Buy train tickets now or wait? Hotel deposits are made...

Tickets purchased on trenitalia will be printed on your computer. All trains in Italy except Regionale train require seat reservation. The high speed trains and IC will offer discount tickets if purchased far enough in advance but those tickets come with restrictions. If you know your plans then you might save money purchasing on line. IF you miss a train by your fault then the ticket is dead and you must purchase a new one.

Only the Regionale trains, have no seat reseration, allow you to get on and off or get on the next train if you miss one. With a Regionale ticket you must complete your travel within five hours from the time your ticket is validated in little blue/yellow box

Your last question, if it is a regionale ticket from Monterosso to Florence through Pisa, you can get off at Pisa as long as you stay within the five limit. Do not purchase Regionale ticket on line. Purchase in station as needed.

On trenitalia used your Rome hotel address. Address is unimportant and just a quark of the system.

If you purchase tickets online from Rome to La Spezia, you have a good shot at getting 4 seats together and at paying an discounted rate (which is valid on that train only, not on other trains if you miss it). There's no benefit to booking online for the later regional train connections, so plan to buy those in any train station and to activate them in the date-stamp box before boarding the train.

But the best time to buy those Regionale tickets will be when you are in Rome, either before your train departs to the CT, or even better, when you arrive in Rome so there is no time pressure and you can take your time and get it right.

You can even validate your Regionale tickets in Rome just before departure because if you use the fast Freccia train it gets to La Spezia in around 3:50 so the 5 hour limit won't be breached if you connect promptly.

On the other hand if you would like to be slower and hang around La Spezia so you don't have to rush for the connection you can have a cup of coffee and then validate and catch the next train.

Minor comment: Increasingly the validation machines are not found on the platform, but in the tunnels underneath the tracks. That threw me for a loop when we were in Italy last year. You don't need to validate tickets that are for a specific date and time, as the purpose of validation is to ensure that a ticket doesn't get used twice.

Last year, I took the same train you're considering from Rome to La Spezia and then on to Monterosso. I purchased the regional ticket together with the Freccia ticket. The regional ticket is pre-validated as of the scheduled departure time but is good for 4 hours, so you can take a later regional train if the Freccia is late or your scheduled regional train is cancelled (which is what happened to me). Many prefer to purchase their regional tickets locally, but buying the tickets together is an option (use the Tutti i Treni tab). If you’re uncertain about making the 11:57 train, you can always buy the €29 Economy ticket which allows one change (you would pay the difference between €29 and best available fare – probably the €54 Base fare). While not as good a deal as the €19 Super Economy ticket, the Economy ticket is still almost half off the Base fare, making it another good option to consider.

At Frank in Wilmington, thanks for advice.

We're now looking at the 9:57AM departure, but I think I'll buy the Economy (one change) tickets just in case.
(But probably not the Regionale)

Do you have any advice on choosing our seats so we would be on the left (sea) side for the best views.
Remember, we are four traveling together, but we could sit 2 and 2 if the view were better.

Again, thanks!

I don’t recall whether the seat maps indicate expected direction of travel. If they do, pick a group of 4 seats facing each other on the left side. If not, you might want to pick seats across the aisle from each other so that you’re guaranteed two sea-side seats. Be sure to select the option that allows you to pick seats rather than allowing the system to automatically assign them. Also keep in mind that the train doesn’t hug the coastline the whole way, so great sea views will be sporadic.

You're probably looking at the same schedule that I show here. http://gyazo.com/a8444632337347a56baa4f7ac5caf553 You can buy all of the tickets online if the fares are shown. You will receive 2-3 tickets in an email with 60 seconds or so after you complete the purchase. All tickets will be pre-validated including the Regionale train from La Spezia to Monterosso. This is an online purchase feature.

For your tickets to Pisa and then to Florence, most of the trains will be Regionales. All trains from Pisa to Florence will be Regionales. Some trains from Monterosso can be faster trains requiring seat reservations. The best advice is to buy these tickets while in Italy in advance of travel. You will need to validate the Regionale tickets before boarding. Also, do not buy a ticket from Monterosso to Florence and expect a hop off / hop on at Pisa. Purchase all tickets separately. With Regionale tickets, they are good for 60 days when purchased in Italy. No specific train. You can board any Regionale train making the run shown on the ticket for up to 60 days (validated of course).

Note that there is a staffed left luggage facility at the Pisa Centrale train station. We've use it a few years ago. Extremely convenient.

Thanks for all the good advice!
I booked this 4 hour ride on an Intercity train.
The seat selector seemed to show (to me at least),
A side aisle with 6 seat "compartment or area" with 3 seats facing 3 seats.
For our group of four, I picked the window and middle seats.

I only bought the Rome to La Spezia portion.
We may be ready for a snack at La Spezia while we buy the continuing Regionale ticket.
Is that a possibility, or maybe a better idea to pack a snack along when we book in Rome?

Can we buy snacks on the 4 hour train ride?
Are they quite expensive, like airline snacks? May be worth it if you're hungry?

Thanks, all!

The 9:57 Intercity train doesn’t have a “dining” car (only the Freccia trains on that route do). You can either buy snacks at Termini and take them along or stop for a snack in La Spezia. My recollection is that there’s a bar café offering basic snacks and drinks in the La Spezia Centrale station. Several places in Termini sell snacks. For example, the Conad store on the lower level (near Via Marsala exit) offers take-away sandwiches, other snacks and drinks at grocery store prices.

Edit: Both the Conad and Despar grocery stores in Temini are currently closed. Most places sell identical sandwiches, but those at the Moka shop just past the TI office along track 24 (not the one at the head of the track) sells sandwiches that are a cut above the others for similar prices.

Thanks Frank.
We'll be looking for sandwiches, snacks, and drinks for our 4 hour train ride to La Spezie.
Moka sounds like it.

Some times the train will have a snack cart that someone is pushing down the aisle. Not unlike the service cart on an airplane only a little bigger. All packaged snacks and beverages. On a four hour train ride they may come by once or twice.