I made two reservations on the trenitalia website with no trouble (well, minimal). The site is pretty frustrating at times because it reverts to Italian instead of English sometimes and I have no idea what is being said.

I tried to make a third reservation but accidentally selected post click instead of pay by credit card. So I cancelled that reservation (which went through without asking me to confirm or anything and the confirm was completely in Italian). Or at least I think I did. Then I tried to make a new reservation using my credit card instead, but then I got a payment declined notice, which couldn't possibly have anything to do with my card because it is definitely good (I checked).

Shortly after that I got an email from trenitalia saying that my account has been disabled and I have no idea why.

They say to call their customer service number, but only give the numbers 89 20 21. How does one call that number from the states?

This is so frustrating! Help!!!

I see so many complaints about the Trenitalia website that I just tried to write to them suggesting that they take a close look at it (or, better yet, hire me as a consultant to do so). The suggestion form was so confusing I'm not sure this suggestion will reach them...

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com

mw - I, too, have been unable to purchase tickets on the Trenitalia website. I've posted a couple of "help" questions as well. I don't think you're doing anything wrong...it's just not working. I think I need to give up and purchase tickets once I arrive, taking a chance I won't secure seats on the train of choice. I'm sorry you're also having difficulties.

mw2006 - my account was disabled, too. i ended up creating a new account to obtain the remainder of my ticetks. i also tried calling, but was unable to... on their website it appears there is a charge for talking to one of their operators, so i quickly gave up pursuing that route.

Hi MW,

Sometimes the computer won't let you book if you have canceled a reservation withn the last hour or so.

Sometimes your CC company blocks a "strange" charge. Check with them.

Sometimes the computer just doesn't like you.

In that case, open an account at yahoo or hotmail and reregister.

Good luck.

Hi MW~

You would dial 011-39-89-2021

Unfortunately, you cannot call Trenitalia from anywhere but Italy so dialing 011 won't help.

Since you've already had success with the credit card for your previous order, I would try again tomorrow or register under another user name and try again.

Trenitalia is a pain in the a** to use. I am still waiting for my password. Two actually. I registered as myself and my husband. If I don't get a password I am buying from Select Italy. They charge 14.00 to deliver paper tickets but at least I'll have them.

Good Luck!

I've never quite understood why everyone's so anxious to buy their train tickets well in advance.

Except during peak seasons (holidays, summer rushes), it shouldn't be a huge problem getting a seat on a train at or close to the time you wanted. We have generally bought tickets the day before we wanted to leave. Even during summer peaks, at worst this has meant that we had to take a train later or earlier than would have been idea.

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com

Thanks, everyone! I had my husband create an account and we booked that way.

The reason for booking early is it means one less thing to worry about, and I don't have to stamp a ticket or figure out any machines while there. Booking early also means you can sometimes take advantage of some of the promotions.

There's a buy one get one free deal for the new fast train from Naples to Rome.

Deirdre,
I need to buy two ES train tickets: one is for a Monday morning trip From Torino to Bologna and the other is another Monday morning trip from Bologna to Rome. Would you say it's OK to buy both in Italy? the Torino one is the more problematic since I'd like to catch an early morning train of which there aren't too many (I'll be able to buy it in Torino 2-3 days in advance). From Bologna to Rome there are more frequent trains. What do you say?

Many suggest buying a few days before but if I'm in Positano how can I purchase be few days before our trip Naples-Chiusi?

I agree with Deirdré. I've been all over Italy by train and wouldn't dream of trying to book tickets in advance. Italian trains are cheap and frequent. For 99.9% of journeys, there's no more reason to buy a train ticket weeks in advance than there would be to try to book a coffee or a pizza before you get to Italy.

Hi K and M,

Despite the difficulties that some people have with trenitalia (not their fault) most transactions go through easily.

It is not difficult to register and purchase tickets.

If you know which train you want to take, there is no reason not to buy in advance.

If you are in Italy, you can buy your tickets by cell phone.

See http://tinyurl.com/zspfl

Last week, I booked reservations for 2 legs of our journey in October. My Amex was denied for security but my Visa went through. Keep trying at different times of the day. That seemed to make a difference for me.

Ha Ha. I feel your pain. Click on my name and see a post I did on the USA forum in May 2006. I was so flustered by Trenitalia I couldn't even manage to post on the forum for the proper continent. I still check from time to time to see if I am still on their blacklist and when I last checked I was.

We were just trying to buy and print some tickets from Lucca to Cecina and ultimately decided to just give up and buy them in Italy. So anyway, to be prudent, we bought our tickets in Lucca the day before we were leaving for 7 euro each. So the next morning we are checking out and we tell the desk clerk we are walking to the train station and she informs us that the trains are on strike and will be until 6pm. After all of the online trenitalia aggravation, we ended up having to take a taxi that, with tip, was 150 Euro. I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks, everybody, for your kind help. I think I might try to buy at least 1 ticket online.

So, reading this thread, we arrive in Rome Sunday Oct 1, and my wife has decided we need to go to Florence around 830am Oct 4 to stay one night before leaving rome on Oct 6. If I wait to Oct 2 in Rome, will I be fairly certain to get a 1st class Eurostar tix that I want, or do I test their website. I looked at it, but it is not helpful to decide which tix to get (a 29euro, a 39 euro?)

Hi KH,

Standard fare is 43E 1cl and 29E 2cl.

The 39 and 29E fares aren't offered on this route.

There are ES* trains at 08:30, 08:50 and 09:00 and an IC at 08:55. You should be able to get a ticket the day ahead.

I has a similar problem last year and it seems that trenitalia puts a limit on how much you can charge in a month. On my email ticket there is a comment on a monthly spending ceiling. I also seem to remember an issue with putting in the credit card information and having everything in exactly the correct fields. Anyway since then I have booked online 6 times with no problems.

thanks ira,

and by the way, what is the diffence between a first class seat and 2nd class?