Ciao.
I've been told there are only regional trains for these destinations. I would love to have a guaranteed reservation- but it is not possible. I emailed Trenitalia and that was the answer they provided. So here I am wondering how easy/difficult this may be. We depart late October, weekday.
Is this the only option for trains?
Would a bus be an option if we are stuck?
We are on the 12 Days in Tuscany Tour. Any suggestions and comments are welcome. It is our first RSE Tour.
Only one day trips in Italy previously, via cruise ship excursions.
Florence was one of them. I have made a reservation for the Uffizi already!
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7291 posts
Hi, could you give us a list of your transportation requests, i.e. City A to City B?
Regionale train routes don’t have assigned seats; you just pick a seat when you board. The faster trains on routes, such as Venice to Florence have assigned seats, so you must board the correct car & seat for those.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Grazie, Jean.
Lucca to Florence.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11322 posts
There are many many trains each day between the two, at least hourly and during peak times, 2 to 4 trains per hour. Some require a change of trains, many are direct.
The only problem would be if there is a strike and those are known long in advance and buses are available as well.
Research train schedules at https://www.trenitalia.com/.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7291 posts
On the Trenitalia site, the Italian names are used, so it’s Firenze & Lucca on their website.
Posted by
1 posts
We were just there on the same RS trip in early September, and I found an app called Trainline that I downloaded to my smartphone. Very easy to use and all in English. You can put in the to and from cities, and the date and time you want to go, and it will give you options. (Just be sure to look carefully to set the time you want to go- at the bottom of the date calendar) Yes all the trains are regional, but we had no problem finding seats, especially if you get to the station a little early. You can also purchase the tickets right in the app, and then download the tickets to your Wallet from the app, if you have an iPhone. I assume an Android has something similar. (Helpful if you don't have an internet connection at the station for some reason) We just had to show the conductor the ticketa on the phone- no problem! Hope that helps!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you , all- SO much.
It is worrisome, not having that reservation. I’ll will definitely try the app!!!
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4862 posts
Just a comment about Trainline. This is a 3rd party booking site, and doesn't always list every available option. I believe it also charges a fee for reservations made with them.
Trenitalia is the rail company, and has its own app. You can purchase tickets on it and monitor it for itinerary or train changes, among other things. You do have to use the Italian, not the English, place names (Roma, Firenze, Venezia etc)
You might want to compare the 2 before deciding.