Trenitalia Tickets

I forgot to mention that we are 2 adults ages 29 and 36.

And i think the AMICA fare is only a 10 Euro discount at most. I would think the extra 10 or so is worth the flexibility of being able to just walk into the station and get a ticket for a train that leaves in 10 minutes...

I too am stressing about train travel as to whether to buy tickets before we go. What do others think. We will be travelling from Venice to Milan and then to Vareena. Then back from Milan to the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre to Florence. Florence to Naples/Sorrento. Should I buy tickets now or a train pass and just get them at the time. Thanks

Carol,
I made the original post. Your plans are very similar to mine (our first trip to Europe), we'll be there in April. After reading tons of guides, I am just going to buy tickets as we go instead of purchasing them online. For example, when I get to Venice I will buy my tickets for Milan when I get off the train for the day I will be leaving. I think this is possible. I have read about others doing something similar. Maybe someone reading this can let us know if that action is possible.

RP,
Carta Blu is similar to a handicapped placard.

As for the other rates, I believe most (if not all) require some kind of discount card. My wife and I spent 3 weeks in October traveling throughout Italy using the trains and just paid the standard fare every time.

Traveling by train gave me the most worries before we got there -- then we saw how easy the ticket machines in the stations were and how simple the whole system was.

I never quite figured out if any of the discounts applied to us, so maybe we spent a little more than we should have, but overall it was very headache-free.

Marco,
I am glad to know that it is pretty easy to handle.
Thanks for the help:)

RP

I second the statement about how easy the ticket machines are. I was totally intimidated by the process until we had to use one. No problem at all.

When I looked into it, I found the ONLY discount available to non-EU residents is the AMICA fare which is simply an advance purchase fare with some restrictions on making changes.

Carol, in Italy point to point tickets are no more expensive than the railpass. Its really easy to buy them, too, with the automated machines. I can understand how people are worried because they have a fear of being stuck in place A when they need to get to B, and in America with the exception of a few popular routes on the East Coast people don't take trains. However in Europe, and in Italy, trains are a very popular and convenient mode of transport. Go to the trenitalia site and look at the schedule for some of the connections you need and you'll see how many trains there are and how often they run. You won't be stranded in the station.

To answer R Perry, you can buy tix ahead of time thru the automated machines. Don't wait in the lines for the window, use the machine. However Venice isn't that big a place so the station isn't far out of your way; my advice is come back later so you can get your tix without your bags strewn around you.

Amica fares are 20 per cent off (nothing to sneeze at, with the $$ where it is these days), and are available up until 24 hours before departure (if they're not sold out)....you can't be much more flexible than that. It also gives you peace of mind that there'll be a seat for you on those trains where reservations are required or recommended.

Hi there, for the regional trains, the first option in the list is always the standard fare (in your particular case the regional tariff that applies is called Tariffa 39/AS).

Ciao!