I am trying to book trains for 10 days in Italy- 4 train trips total. We are booking point by point tickets I am thinking about using Rail Europe, as so far the prices dont seem too marked up. I want to know if this is legit and has been successfully used by others before I book these train tickets!
Also- trying to book trains from Florence-Pisa-Levanto (all in same day) for short stop in Pisa that afternoon. Found good times on rail europe, but not sure if its legit.
Thanks for your help!
While I cannot comment either way on the site you mention I do thing people are too hung up in general on having tickets for trains made in advance. I like to keep my options open by buying them at the stations so I can linger a bit or pick up the pace depending on how a particular day goes. The ticket machines at any of the major stations are very easy to use.
Raileurope is legitimate, however, they do not show all the possible train options like the regional trains and I think they mark up quite a bit. Best just to wait and buy your tickets when you get to Italy.
Wait until you get to Italy to buy your tickets don't jump the gun! It's very easy!
Just wait until you're in Italy and get the tickets then.
It is legitimate and I have used it many times. It also comes with a lot of extras if you are in a place to use them. Lately, I only use point-to-point tickets or rent a car. You need to do some comparative shopping before you make your decision.
Buon viaggio,
RB
When I checked their website for our trip to Italy last summer and compared their fares to trenitalia's
I found them to be considerably higher--especially if you are purchasing for 4 people. Also the schedules they show are very limited. As many previous posters have stated--it is very easy to get your tickets once in Italy.
It's "legitimate" if you're asking if it's run by an official organization/company, etc
If your asking if it's legitimate re price: well... heh, topic for another discussion.
Remember most trains in Italy are daily commuters for many folks. Unless your specifically looking for a night train/dinner train/ around a holiday, etc - like others have said, buy then when you get there.
As far as I know the SBB don't have a part of RailEurope, it's an arm of the French state railway SNCF.
I find the Trenitalia website hard to use when planning train times and generally use the DB (German) one which is very easy to use and has excellent English.
The Swiss www.sbb.ch is excellent too, and will create a personal timetable for you.
If using the Italian high (?!) speed trains like Eurostar Italia you definitely need seat reservations and a surcharge. They fill up quickly too. Local trains, no problem.
You might ask them about their policy/procedure for changes and cancellations. I seem to remember it wasn't easy but I'm not sure. We always get our tickets once we get to Italy. I print out trenitalia's schedule and bring it with us to make it easier.
