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Taking trains in Italy with a Railpass...

Posted by (Seattle, USA) on

I will be heading to Italy in the next few days (I'm currently in the middle of my two month backpacking trip) and have heard that travel between Italian cities on the trains can be very confusing. I am using a Global Youth Railpass (already validated) and I heard all train tickets must be validated (again I assume, or the conductor gets angry), but do I still have to do this on my Global Pass? No other conductor has ever stamped or punched it on other trains I have taken...

Also, is it true that getting trains to different cities within Italy is more difficult? I haven't had a hard time in the other 7 countries I've visited but have heard it can be... I just want to be well-prepared.

Thanks! :)

Posted by
8700 posts

In Italy point-to-point tickets must be validated in the yellow box at the station.

Since you validated your railpass on the first day you used it, you won't have to validate it again. However, if you take any trains for which seat reservations are required (like EuroStar Italia trains), you will have to buy that reservation for each leg on those trains. No reservations are possible on Regionale trains. You can jump on and off those at will.

I don't know why someone would say train travel in Italy is difficult. Trains run frequently. If you miss one train, you usually won't have to wait very long for the next one.

Posted by
32213 posts

Danielle,

I haven't found train travel in Italy any more or less difficult than other countries. The only issue might be the "language barrier", as you'll have to know the word for track (Binario), seat (Posto), etc.

You'll also have to know the Italian names for cities/towns and something about the different stations in each one. For example, in Venice you'll want to go to Venezia Santa Lucia rather than Mestre; in Milan it will be Milano Centrale; in Florence you'll want Firenze S.M.N. and in Rome it will be Roma Termini.

I'd like to strongly emphasize the point that Tim made regarding reservations. If you're going to be travelling on any "fast" trains in Italy such as the EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita, reservations will be required. DON'T be caught without a valid reservation to present with your Rail Pass!!! You won't have to worry about the Conductor getting "angry" - you'll be fined on the spot!!! The Conductor will probably smile apologetically while he's filling out the forms on his portable computer.

Buon Viaggio!

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