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Fantastic post - thanks MichaelT! One question - how do you find the Amica fares? I am too far out to book yet, but I have played around with closer dates and don't see the Amica fares. Do they only come up when you get to the purchase screen? Thanks!

Wait - I may have answered my own question regarding Amica fares. Are they only for long distance trains and NOT for R or IC trains? (I am travelling from Monterosso-Florence and then later from Florence-Venice).

Should be available for some IC trains. If your trip involves an r or d train then you won't get option of selecting Amica. If it requires changing trains such as Florence/Pisa and that portion is IC and the Pisa/Monterosso is R, then price/buy your tickets separately to get Amica on the Florence/Pisa train.

To find Amica fares, pull up a schedule at

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

and click "Buy" (shopping cart) for the train of you choice.

In the next window you "Choose a rate" from a scrolling menu. "Amica" is on the list.

If you can't get Amica, you probably want "Standard."

Greatpumkin: "But please by all means keep the argument going as it makes for some good reading."

That's what I'm here for GP. First of all Michael, thanks for the info.

My story: In 2005, after getting a few questions answered on Fodor's, I twice bought four tickets on the Trenitalia website (from Florence to Venice and also from Venice to Rome). I did not find it a difficult process. Just so IKemerson doesn't feel that I think I am superior, I also put the wrong gas in my rental car on the same trip.

My question (and I am not being a wiseguy), has the Trenitalia website become more difficult to use since I bought my tickets in 2005?

((H))

Kybourbon - duh! Why didn't I think of buy the IC and R sections separately? Great idea.

thank you ellenem - I am going back in.

BTW - I just saw on the Trenitalia site that they are NOT accepting any Amex charges right now.

I just attempted purchasing tickets at Trenitalia's website to no avail. I called my bank first to let them know of my purchase plans. It didn't work and the site made me sign up for "Verified by Visa" as I've seen before on this thread. I called my bank again and they said they'd try something different but the note was in the system and holds to purchase abroad were taken off. I tried again, still no tickets. I think my bank may offer a Virtual Credit Card and if so that will be the third try I suppose...

lindatork - It's not the distance for Amica fares, it's the type of train. You should be able to get them on AV, ES, ICPlus, and IC (not on R, IR, D), but they can sell out and have to be purchased at least 24 hours in advance.

>>> maitaitom on Mar 17, 09 at 01:57 PM
My question (and I am not being a wiseguy), has the Trenitalia website become more difficult to use since I bought my tickets in 2005?<<<

Beginner's luck.

"Beginner's luck."

From the looks of the many anti-Trenitalia posts, you just could be right.

((H))

Linda,
There is no reason to buy a ticket for an R train ahead of time--they are not reserved seats. You just get on ANY R train headed for your destination and find a seat, so having tickets ahead of time is of no benefit. It's like buying a ticket for the local bus.

Me? In almost two dozen trips to Italy, I've always traveled by train and never had a ticket in hand before I arrived in Italy. It is easy to do once there and causes no agony on this end.

Tom--I think credit card issues and different systems working with the Italian system is what causes most of the problems. I just don't bother with it, aside from using the site to check and print schedules.

Finally got it to work via PayPal Plug In, which gives a single use credit card #. This Plug-In works on either PC or Mac; I believe the PC version you have to download but the Mac version you use straight off your web browser.

I believe this is the correct link:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/we...c-plugin-intro

Just saved myself $15 on train tickets since I could get the Amica fare in advance!
Hope this helps others!!!

I've been trying for a week to buy tickets through Trenitalia, and while the site is very handy for finding a train and making an order, the contractor they use to process credit card transactions is having problems.

I started by reading The Man in Seat 61 site, a wealth of information. I want to buy through Trenitalia as they offer substantial discounts (which are often difficult to decipher on their web site), but suffice to say that they booked me, using the Smart fare and second class, from Naples to Lugano in May for 84 euro, far less than I have seen anywhere else. As I said, the Trenitalia site happily set me up for the purchase (registering with the site was easy), but my multiple attempts to pay have all failed.

I have a Visa and a Mastercard, each with the online protection feature enabled, and my cards have had no problems with other recent overseas charges. On my first attempts, the system seemed to think my cards did not have the protection feature enabled, and routed me to a site run by my bank to get the feature enabled; the bank site bounced the request (apparently because my cards were already enabled. After a few attempts (I always assume that I might have made a typo), I was refused further access. I called the bank and they suggested I reregister the cards, which I did. Meanwhile, the Trenitalia site gave me a time out for too many attempts. This morning, my time out had apparently been rescinded, so I tried again. This time the credit card processor properly asked for my password (apparently having concluded that my cards were registered) and appeared to process the transaction, but then reported the charge had been refused (which my bank insists is not so, and is not consistent with recent charges I have made for hotel reservations, etc.), so I have to conclude that the processor used by Trenitalia is not up to the job. I'm now going to try the virtual credit card mentioned above.

I agree with posters who say it is pretty easy to buy tickets at the station, but if you know in advance that you will be taking a relatively long trip, the discounts available for an advance purchase are not insubstantial, and you lose them by buying from other than Trenitalia, or by buying at the station at the last minute. Fortunately, we will be staying in Rome for a week before going to Naples, so I should be able to buy a Smart 2 discounted ticket at the station when we arrive in Rome.

ClevelandBrown,
Any luck with the virtual credit card?

I went to my bank, and the Visa and Mastercard web sites, and apparently the virtual credit card has not caught on, at least where I do my banking. I think paypal offers it, but I closed my paypal account a few years ago when they couldn't, or wouldn't, provide information on the costs of an international transaction, and I reached the conclusion that they were inept or incompetent. I had been looking at using them to make payments on apartments (we often stay in a town a week or two and like to use an apartment), which is a constant problem, but few apartment owners will use them, so I'm still forced to get a huge wad of local currency at ATMs on arrival, and pay cash.

I tried the link above for Pantheon travel, but it didn't work (perhaps server problems), but the Trenitalia site still has a list of agencies and I'll see if I can link through there. If nothing else, I'll buy at the station when we first arrive in Italy, and I think that will still be less than buying from one of the US agencies.

Since our train will originate in Italy and end in Switzerland, I tried the Swiss rail site and that worked flawlessly, but their delivery options were to pick up the ticket at any station in Switzerland (!) or pay to have it mailed to me, and my frugality gene kicked in at that point.

Trenitalia site rejected all 3 of my CCs, just before the USD did its nose-dive again. Looks like it will cost me a lot more by the time I can go and buy the tickets in person.

clevelandbrown,

Have you considered opening an account with www.xe.com/fx? I use mine to send gift money to relatives in the UK and to pay deposits at B&Bs that don't take credit cards. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer, and a bank draft in the currency of my choice is sent by US mail directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. For security reasons it takes a little time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that.

To avoid having to get large amounts of cash from ATMs to pay the rent after you get to Italy, you could have a draft for the balance made payable to the owner but mailed to you at home. Take it with you and hand it over.

I'm glad to finally hear from someone that xe.com works, as it seems a good solution. I opened an account, which as you know involves some work, but since I have had it I have had a run of rental agents that insist on cash, rather than a check delivered well in advance. Myself, I would always take the earliest payment if I were renting out.

Well I just tried and it didn't take my credit card, the same account and credit card I used back in 2007.

They want me to fax in documents like tax numbers and so forth.

Ridiculous.