Italy Train Tickets/ Passes

[designer]

I'm trying to book train tickets for a couple days of travel in Italy.
Rick Steves recommends buying the tickets at the train station or a travel agency in Italy once we arrive. He says you can get a better fare this way.

OR

I could book them ahead of time on RailEurope.com It looks like it would probably cost me $100 more/per person to do it this way, but we would have reserved seats.

I would obviously like to save money, but I'm just worried about waiting to book until we get to Italy. What if we can't get the train at the time we need and we already have hotel reservations??? Or is that not going to be an issue getting a train - I don't know if they ever sell out or not?

We are traveling in May and going to Florence, Rome and Naples.
If anyone has any advice or experience with this - it would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!

[Rosebud]

When I was in Italy in 2003, we booked our train tickets at the station and never had a problem. We went from Rome to Naples, Naples to Sorrento and then back to Rome via the train. We never had any problem getting seats. This may be because there are so many trains going between the popular destinations (at least 1 per hour) or because the trains are so large-- but nothing was ever sold out when we turned up, even when we arrived just 20 minutes before departure.

I can't say that this is always the case (I'm betting tlew can give you a better idea), but if I was going back to Italy I'd probably plan to do the same thing--- just buy at the train station.

[Hello Kitty]

We were in IT in 2004 and bought a ticket from Rome to Milan, IIRC the day of travel, and we didn't have any issues. My parents went to Italy last summer, and we told them to buy their tickets at the train station. So when they arrived in Rome, they made a stop to get their tickets for Sorrento for the day they knew they would leave.

It's so easy to do it at the train station. They have DIY kiosks, or ticketing agents, but if you happen to stand there with a blank look on your face, it's quite likely someone will take pity on you and show you the ropes. :o

[tlew12778]

No one has problems until August comes around. The one and only time I had a problem was when I tried to book a train from Milan to Barcelona for August in JUNE :eek:.

You can reserve online through trenitalia.com. You print out your ticket when you get to the station. But I really would not worry about it. The train from Florence-Rome-Naples (all the same line) is once an hour all day long.

[laura]

We went in May 2005 and we bought tickets at the station day-of w/ no problems.

[Annette]

We booked our train tickets day of as well. No problems here. There were lots of empty seats on most of the trains. I was shocked at how often the trains run.

[j*east]

We went to Italy middle to end of July last year. We bought train tickets ahead of time for the dates we knew about for sure, like the days we traveled from Rome to Florence, Florence to Cinqueterre, etc.

We left a few days open at the end of the trip and had no problem buying tickets the same day. The one tip I would give, though, is to buy them a day or two ahead--like when you arrive in a city, buy the tickets for your next destination before leaving the train station. That way you know when you're coming back, and if you're in a rush, you don't have to stop to buy tickets. In Milan, we nearly missed a train because it was so crowded that we had to wait forever to buy tickets (there was some problem with our tickets--we had to wait to talk to a person, not use the ticket machines).

Also, some tiny stations (Varenna, on Lake Como, is one) close early and open right before the first morning train--or sometimes even later. In that case, we could have bought tickets on the train itself, but they'd be 5 euros more each, or something like that.

So anyway...yes, it is absolutely possible to buy tickets the same day, and the ticket machines are easy, but it's good to allow a little extra time.

[designer]

Thanks so much for all the advice - keep it coming!

I think we'll wait and buy the tickets in Italy.
We will be in Rome first, so I think we'll just buy all the tickets the first day we get there which will be a couple days before we will need the first ticket. Can we buy tickets in Rome for the Naples - Florence train?? Or can you only buy those in Naples?

Also- Does anyone know if there is a ticket counter/station in the Rome airport, or is it just in the train station?

Thanks again for all your help - I like to plan ahead and be prepared! :)

[j*east]

Can we buy tickets in Rome for the Naples - Florence train?? Or can you only buy those in Naples?

Also- Does anyone know if there is a ticket counter/station in the Rome airport, or is it just in the train station?

Thanks again for all your help - I like to plan ahead and be prepared! :)

I'm a planner, too, so I understand. :)

You can definitely buy tickets in any train station for any other station. The automated ticket machines are very easy.

There is *probably* a ticket machine in the airport, but I went through there in such a jet-lagged haze, I'm not sure. But there must be, because I took a train from the airport into Rome (which is much cheaper than a taxi, by the way).

Sorry I'm not more clear about the Rome airport--my DH was already there and took care of everything until I got un-jetlagged.

[tlew12778]

I doubt there is a ticket machine at the airport. At Fiumicino there is like one or two ticket machines just for the train to downtown Rome. The airports are not managed by the Ferrovia dello Stato so there is on reason why there should be a ticket machine there. Also, the train btwn Rome and Fiumicino is also not run by Ferrovia dello Stato, but by the regional train company (think commuter train), so they wouldn't sell train tickets there.

[justHB]

We were in Rome in November and bought our tickets to Florence the afternoon we wanted to leave. We got there, bought our tickets, and left within the hour. The same can be said for going FROM Florence back to Rome. No problems at all either way.

[designer]

Thanks again - you guys have helped reassure me! I'm just going to purchase tickets when we get there and save a bunch of money!! :)

One more question:

The train from Florence-Rome-Naples (all the same line) is once an hour all day long.

Is this every day of the week? Or is it different on the weekends?
TIA!

[tlew12778]

Er, I'm not sure. But you can check for your specific travel dates on the www.trenitalia.com website.