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www.trenitalia.com

don't feel bad i can't even get it to open

because it's www.trenitalia.it saluti christina

Trenitalia's web site is a brilliant marketing ploy to prepare you for the entire experience of the Italian train system.

What do you mean? Please specify!

Sometimes it works & on other occassions, the server is taking a siesta. ALL of the following URL's will get you to Italian train site: - www.trenitalia.com - www.trenitalia.it - www.fs-on-line.com Santa Chiara, SI! I'm passionate about traveling in Italy, although one definitely has to "go with the flow".

Hey, ZZ-Top, that's the ONLY way you can travel in Italy.

That's exactly what we did when we were there...u can choose to stick to ur itinerary or hop on a train and go some place else...the train service is highly efficient and always on time...don't bother booking thru the net, go to the station on a whim and get tickets from the vending machine or the ticket counters...and if you want to save on hotel accomodations, plan ur trip so that u can spend at least one night on the train...the overnite train service is great...forget the website..

Darn, Karma, we must be living in parallel universes. Yes, sometimes the Italian train system works without reservations. In my experience, the majority of time it does not work without reservations. I have had to stand for hours, sometimes on the step between ars. I have sat on baggage when there was room to do so. Even with a reservation, I have had my "reserved" seat usurped (good luck trying to find a conductor on a packed IC or EC). For the most part I find the ticket agents indifferent at best, surly at worst. My defense is the following: (1) I go through a travel agent (as someone mentioned on another thread) and get reservations whenever possible. (2) If I go to the station, I try to get in the line of a female ticket agent. They are invariably kinder and more patient. (3) I have my itinerary printed out, coming and going, with my choices highlighted. I go to one town in particular that shares a common name with about two dozen other towns in Italy. I make sure they understand what province I am going to. (4) I try to go by EuroStar whenever possible, in which reserved seats are now mandatory. Yes, for the most part, the trains run on time, if there isn't strike of one union or another, and if it's not a major holiday. Now this punctual train does not always depart from the track that has been previously announced. If you don't understand Italian, or if you do understand Italian but can't hear because of the garbled PA system, then watch the Italians. If everyone turns and runs toward another track, follow them. For me, traveling by train in Italy is the second most stressful undertaking I go through, the first being trying to second guess the officials at the questura on what they will ask for the next time I try to renew my work permit.

One of my best memories is getting on a train from Bologna to Florence sitting on my suitcase in the corridor gazing out the window at the beautiful landscape & then realizing there are pull down seats in the wall after observing the locals. Mind you this was after waiting over an hour for the train to arrive because of some strike & not understanding the announcements coming out of the speakers. This was my first train ride in Italy. After a while, I learned to buy my tickets at night, after dinner on my way back to my hotel or just upon arrival in one town, buying them while already at the station.

Barbara, you've got the right attitude, it's just that sometimes that charm wears a little thin. Another good time to buy your tickets at the station is during the Sarcred Lunch Hours (12:30 to 2:30 p.m. or thereabouts).

Santa Chiara or Christina. I have a question either or both of you may be able to answer. I plan to travel by train from Naples to Rome on May 11, when there is supposed to be a special price on IC trains. I have the itinerary printed, up from the trenitalia sight and highlited. The question is, do you know how to ask if there is a special price still in effect that day and how to ask for it?. I plan to get the tickets in Rome two weeks in advance. Thank you.

Cristina, want to help out on this? I am far from a native speaker. I would ask for "il prezzo speciale" but I don't know if this is idiomatically correct. Alternatively, there are brochures at the train station advertising for this special price. Your instincts are right, I believe you have to ask for this price rather than automatically receiving it. Also it is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so those who buy early get first class seats.

Thank you. We leave tomorrow. I had asked a couple of times on another post if anyone had returned from Italy recently and taken advantage of the special and if it worked. But I didn't get a reply. I think there is supposed to be one more in June, at least. So when I return I can let someone else know if it works, hopefully.

ciao sherry hope i'm not too late, i didn't visited fodor's yesterday. i would ask the following question (santa chiara, i'm not nativ italian, but i can communicate *giggle*) "C'è un prezzo speciale per questo Treno e se si, quanto costa?" (is there a special price for the train i choosed and if yes, how much is it?) (for this exactly train, and maybe mark it). or "C'è un prezzo speciale in offerta che lei mi puo fare per il treno che ho scelto?" (is there still special price you could give me for the train i choosed?). something more or less like that. happy travel! christina