We are traveling to Italy the last 2 weeks in April, landing in Rome around noon, taking the train straight to Salerno for the night before taking a ferry the next day to Amalfi. Since we have no control over whether our plane will arrive late and how long it will take us to get out of FCO and over to the train station, I'm looking at the 17:53 fast train, which would get us to Salerno at 19:19.
On the Trenitalia website, it appears if we buy the "economy" tickets (regardless of class of ticket), reservation changes are allowed before departure. Therefore, if we get lucky and get to the train station early, we can change our tickets for an earlier train. My question is whether we should purchase the train tickets in advance? Can anyone help confirm my understanding that we can, indeed, change our reservations if we get in early? We like the security of having confirmed transportation and knowing the price up front.
Thanks so much!
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1932 posts
If you can't guarantee your departure time the best bet is to simply wait until you get there and pay the full fare 'base price'. To get full flexibility on a ticket you need to pay the base price anyway and refunding/changing tickets can a hassle you won't want coming off a flight and trying to get your vacation started.
Get the Trenitalia app and you can buy tickets on your way from the airport about the Leonardo Express train if you have cell service (I don't think there is WiFi on the train) or with WiFi once you arrive at Roma Termini.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17481 posts
You can, just make sure you have enough cushion because if you arrive after the train has departed there will be no changes or refunds allowed.
Be aware that if you change to an earlier train you will need to pay the full price not the discounted price of the Economy fare.
Posted by
842 posts
What about if you buy a higher class flexible fare?
Posted by
CA, USA
1410 posts
Personally if I'm taking a train after a flight I just chalk the walk-up price to the cost of travel. And anyway when you change an advance-purchase Economy fare the new price is the full-fare price for that train; if it's more you owe but no refunds if it's less. So I'd just arrive in Rome, take the Leonardo shuttle train to Roma Termini, and while on the Leonardo shuttle use the Trenitalia app to buy tickets for the next train to Salerno I could make. You picked the fastest train in under 2 hours but there are other direct trains or trains with 1 change that get you there in 3 hours or less.
Also you might want to at least research a backup plan for the ferry from Salerno to Amalfi. If the weather is windy or the seas rough, which it may be in April when you're travelling, the ferry can be cancelled. It's less stressful to know your alternatives instead of having to figure them out on the fly.
Posted by
242 posts
I echo what John posted and would add that in addition to checking Trenitalia to also look at Italo for possible faster train options to Salerno.
Posted by
Virginia
618 posts
One thing I would suggest some caution about is holidays. A few years ago we did exactly as suggested, arrived in Rome planning to buy tickets for the next convenient departure for Salerno, and we were able to get there, but there were no reserved seats available and we had to sit on our suitcases in the corridor on a totally packed train. That was because it was a very busy travel day due to an Italian holiday weekend (Dec. 8, Immaculate Conception) that we didn't know about. So now knowing when any holidays are and planning accordingly (such as a reserved train when I otherwise might wing it) is part of my planning for any country, and I see that Italy has two of them (April 25 and May 1) around the time of your trip, as well as Easter Monday, April 6 this year.