Buying Rail Tix: Book in Advance? Advice Needed Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matt, First good guide book, spend some time reading, and doing your own homework. Then return with some specific question. There is no way for anyone to respond withn the 2000 character imposed on this site. It is easy to buy tickets in Italy. They are sold in all railroad stations. You can buy all your tickets at once or at each stop. You determine if a railroad pass makes sense by comparing point to point tickets with the price of the pass. Learn how to use the Italian rail site for this information. If you purchase in advance there are some discounts, but the Italian rail site doesn't care for Am credit cards. If headed to Italy in less than a month,, it appears that your planning curve is a little short. Why last minute?

As Franky pointed out, I do not have as much time as I would like for planning. However I have purchased 3 books for this trip (2 rick steves -- Italy 2009 AND Flor & Tuscany 2009) and have purchsed other RS books for past europe trips.

If anyone has bits and pieces of advice they are willing to offer I sure would appreciate it (no 2000+ characters expected). :) I have read a great deal in my books, and used those to book hotels in 6 of my 7 destiations, and have crafted a "to do" list at my destinations. However I am uneasy with my current understanding of the rail transportation, and would greatly appreciate any advice you may have! This would help me expedite the process greatly, as I have personal items that need a great deal of attention with the time I have left before my trip.

Thanks again in advance!!!

Matt,

I'll try to answer a few of your questions.

I normally buy tickets at rail stations when I arrive in each town. I'm at the station anyway so that seems like the best time. As you'll be there in August, try to buy them at least a day or two before you'll be travelling. You can buy tickets either from an agent or from an automated machine (if provided). Don't forget to validate!

If you choose the slower regional trains, the tickets will be less expensive but of course the trip will be slower. The faster trains (ie: EuroStar Italia) require a compulsory reservation.

You might find it helpful to download the free PDF Rail Guide from this website. Click on the "Railpass" tab at the top.

I normally research each leg of my rail trips so that I can determine not only departure times, but also how many changes and the duration of the trip. You can do this either on the bahn.de website or trenitalia.it.

If you were considering a Railpass, note that these can only be purchased here. You won't be able to buy them in Italy. Note that Railpasses DO NOT include the reservation fees that are compulsory on some trains. You'd have to pay these separately.

You might consider arranging the order slightly differently: Venice-Cinque Terre-Florence-Siena (easier to travel via Bus from Florence)-Sorrento (via Circumvesuviana)-Positano-Rome.

The trip from Venice to the Cinque Terre will be a long travel day. Be sure to leave early!

Be sure to read the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door so you're up to speed on how the trains work.

If I think of anything else, I'll post another note.

Happy travels!

Thank your for your help, Ken!

On past trips I have bought rail passes, and I remember dealing with reservations, etc. Therefore making it hard to figure out if that method is actually cheaper. However in buying by the tix in bulk, I would assume this is the more economical way to purchase them?

Funny--- I actually was thinking about going to Florence first, but thought about how long of a trip it will be to Sorrento from Siena and reversed it. As the trip from CT > Siena will be a fairly short leg on my trip... And I think trains leave from Florence to go to Sorrento (as opposed from Siena), that way I will already be in Florence bright and early and not have to travel from Siena to Florence before I head South to Sorrento!

On another note, I actually took the train trip from Venice > CT back in 1999, but dont remember much about it. but after looking at the map it does look really long so we will be sure to catch the first train that am! My trip from Florence > Sorrento looks pretty long too!

Does anyone else have thoughts? Thanks again in advance!

Matt, how many days do you have to do all of this? I would probably visit Firenze & Siena first before going on to the Cinqueterre, just to break up the distance but otherwise, depending on how many days you have, it's very doable.
I would recommend an Italian railpass because of the number of trips and a couple are a pretty good distance so they will be pricey. You only need to make reservations on the high speed trains. This can be done 60 days in advance. With the railpasses you only need to pay the reservation fees on the high speed trains. I almost always use a railpass even if the price breaks even because of the conveniente of never having to stand in long lines for tickets. You just hop on the train and go. There is a train from Firenze to Siena but it's not a good route and takes too long so the bus is your best bet. And it would be a rather long train trip from Firenze to Naples (about 4 hours) and then the circumvesuviana train to Sorrento and then the bus to Positano. That's a very long day but the train part is covered by the railpass. I sell railpasses and make train reservations for clients when they are needed at no cost to you. Let me know if you need more help. I also design independent tours of Europe at a small cost. I've been to Italy now 15 times.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=492299e8e609a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

This is the trenitalia website. Use it to figure out the train schedule - how long it takes to get from place to place and how much it will cost. You do not want a pass, you do want 2nd class tickets.

Read about the Amica fares. You basically have to buy your tickets the day before you are planning on going somewhere. An easy way to do this is to buy your outbound ticket when you arrive in a city/town.

Be careful to book too far in advance because you may want to change your plans once you get there.

Enjoy the planning of your trip! Read this website like crazy and soon you will develop a general sense of how things work.

Check out the Ron in Rome website for a pictoral walk-through of the train station, bus stops, etc.

The Amica fare was discounted this past spring and has been replace with some advance purchase discounts. I don't know the deals but the Amica is gone.

You have a lot of questions. First, you can buy tickets while you are there. I prefer 1st class, but if you are on a strict budget you should consider 2nd class.

I suggest reading Frommer's guide in addition to Rick Steves. I like Rick, but his accommodations are too bargain basement for me.

How many days will you be in-contry. Keep in mind that you have several days lost to travel to and from Italy.

Buon Viaggio,

RB

Lots of good info regarding train travel. I have finally mastered the Trenitalia website to get schedule info! It was suggested that I might consider a railpass but when I do my math, it seems that individual tix from place to place would be more economical, especially with Amica fares. When purchasing individual tix, do prices include reservations or is there an additional charge for reservations just as there is with the railpass? Also, would I be able to buy at Amica fares several days in advance at my first stop for my travel to additional cities later on in the trip?
Thanks,
Terry

Terry,

For train travel solely within Italy, point-to-point tickets are almost always cheaper than a railpass.

If you buy a P2P ticket for a train that requires a reservation, the cost of the reservation is included in the price of the ticket.

The Amica fare is still listed on this page on the Trenitalia site.

I did see the Amica fare still listed on the Trenitalia site and also did my calculations and came to the conclusion that the P2P tickets were less expensive given the fact that the reservation is included in price of ticket.

Terry,

I forgot to answer your last question. If you wish, you can book tickets for all your train rides when you first arrive in Italy. That would include Amica fare tickets, when available.

Thanks to all for your assistance!

The AMICA fare is available on the IC and ICPlus trains only (I believe). They used to be available on the faster trains but no longer.

Are there any discounts available on the faster trains now that the Amica fare doesn't appear to be available on the ES trains?

Yes, there are. You can get a Promo fare (30% discount) by buying a ticket 15 days in advance and a Special fare (15% discount) bu buying a ticket 7 days in advance. See this page.