Advance train tickets necessary?

Train tickets will be available, just more costly for some routes. If you are taking a train at a certain time and on a route that has mini fares, go ahead and purchase it. Some of the fares are as low as 9 euros! I paid that price for Stresa to Milan, Milan to Verona, and Verona to Venice. Venice to Florence I was able to get for 19 euros. The savings were significant. As for museums, the ones that require a reservation like Accademia, Uffizi, and the Borghese gallery are the only ones that you must get in advance, unless you know you MUST see someplace at a time that is very busy. If you want to go to the Vatican museum in the morning it's probably wise to get a skip-the-lines type of ticket to avoid waiting in lines that can be hours long. If you go in the afternoon, it apparently isn't a problem to get right in most days.

I say go with flexibility! That's what we did two years ago on a trip with 6 days in Rome and 4 days in Puglia. Beyond lodging, we didn't make reservations. Yes, that means we didn't see the Borghese Gallery, but we did see plenty of art in churches and in St. Peters, and some not so well known museums like Centrale Montemartini. We bought the train tickets from Rome to Puglia in Rome several days before we left, from a machine at the station. It was easy, and though it may have cost us a bit more, the flexibility was worth it. Don't be nervous. You'll have a great time!

It is unlikely train tickets will be unavailable, just much more expensive (like twice, 3 times the most discounted price). If you can put up with the extra expense, then go for it. Lodging can be more trick, though, because the best quality-price-ratio options do fill up first and last minute search can be a bit stressful if you want the best deals.

First, you don't list where you will be traveling in Italy. For many train runs, they will take place on Regionale trains. These are the cheapest and slowest trains. Like buses, they make every stop. No seat reservations permitted. Also, you can only buy them in advance within one week of travel unless that run is combined with a high-speed run. These trains do not sell out. Again, like buses, you get on and if there are no seats, you can stand. Trains do not run full or crowded either. Exceptions are the Cinque Terre in the summer months and the Circumvesuviana train between Naples and Sorrento. Nobody gets thrown off the train. Traveling by the "seat of your pants" in Italy is just fine. Just buy your tickets for the next part of your journey when you arrive at your destination. 2-3 days in advance is just fine. This method will be your most expensive way to travel by train in Italy as you will miss the early mini-fares on the high-speed trains. Some major train runs costing 45E-70E are often on sale for 9E if you shop early and are willing to be locked into a specific train departing on a specific date and at a specific time. We can give you better information if you let us know where you will be traveling in Italy.

Thanks guys! - Here is our schedule: fly into Milan - see sights/late train to Verona(booked) Verona to Venice - by train Venice to Florence - train Florence to Naples= train Naples to-Sorrento - bus or boat Sorrento to Rome - boat to Naples,train to Rome Fly out of Rome I booked tickets a few months ago on Trenitalia before( for husband) and I saw a different page - where there was a drop down box for fare type - now the page only lists one fare - am I missing something? Would anyone care to list the specific steps for booking tickets?
Thanks!!

From Verona to Venice, you can easily take the Regionale train for 7.40E. It's a 2hr ride. No reservations permitted. Or, beginning at 7:59, you can take the high-speed for 21.50E. You'll need reservations for the high-speed. It's a 1hr 5min ride. From Venice to Florence and Florence to Naples, it's all high-speed train. If you book early, you can get the mini-fares as low as 9E for some of these runs. If the 9E fares sell out, the mini-fares rise to 19E, 29E, 39E, etc. Note that with mini-fares, you lock yourself into a specific train on a specific date and departure time. If you can plan well, these will work. From Naples to Sorrento, you have two choices - The Circumvesuviana train (www.vesuviana.it) or the ferry. The ferry is very nice but you have to get to the ferry dock from the train station. There is a bus. As for your single-fare question, you don't indicate the date or train run where you encountered it. It's not uncommon.

Yvonda, Perhaps I'm not as "fully prepared" as others, as I very rarely ever pre-purchase tickets for Italy, as it's so easy to buy them there. For rail travel, I often buy tickets for outgoing journeys when I arrive in a particular city, which is usually several days before I'll be travelling. I prefer to use the automated Kiosks, as there's usually a LONG queue at the ticket windows. Last time I visited the Uffizi and Accademia, I asked the Hotel owner when I checked in if he could arrange reservations. One phone call and two minutes later, I had bookings for both Museums the next day. "Mini" tickets have to be purchased prior to midnight at least 48-hours before departure. These often sell out quickly so I buy them if available, but if they're sold out I pay the next highest price. I've found that "flexibility" is often the "key". If all the Mini fares for a specific departure are sold out, there may be cheaper fares still available for another departure later in the day.

Yvonda, I think many of the fully prepared travelers have gotten mini fares. Personally, I like to go seat of the pants. Never had a problem with availability of trains (even in June, July, August) and was always able to get fast-train first-class reservations when I wanted them. The reason I tend not to buy tickets in advance is that there is often a specific train for the reservation. Should I decide to linger a couple of hours, or fit in one more thing on my day of departure, I might not have even a few hours' flexibility.

We were in Italy last fall. We rode the train everywhere we went and had no pre-purchased tickets. It's so easy to do. Look for the kiosks and change the language to English. It will ask where you want to go and list all the different trains, when they leave and the cost. Faster trains cost more, regional trains that make lots of stops cost less. Enjoy!

NO !! Absolutely not. Obviously "fully prepared" means different things to different people and different travel styles. We go fully prepared and then so. We have read the tour books, watched the DVDs, done the research, know what we want to do and what to see, but do not make a single train, hotel, museum reservation other than the first couple of nights and the last night. In between we are fully prepared to take advantage of anything that comes our way that we did not plan or anticipated. And we have had a number of those situation over the years that has made the difference between a good trip and terrific trip. Some of it has result in the unique European experience that everyone wants but is difficult to plan for when every minute is rigidly accounted for in your plan. It is a style that works very well for us but would drive you control freaks nuts.