Hello,
My parents and I are going to Italy in September, and I am wanting some advice on buying train tickets. We plan to travel by train between cities. Is it best to simply buy departure tickets when we arrive at a city? Or would it be better to buy them online before the trip? Or is there another option that would be best?
In case this information is helpful, we'll be arriving in Milan, traveling to Riomaggiore to Rome to Florence to Venice and back to Milan.
Thanks for your help!
You can buy train tickets on-line, installing an app, at the counter, at automatic ticket machines and at travel agencies displaying the railway companies logos. Agencies can add a small fee on top of the price displayed online, ask about it.
Trenitalia's Regionale trains tickets can be purchased also at many Tobacconist shops.
Discounted tickets for high speed and long distance trains aren't available on the departure day. You can always get tickets at the last second, trains do not sell out, but you'll pay the full on-day prices.
Full, walk-up prices are always displayed on official sites, they are called BASE on trenitalia.com/tcom-en and FLEXi on italotreno.it/en. You can't pay more than BASE and FLEX.
Discounted tickets can't be changed or refunded.
From Milan to Riomaggiore I'd take a Trenitalia direct train to Monterosso (3 hours if I'm not wrong) followed by a local to Riomaggiore. A little slower than other solutions, but only one change.
Florence, Rome, Venice and Milan are all served by high speed trains.
Think at when you should stay in Florence, just after the Cinque Terre or while going back to northern Italy. There are direct Rome-Venice trains that take less than 4 hours.
You can buy tickets at the station minutes before departing. Seats don't sell out as trains are very frequent with capacity to spare.
The advantage of buying ahead tickets on high speed trains (Freccia) is that that way you can get discounted fares (super economy or economy), those fares are generally gone several days before the travel day.
The caveat is that those discounted fares have restrictions. Once a train is booked at those fares, No refunds or changes are permitted if you change your mind or if you oversleep and miss the train.
But if you are comfortable with locking yourself with a certain departure time, there are good savings on the high speed trains from La Spezia (near Cinque Terre) to Rome, from Rome to Florence and Venice. And also from Venice to Milan. All those railways are served by high speed trains.
If you prefer total flexibility and don't care about the savings, just buy the tickets at the station when you are ready to go.
Go to www.trenitalia.com for timetables and prices. Tickets go on sale 120 hours prior to departure. Rome-Florence-Venice line is also served by the www.italotreno.it company, prices and service is similar.
Regional trains don't offer discounts therefore no reason to buy ahead. Also don't buy ahead tickets for the day you land. If your plane is late and you miss the train you book, you can't get your money back. Buy the ticket at the Milan Malpensa airport station when you are there.
