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Avoiding Train Hassles

Last year my husband and I traveled all over Italy by train during the last week of July, and first week of August. Even though we had seat reservations we had a heck of a time getting to our seats. The cars did not seem to be marked and in any kind of order, so each time we started on the wrong car and had to make our way to the right one, and to our seats. The trains were so packed that we had to squeeze through the aisle with our suitcases over our heads, and it was so hot. It took 15-30 minutes just to find our seats, then when we finally did(sweating and breathing hard from exertion) someone was already in them and did not take to well to us kicking them out.

I realize that August is the absolute worst month for the trains, but we are going to do something similar this year during the last week of June and first week of July. Any suggestions to make finding our seats a little easier would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
1449 posts

In what is by now many weeks of travel by train in Italy we never had the experiences you did. The cars are marked with a big 1 or 2 for 1st or 2nd class, and they have the car number either in the door or the window right next to it. Simply walk down the train until you find your car number and then step aboard.

It is not unusual for someone to be sitting in your seats; simply smile, show them your ticket, and they will move. We never had a problem doing this.

Posted by
32353 posts

Susan,

Unfortunately, "train hassles" are sometimes a fact of life in Italy. I've had a few interesting experiences on Italian trains, including one time when I arrived at my reserved seat to find someone else sitting there. When we compared tickets, we were both assigned the same seat. Due to language issues, there was no point in getting into an argument, so I just searched for an open seat.

As the others have pointed out, the Cars are usually well marked and the reserved tickets will clearly show the car no. as well as the seat no.

Good luck!