance. For Eurostar trains I would buy my ticket from a machine and then go direct to the ticket window to get my reservation (compulsory). Because I already had my ticket there was no doubt which train I wanted the reservation for. A few choice words I had written down in Italian also helped (reservation, window, non-smoking, etc). <BR> <BR>My only regret was not reserving a seat on the first inter-regional train I caught. In future, I will always fork out the tiny amount it costs to reserve a seat -- whenever reservations are posssible. <BR> <BR>Most train timetables contain legends, indicating which trains require a supplement, which require a reservation, and which allow a reservation. <BR> <BR>Armed with this information it is difficult to go wrong ticket-wise.

When we went to Italy and France in early June, we had good experiences with trains. One problem did occur. We wanted to take an overnight train from Rome to Nice, and I was told that there were no couchettes available. Luckily, I kept asking questions (in a Spanish/Italian mix) about other ways to get to Nice and the clerk told me there were couchettes available on the very same train, but only until Ventimiglia on the French border. So we had a compartment all to ourselves and had to change to a different car for the last half hour or so into Nice. That gave us another day at the beach. I was kind of nervious about taking overnight trains, but we shared a compartment on the train from Nice to Venice with four great people and it was fine. It was actually a fun and exciting part of the trip. In Italy, we took mostly Eurostar trains to go from Venice - Rome and Rome - Florence, and bought tickets and reservations at the same time and had no problems at all.

One more thing, that I wanted to post on an earlier question about overnight trains. Always reserve the top bunks in the compartment, they are probably the safest (you and your things are all very high)

I agree with the initial posting. The major differences in 1st class from 2nd class on the fast trains are 1) carpets and 2) price (double for 1st). <BR> <BR>And be careful with RailEurope bookings. We booked through RailEurope for 8 persons. The travel agent (my father) asked for 1st class non-smoking seats with reservations from Rome to Venice via Florence(we booked well in advance). <BR> <BR>Well, four of our party were put in 2nd class; two of us were put in 1st class smoking; and two were put in 1st class non-smoking but only to Florence. Be careful to check your vouchers when you get them from RailEurope and create a BIG stink. <BR> <BR>Personally, from now on, I would buy my tickets several days in advance in Italy (I usually go in the fall when it is not so crowded).

We just returned from Italy, and happily, traveled first class Rome to Florence, Florence to Venice and Venice to Milan) did not enounter any of the problems Mark did. <BR>As for getting information at the station, we just went to the information booths at the stations, where our questions (such as where our specific 1st class cars were located on the trains) were always answered (in English). <BR>The only problems we encountered were finding the best way out of the stations for reaching our hotels!

A bit of command of the Italian language is a good thing when using the trains in Italy. People are in a hurry and if you can't communicate at all might not be so helpful. We generally reserve train ahead from the U.S. but have also purchased them in Italy. I find it less stressful that finding a place to park a car.

This past May we travelled by Eurostar from Rome to Florence to Venice, and back to Rome ( I know, the last leg was lousy planning). Anyway, it wasnt worth to purchase a pass in advance and we had no problem going to a travel agent the day before our travels and purchase a ticket for the next day's trip. There was talk of a train strike in Florence the day we were to travel to Venice. The morning of the trip although the station was crowded and trains were being cancelled etc. we had no problems getting our ticket. We made mistakes, like everyone does on their travels, but a little foresight and giving yourself plenty of time saved us from any train difficulties. Also, second clas, especially on Eurostar is the equivalent of flying 1st class on an airline...and the scenery in Tuscany is a hell of a lot better!

I was at Termini trying to buy train tickets to go to Florence. As this was the week of Christmas, the station was filled with scores of desperate people who are trying to go out of town. Many of the ticket windows were closing and I thought many times that I won't get the tickets tonight. But after being told twice that all the tickets to Florence were sold out, I got my tickets on the third attempt at a ticket window with 'CLOSED' sign infront. It can be very chaotic and difficult, but persistence pays off sometimes.