cathies

We've used the ticket machines at the train stations in Italy very successfully. The queues to purchase at the counter can be very long. You can choose an English language option on the machine and use your credit card.

I agree with orangetravelcat - re the poster booking first class tickets. If that's what they want then J62 should mind his/her own business. We set ourselves a 'rule' that if the trip was going to be longer than 3 hours we booked 1st class for the extra bit of comfort. Less than 3 hours we booked 2nd class. That worked fine for us. Neither of us needed it for 'extra girth' and if J62 had ever travelled 1st class on Italian trains - most of the passengers are quite slim. To imply that the poster is overweight is insulting.

gatorbill

Just to clarify the misinformation about the statement <i>"There is no "flexi" pass for Italy"</i>. There is such a pass as I've personally used it.

Global Pass Info: The Eurail Global Pass is the European Rail Pass with the most extensive travel possibilities: practically unlimited travel in 21 Global Pass countries. The option to travel 10 days or 15 days of your choice within 2 months used to be known as <b>Eurail Flexi Pass</b>.

Global Pass Destinations
1. Austria 2. Belgium 3. Croatia 4. Czech Republic
5. Denmark 6. Finland 7. France 8. Germany 9. Greece
10. Hungary 11. Ireland <b>12. Italy</b>
13. Luxembourg 14. Netherlands 15. Norway
16. Portugal 17. Romania 18. Slovenia 19. Spain
20. Sweden 21. Switzerland

http://www.eurail.com/1_global_pass?currency=eur

marisylvia

We are taking the train from Milan to Venice, and after reading about the ticket situation, decided the best option was to contact Budget Europe Travel Service, 800-441-2387. I got a lot of useful information, and bought our first class tickets from them. They charged $16 for this service, plus the cost of sending the tickets, but now we know all we have to do when we get to the station is find our train and our reserved seats. I believe in limiting travel stress and uncertainty, and paying extra is worth it to me.

gatorbill

<B><i>"I believe in limiting travel stress and uncertainty, and paying extra is worth it to me."</b></i>

That's exactly how I feel, which is the reason I often purchase passes at additional expense. What gets to me is when people try to force you into doing things their way, as if that's the only way things can be done.

--gatorbill

kybourbon

gatorbill - Just to clarify, there is no flexi pass for Italy. While there may be a multi-country flexi pass, the OP's question was about Italy and Trenitalia, not other countries. The OP never mentioned traveling to another country and surely wouldn't be foolish enough to buy an expensive railpass for countries they weren't visiting.

The only stress and uncertainty that exists is imaginary. Travelers that aren't familiar with the train system in Italy and think they need to book in advance are the ones most concerned about passes or buying tickets before departure by paying a premium to get them. Most people that travel to Italy often don't book in advance and buy their tickets on arrival because it's just that simple. They know there is no stress about putting their credit card in a ticket machine and selecting the ticket. There are literally rows of touchscreen ticket machines in Termini with hundreds of people using them. Try it! You can do a walk through without actually booking. They are simple enough for a child to use.

gatorbill

kybourbon,
You really do need learn to read. My statement was <b><i>"However, I have found railpasses to be a good value when traveling thru <u>multiple countries</u>"</B></i>. You see my pass was for Italy, Switzerland, and Austria and it worked perfectly well as a Flexi-pass (as much as you hate it) in Italy, and I used it several days to go from Rome to Florence, to Lucca, to Pisa, and on to Venice before heding into Austria and Switzerland. How you jumped from that to just an Italy pass is beyond me.

I'm sorry if I offend you with my decision to not to take psychological advice from you since I'm quite certain that your are far from qualified in that field. But let me be clear that I will decide when I am stressed and when I'm not. As well as whether I should by a pass or not, and not you.

As for not <b><i>"being familiar with the train system in Italy"</b></i>. Let's just say that I've been to Italy on ten different trips and I've taken quite a few train rides from Pasteum up to Venice. Sometimes without a pass and sometimes (GASP !!!) with a pass. So I think that I know how the European rail systems work.

PS: I've used the ticket machines in the stations you mentioned many times. In fact I've designed the chips that make such machines work at a little company called Intel that you may have heard of. So perhaps the "child" should look at him or herself first

marisylvia

To clarify why I bought our actual tickets, we are flying into Milan Malpensa a little after 8 AM, if all goes well. I scheduled our train to Venice leaving at 1:30, to allow room for problems.
I recently returned from Germany, and had allowed a gap of three hours before the arrival of my plane and the departure of my nonstop to Berlin Eurostar train. Guess what--the plane was 3 hours late leaving.
I was able to reschedule once at the DeutscheBahn at the Frankfurt Airport, but it was stressful, as I was traveling alone and hauling two bags. I had to take a train with a change in Hannover, with 8 minutes to dash, with the bags, to catch the train, which I was glad was on the next platform. I had booked my tickets and printed them out on the easy to use DB system, and it worked well for me. However, reading about the trains in Italy, if you miss the train you don't get to use the fare you'd paid, unlike Germany. I'd also read about long lines at major stations.
Good luck, WendyRobin. I always say to myself, plan as much as you can, but be prepared to adjust to unforeseen circumstances. Don't let stress spoil your fun.

kybourbon

gatorbill - Your statement was: I've always been a fan of flexi-passes. The OP is specifically asking about Italy and you keep talking passes which are not a good idea for Italy, nor does an Italy Flexi pass exist. I'm sorry you are so easily stressed. If you were as familiar with the Trenitalia as you state, you would have known about Amica fares (they aren't new). I'm only trying to provide the OP with correct information which was being confused by your talking about railpasses from other countries which the OP certainly won't find beneficial.

wendyrobin - Unless you are traveling on a major holiday, You shouldn't have any problem getting 1st cl tickets for AV/ES trains as most people use 2nd cl and many Italians travel the cheaper ICPlus/IC trains as many times the travel time differences are minimal.

When you arrive FCO, you can buy at the station there before you train into Termini, but personally, I would just wait until Termini. There are literally dozens of ticket machines where you can select English and book your own tickets without standing in any lines. There is a machine trackside where the Leonardo Express arrives at Termini, but it is not touchscreen and is cash only. Pick a row that accepts credit cards (you will see it stated cash or credit). You can do a walk-thru without actually purchasing. Read about the different fares available as Trenitalia added a few new ones when they updated their website last week. If Amica doesn't pop-up as a choice you might be able to select the new Premium -15 (15% discount if purchased 7 days in advance) for you Venice/Rome leg. Here's a link for the various discounts within Italy.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/h...e_en.html#20_1

gatorbill

kybourbon,
Don't stop attending those reading lessons! Your latest reference to my statement <i><b>"I've always been a fan of flexi-passes"</i></b> was to thank you (what was I ever thinking off ?) on Apr-4 at 4:35PM. If you would have bothered to have read my post <u>prior to that</u> (i.e. the one you claimed to have read and actually responded to) on Apr-4 at 11:38AM I stated that <i><b>"I have found railpasses to be a good value when traveling thru<u> multiple countries</u>"</b></i>. A sentence that you seem to have misread twice already and this will probably make it the third time.

Then you state that since the OP is talking about Italy we should not be allowed to discuss multi-country passes that you happen to have purchased and used in Italy because that would just confuse the OP. Sorry, but I did not realize that you were the moderator of the Fodor's Travel Board. But the next time I post I will be sure to run it by you first to make sure that it meets your criteria and conforms to your rules and regulations.

Now to top it all off, you state that if you have never heard of Amica fares then you hereby declare that thou are not familiar enough with Trenitalia, and hence couldn't possibly have travelled in Italy by train before. Can you point me to the tablet where you have written this commandment ? I must have missed this during your coronation as the Queen of Trenitalia.

BTW: I'm not stressed, just amused at persons whose delusions of grandeur makes them think that they are the "light and the way".

PS: Please continue attending your reading classes, the need apparently is still there !!!

denfodors

Just a bit about the online purchase of tickets via the Trenitalia website.

I tried 3 different credit cards. The first two came back transaction denied. The third was sucessfull. 30 minutes later my card issuer calls me to confirm that it was a legitimate transaction. A day later I found that one of the denied cards wouldn't work. The bank had stopped the card fearing fraud. I had to call them to unblock the card and then tell them that I was travelling to Italy between certain dates and would be doing further online purchases.

If your card offers the Verified by Visa or similar for Mastercard, make sure you register before. Also pre register on the Trenitalia website and book and save!!!

kybourbon

Congrats denfodors! Did you notify any of your credit cards before attempting to purchase?

FUBella

I did all of the above- and the credit card company told me the payment was not ever reaching them- it was not them who denied it. SO frustrating. I emailed the contact sent to me, asking for more information, and hope to have it resolved soon! Any further advice appreciated...

kybourbon

On a thread about calling Trenitalia's helpline this past week, the person was told they weren't processing any US cards.

scrb

It's not our cards, it's the Italian bank which is processing the transactions.

Even Italian citizens who get cards issued in the UK for instance can't use those cards.

In 2007, I was able to buy tickets for Venice-Verona but in 2009, I couldn't buy tickets using the same credit card.

KidsToLondon

So, why the F does Trenitalia keep its website up, *pretending* that overseas users can purchase tickets on it?

Sorry about the rant: like others, I just spent an hour plus screwing around with the darn site, trying to actually PURCHASE TICKETS!!!

scrb

Wonder if they have a feedback link.

We should complain about their transaction provider, the Intesa San Paolo or whatever it is that won't take foreign credit cards.

Funny thing is, it worked for me a couple of years ago and that's how I came to have a login on their site.

And then send me newsletters by email periodically.

crisdiogo

Hi guys, I am in the same situation. Could not buy tickets (from Venice to Vienna in a month time), but received an email from Trenitalia saying that for security reasons, I should confirm my trenitalia ID and send a copy of my identity, what i did. So far (almost 3 days later) I haven't heard from them. Anyone knows anything about that?

sacc

Actually, Trenitalia will accept foreign credit cards.

I've booked twice using Visa from two different Canadian banks. (The most recent, last week.)

In both instances, I've had to go through the "verified by Visa" process in the middle of the Trenitalia transaction, but had no trouble at all.

scrb

What is that, verified by Visa process?

Did that come up on the Trenitalia site or some other site?

supertraveler

Hi i tried booking on Trenitalia also and it was successful... But there was one problem. I was only allowed to use that card once. The second time i tried to use it, they blocked the transaction so i used another card and the same thing happened i was able to book one trip and the second time the transaction didnt go through.