sarge56

I'm talking about how easy the system is to use now, for we Americans!

And the discount prices??- Wahoo!!!

I just ordered 2 2nd-class tickets on the Freccia train from Venice to Florence, and 2 2nd-class tickets on the Freccia train from Florence to Rome. Grand total in US Dollars? $102.54. AND I was able to pay with my PayPal account!

That's less than the cost of one "full fare" ticket on a Freccia train from Venice to Florence!!!

By the way, these are both for the end of May. I figured even if we decided on a different train, I wouldn't lose much!

And it was SO easy to choose my seats, also! (I hate to ride backwards, so like the choice to pick my seats!)

LOVE IT! Thank you Italy and Trenitalia!!!!!!!!!!!

sarge56

Isn't it funny how fast these new threads find there way to the bottom of the pile? Geez, you'd be gone 3 days and missed 39 trip reports, 2 Fodorites getting kicked off the site, and 3 divorces. hahahah

kybourbon

Don't forget the new Italo trains, but they only book 90 days in advance.

I don't think picking seats always guarantees which direction you end up facing since trains pull in and back out of some stations and through others, dropping and adding cars sometimes.

rialtogrl

I agree - its become very easy to use the trenitalia website. And all you need is the PNR code to show the conductor.

Now.. if Spain can get their act together.. por favor!

suec1

so how far in advance can we purchase the tickets?

Cjar

Wow. What a steal. Are your tickets non refundable. We'll be doing the same in October. I don't think we can purchase yet. Did you use the ticketless option? I looked using different dates ,but wasn't sure the I was looking at ticketless.

kybourbon

>>>so how far in advance can we purchase the tickets?<<<

120 days on Trenitalia for the faster trains (AV,ES,IC). You don't want to buy the slow R train tickets online (more restrictions, no discounts). 90 days on Italo Rail.

>>>We'll be doing the same in October. I don't think we can purchase yet.<<<

Summer schedules aren't loaded yet (they start June 9 through first week of Dec.). They may be loaded as late as first week of June or in random bits over the next few months.

>>>Are your tickets non refundable<<<

Base fare rules:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/h...ecce.html#BASE

Economy fare rules:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/h...e.html#ECONOMY

Super economy fare rules (you'll have to scroll down to it):
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/h...UPER%20ECONOMY

GAC

Bear in mind that, for the moment, it's possible to book tickets for both Trenitalia and ITALO TRENO only through and including June 8.

AFTER NEW schedules are posted online (probably in stages), it should be possible to book tickets for Trenitalia up to FOUR MONTHS out. It is important to book tickets for the RESERVED trains in advance in order to get a low discounted fare (such as the Trenitalia ECONOMY and SUPER ECONOMY fares).

Nobody knows exactly WHEN the new schedules will be posted, other than they definitely WILL be posted prior to June 8!!

sarge56

These were Super Economy fares. They are non-refundable. But, again, prices so low, it makes it negligible.

Yes, Cjar- ticketless.

And since I have been on these trains before, I'm 99% sure I've picked the correct seats based on how the train is situated when it leaves those stations. Hope I'm right! haha

kybourbon

You can pick your seats for the AV trains and some of the IC trains. They system defaults to selecting the seat for you so you have to be sure to uncheck the "automatic assignment" box and check the "select seat" then click continue to get the diagram. After you select the train, these boxes appear under the list of fares to choose from.

AUTOMATIC ASSIGNMENT
Select seat
SEAT NEARBY

You would only use the "seat nearby" selection to select a seat near someone that already has a ticket on that train.