I've been reading through some posts here & I feel a little bit better knowing it's not just me having so much trouble with this site. After spending quite some time between figuring out my itinerary, type of train, and getting my cc approved for usage in Europe I attempted to purchase my tickets tonight. Entered all the information necessary in each screen & silly me, thought I finally got it. Till the last screen that is.
I am giving up after 3 attempts & 3 phone calls to AX. The website claims my credit card purchase was blocked by the bank. AX sees absolutely no transactions even trying to come through.
At this point I don't know what to do. I'm only looking to get r/t Rome to Naples tickets. Maybe I'm just going to have to wait till I get there. What a hassle.
Anyone know if there's a toll free no. for Trenitalia. ha ha

Hi G,

Simple solution. Buy your tickets after arriving in Rome. I've never understood why someone needs to buy their ticket before arriving for a simple trip like Rome to Naples.

For Rome-Naples, there are so many trains that i, too, would wait til reaching Italy.

You are trying to purchase a ticket for a date before June 19, yes?

I wanted to be able to purchase my tickets before our trip because we are very short on time & I need certain train times, one being early in the morning around "rush hour" in Rome.

Trying to book for June 4.

Hi G,

If it is really, really important that you have your tickets in advance, they are available at www.raileurope.com - for a premium price.

Also try BETS
http://budgeteuropetravel.com/

This was discussed here a few months ago and I recommended a travel agency I had used in Rome for train tickets:

Pantheon Travel

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35111882

Thanks to ekscrunchy we used Pantheon travel. I called them and gave them my CC information and they booked our tickets with only a €5 service fee. Ask for the Amica fare to save money. Pantheon has an e-mail address which you can ask for when you call. They'll e-mail you the tickets, which include the train code. You don't need to stand in any line in Italy, just get on the correct train and when they do the ticket checks, give them the paper ticket you received as email. It works perfectly.

Have a wonderful trip.

<<I am giving up after 3 attempts & 3 phone calls to AX. The website claims my credit card purchase was blocked by the bank. AX sees absolutely no transactions even trying to come through. >>

this is EXACTLY what happened to me today, but with VISA.

I also wanted to purchase tickets ahead of time, because i want a certain time and hope to get the amica fare. Plus we need the train tickets the morning after we arrive in Rome.

I will try those other sites.

also, does anyone have an email or phone # for Pantheon travel??

thanks!
dina

Hello Gipsy,

TrenItalia blocked me when I tried to book before Christmas. The reason - our credit card company suspected a fraudulent attempt and failed to contact me in time. By that stage I had tried three times, not realising that TrenItalia's site had since blacklisted me.

The solution - phone your credit card company before making an unusual transaction (give them the website name and amount proposed). If you have a second credit card, you might try this - however, Trenitalia's site is extremely flaky and made refuse you anyway! We used RailEurope but being an agency, the price was about 50% more expensive than buying at the station. We needed to book since we were travelling the Sunday before Christmas, but if you're not booking at a peak time, then you're probably Ok to buy at the station.

For more advice see the section on trains in my website:

http://www.hidden-italy.com/trains/train01.html

have a great time,

Peter

Sorry you are having such a time but it sounds familiar - experienced the same a year ago and I was not alone then either. I would agree that if Rome Naples is your only connection you could wait. I had many connections during our month in Europe and needed overnights etc and a very kind poster referred me to BETS who were absolutely awesome in their help. They asked where and when I wanted to go and they made all of the reservations, suggested the best times to travel, indicated the routes I did not need to pre book and generally took care of me. I was a blessing - I know Europe well but lacked experience with extensive train travel. they will also tell you if you do not ned to worry and I found them once I was there to be 100 percent accurate in their information.

Pantheon travel agency in Rome:

To call from the U.S. dial 011 39 066785851

Via Caterina di Siena, 45

Question - What about if you want to go from another city in Europe to Italy - in my case from Zurich to Milan? On the Trenitalia website you can only pick up tickets in Italy or have them delivered to you, but only if you live in Italy. So how do you get these tickets if neither applies?

The RailEurope way costs more for the same train.

I just booked some tickets from Arth-Goldau - Milan return with the Cisalpino. Very tricky. To get the best price, we had to break up the trip between Arth-Goldau to Lugano and Lugano to Milan. We saved SFr. 40 round trip. We are on the same train the whole way but now have much better prices.

Who did you book with?

schuler - Cheaper than the 19€ smart fare each way on the Cisalpino?

Kybourbon: Ah, the smart fare. Doesn't work for groups. Does the smart fare include the reservation fee? Where did you find the smart fare? I find a fare on the SBB website but the amount of seats are limited.

We are paying SFr. 120.-- round trip (Arth-Goldau - Verona). I couldn't find a cheaper rate for our group. We are travelling on a holiday weekend.

I booked it through the SBB Reiseburo.