Well, Tom, since kybourbon and I are the only ones who know anything about Italian trains, and since you insulted both of us, you'll have to get your information from people who don't know the answers. However, you seem to enjoy getting incorrect information.

kybourban/bvlenci, please help. I just turned 60 and I see that CartaFreccia Senior offers quite a discount on train tickets. Is this something I can avail myself of or is it for residents? Also, can you just show ID and get the lower fare? I guess that would be difficult using the machines though. How does it work and what do you recommend? Thank you both.

You need to have a Carta Freccia card to get the senior discount, and only Italian residents can get that card. The senior discount (at least for now) is 50% on high-speed Freccia trains and InterCity trains, but that's supposed to be a temporary promotion.

Senior discounts can sell out on a specific train, although they don't sell out as quickly as some other discounts. This is why, when you're looking at a train in the near future, the senior discount usually looks like the best price.There are other discounts (Super-economy for instance) that are even better than the senior discount, and that don't require any sort of card. However, these are more likely to sell out, so you should try to get them as soon as possible after the tickets go on sale (120 days before travel).

<b>All </b> discounted tickets have restrictions on refunds and changes. These are identical for Senior and Super-economy, and basically mean no changes or refunds. I wouldn't buy these tickets unless you were pretty sure of your travel times. Some other discounts are less restrictive.

Economy tickets usually cost only slightly more than the Senior discount and allow a change of date or time, if you pay the difference between the cost of the discounted ticket and a full price ticket. If you know your itinerary but have any doubts about the amount of time you'll spend at each city, the Economy discount may be your best option. This also can sell out, not as quickly as Super-economy, but faster than the Senior discount, so buy early if you want the discount.

What other candidates do you have in mind, Dukey?

I know an awful lot about Italian trains, being a long-time train traveler in Italy, where I live. I'm also perfectly fluent in Italian, so can help with the information that hasn't been translated into English on the train websites.

I don't know where Kybourbon has picked up all the knowledge of Italian trains, but I recognize a pro when I see one. I can't think of anyone else on these forums who even comes close. Both KYBourbon and I are generous with our help. You can see on the post right above yours that I devoted a great deal of time answering a question for someone. I went beyond the actual question, hoping to provide useful advice.

I do have a very human tendency to stop helping people when it gets to the point that they start yelling at me.

If you look at the linked thread that KYBourbon posted above, and whose link I'll repeat here, you'll see that both of us spent an enormous amount of time trying to help someone who never thanked us, disparaged our knowledge, and who admitted in the end that we were right, but never apologized for the unjust criticisms.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ets-online.cfm

bvlenci! I knew you'd come through for me! Trying to navigate the trenitalia site and other blogs gets frustrating, so thank you! I am leaving in three weeks' time and the only ticket I have purchased in advance is my train trip from Firenze to Ancona (via Bologna). Everything else I thought I would just buy the day before or when returning from other day trips (Venezia to Verona, Padova, Vicenza for instance). It sounds like the savings isn't really that substantial. Never mind, I will continue to bask in the "non-senior" realm while I can LOL. Ciao!

If you can buy two days before, you'll still have a chance at a few discounts. There are no discounted tickets sold on the day before travel. However, for the return from day trips, you might want to remain flexible, in case something makes you want to spend more time at the destination.

Regional trains have no discounts, though, so there's no advantage to buying the tickets in advance, except for saving time on the day of travel. When you buy a regional ticket, it's sold for a specific day of travel, but not for a specific train, so you can use it on any train that day. Do remember that you have to stamp the regional tickets before boarding the train. This establishes the time of travel and prevent reuse of the ticket. Unstamped regional tickets are not valid for travel at all, and you pay the hefty fine for traveling with no ticket.

>>> Everything else I thought I would just buy the day before or when returning from other day trips (Venezia to Verona, Padova, Vicenza for instance).<<<

Are these all day trips from Venice (round trip)? Trenitalia offers some same day r/t deals depending on cities (some discounts you have to look at the Italian version of their website to see).Some of these you could save money on buying discounted tickets in advance, but you need to have somewhat concrete plans.

Don't forget Italo (not Italiarail) also serves Venice/Padova so check them for a last minute discount, but Trenitalia has cheap regional tickets for about 4€ on this route (Trenitalia also has some fast trains). Since Italo doesn't have as many trains as Trenitalia, you could consider getting an Italo ticket in advance for the trip to Padova (9€)and leave the return ticket purchase until you are in Padova (assuming you are returning to Venice that night). The difference would be quality of trains, but it's a short trip. That way you aren't tied in to a set return time as long as you look at schedules for the last return train (regional trains don't sell out). You don't want to get stuck somewhere for the night.

>>>I am leaving in three weeks' time and the only ticket I have purchased in advance is my train trip from Firenze to Ancona (via Bologna). <<<

Are you staying in Ancona or heading somewhere from there (I've only changed trains there, never visited)? If you are changing from a Freccia fast train in Bologna to a regional train to Ancona, be aware the Bologna station is quite large and on many levels. Your fast train from Florence will arrive underground (down several levels - 3 I think) below street level. Your regional train will depart from street level. Multiple long escalators and long hallway treks in the station. Murphy's law - my train will always be at the furthest track!