Booking train tickets before we go or not?

The trenitalia site has gotten much better at taking credit cards from North America. There is no reason to wait to buy tickets unless you want to. If you buy ahead of time you can qualify for the mini fares if they are available. Just be sure of your travel dates and times since they are basically worthless if you miss your train. If you wish to buy tickets at the station you can. There is usually no issue with trains being full so getting a seat shouldn't be a problem. I would buy the tickets ahead of time just to get it out of the way. Donna

Just got here in Rome and tried to use a kiosk and got it all entered and it would not take a credit card. Then my wife tried it and she also got an error. Ended up getting in line and purchasing tickets. I know it is too late, but sounds like one option would have been getting a eurail pass or the italia pass. Have a great time

Donna - thank you for the input. If I'm understanding correctly - we would have to lock in our exact departure time in order to purchase the tickets in advance? If we want more flexibility in our schedule, sounds like purchasing once we are there is the way to go. Thoughts?

If you are leaving in a few days it is likely that the mini fares are gone, wiping out an advantage of buying in advance on the web. Plus, you would have to figure out your exact train time for each leg of the journey and would be locked into that. Plus you would have to decide in advance which route you want from Monteross to Venice-along the coast (a bit slower but more scenic) or through Florence. We traveled extensively in Italy last June and had no trouble at all with seats on the trains we wanted. I would buy a day or two ahead, either from the station agent (fun to talk to) or from the machine (no trouble using our credit card in the machine.) That way you can decide, at each destiination, what time you want to depart for the next. That worked well for us. For example, I generally chose to depart at mid-morning, after breakfast and around check-out time. This meant we were usually on a train over lunch, and our daughters quickly tired of sandwiches for the train. So I scheduled our departure from Florence for later, at mid-afternoon, so we could climb the Duomo in the morning when it is least crowded, wander a bit, and have a nice lunch at a cafe before catching the train. Our hotel was happy to keep our luggage for us until 2:00 pm and then called a taxi to take us to the station. You can check the schedule options in advance from your hotel on Trenitalia, and then go to buy tickets with specific trains in mind. (This is easier to do from the agent than from a machine if you are buying days ahead.)

Booking ahead of time saves you the trouble of purchasing tickets while on vacation, and can even save you a ton of money (i.e. mini fares). I also liked the fact that our seats were assigned and our tickets didn't need to be validated at the station. We just hop on board, find our seats and relax. That said, if there's any doubt about making the departure time (such as, a train that leaves shortly after you're set to fly into Italy) then you may want to get them at the station. As the previous poster said, if you miss your train, it's way harder to reschedule using an online pre-purchased ticket. We purchased all our tickets for our last trip online and had zero problems. We used our american credit card and it worked just fine. We also took several regional trains (which you can't book online anyway) and had no problems with those either. The train system in Italy is surprisingly easy to navigate and very user friendly. One other tip: be sure to check the "board" (the TV monitors or electronic display of the trains scheduled to arrive/depart) when you get to the station. If your train's track has changed - and it probably will - the board is the only thing that will have that information. Don't rely on the paper schedule that's posted.

I just buy them as I go along. if I miss a train, one is usually right behind. So far in all my travels in EU, it's worked for me. The only problem I've ever had is that I can't get the seats facing the right way. Instead of seeing the scenery in front of me, I usually see after we've gone by it (facing backwards).

Allyson, If you're unsure of your travel dates or don't want to be locked into a specific time then you should just buy tickets when you get to Rome. I always think of buying train tickets like buying airline tickets. I choose the date and times I want to travel and then buy the tickets at a discounted price. I plan my trip around my travel dates. This is just the way I like to do things but you should do what is comfortable for you. Donna

Well, I bought mini tickets online (first time) for Milan to Venice for the 21st of October for a good saving and convenience so I thought. But wouldn't you know it, there is a planned strike that day. Not good at all. I am hoping that the strike is canceled! Besides, I think some of your train travels are by regionale trains which you can't buy online anyway.

The last time I was in Italy I arrived in Venice. I went to the train station and purchased all my tickets for the trip: Venice to Florence, Florence to Rome, r/t Rome to Salerno. I used a ticket kiosk/vending machine and my ATM card. I had no problems and had all my tickets for the two weeks trip.

This subject has gotten many posts, but here goes again: if you know your itinerary but some of your tickets can't be bought online, or if you are traveling too soon to qualify for online minifares, go to the customer care office at your first major train station and buy all your tickets there. You won't have to wait in line for very long and the people behind you trying to catch a train in ten minutes won't have to wait. A private travel agency will do this for you, too, and the markup is not very much.

Good question. We leave in 1 month and I have been debating about buying tickets ahead of time to get a good deal. On the other hand we would then be stuck on that schedule. Our days are set but we thought we might want to be flexible in the time of day we travel. It is our first time in Italy

Thank you to all the posters here - I don't know what I'd do without all the travel planning help I've received over the last few months on this board! Great advice!

Keep in mind that some train ticket kiosks operate only on cash or debit cards, not credit. I remember seeing some like that in Padua, but I think they're only for Regionale trains. We never had a problem using our credit card to buy tickets in Italy this past May.

we are in Rome and I wanted to buy tickets for the next 2 legs of our trip. My daughter tried repeatedly on the website and it was down. luckily, we are staying not too far from termini station, so we hoofed it over there. I stood in the very long and hot line for train agents, while my daughter tried again at kiosks. we have 4 credit or debit cards between us, and she tried 2 different machines. didn't work. joined me in line. we bought tickets from agent and he agreed both website and self-service kiosks were currently not functioning. We wasted 2 hours in Rome...wish I had started earlier attempting to book online while still at home. Just a thought...in case you are pretty sure about your plans, may pay to book while still at home. by the way Roma Pass was not available anywhere (sold out) but I think they will have a new supply very soon. Enjoy your trip! Finally, if you are history buff, you may wish to buy specific book or research online for Palatine, assuming you are visiting that and Forum and Colliseum. RS book has little about the Palatine, and there are lots of ruins there. Whole area fascinating. go early in cool of the morning. we had to buy tickets since no Roma Pass available. at 8:35, line at Colliseum went fast.

You never know if you'll have a problem with your travel plans, and if you've already bought train tickets now you have a headache about refunds/rebooking. Read the appendix in Rick Steves books about buying tickets, and also refer to related web sites. The kiosks are easy to use, available in multiple languages, and usually much quicker than waiting in line. (Go to trenitalia or other rail site before you go to print out possible connections to help plan if you desire). I've found that the kiosks do use credit cards although sometimes they can be finicky about reading the strip--I've found they tend to work better if you put it in and quickly out much as you do at a gas pump in the states.