buying train tickets through Italia Rail on line

I just ordered two different tickets on Italiarail.com and they were FABULOUS to work with. I wanted them for a June trip and they fed ex'd them in 2 days (last week). I also called because I had a question and their customer service was fabulous! I highly recommend them!

I ordered tickets online from Trenitaila without any problem. You may have to try a couple of times but it does work. They will send tickets Fed-Ex to your home within 2 days.

Greg

I used RailEurope.com, because, like Trenitalia, they allow purchase 90 days in advance. ItaliaRail only allowed 60 day advance purchase, and I just needed to get it done.

Otherwise, I think that they're similar services. You might want to do some price comparisons. And, DiscoverItaly.com is another, similar, service.

The reason not to book in advance is that it ties down your itinerary. What if you decide later when your on your trip that you want to leave 1st thing in the morning, or conversely want to linger one last afternoon and take a late train? What if you decide to leave a day or two early? For some trains such as nite trains that tend to sell out buying in advance is smart. But for your average trip between a major route such as Rome/Venice that has dozens of trains each day, the odds of not being able to buy tickets is essentially zero.

Understood, and I agree that, when possible, spontaneity is great. In our case, we have an all day train ride, from Venice to Basel, Switzerland. The 5 of us are booked on the only train that suits our schedule that day, and we must get to Basel on that specific day. So, for us, it was a necessity.

Thanks for all of your input but we are experienced travelers and value spontaneity as well as a good plan for key elements. We are joining a bike trip in Venice to Florence so our timing is important. My question is if it is ok to use other on line booking agents for train tickets since trenitalia doesn't seem to work for me. We love Italy and go slow to the extreme. Anyone else have experience with Italia Rail?

Amy - Sorry for getting a bit off track. As I mentioned, RailEurope worked well for us.

Leslie, Your comments were right on target, thanks for the specific help!!

If you're going to be in Rome a few days before going to Venice, you should be able to get tickets for the train of your choice if you buy them as soon as you arrive. You may even be able to get Amica fares (20% discount). If those allotted seats are still available, you can get Amica fares up until midnight of the day before departure.

Tim, what exactly is an Amica fare? I've been looking on line and it appears Sta travel has the cheapest price on rail tickets.

Joey...the Amica fare is an advance-purchase ticket available up to midnight the night before departure that gives you 20% off the regular rate. They are limited, so the longer you wait, the higher the chance these tickets will be gone.

Thanks Norm! There seems to be mixed opinions about purchasing your train tickets in advance. I'm traveling in June: Milan to Venice to Florence to Rome... suggestions???

Sorry if this is off-topic but we need train tickets from Milan to Rome on July 26 - then catch the bus to Sorrento (trying to avoid Naples). I, too, wasn't able to buy on-line from trenitalia. My question is, why not just buy the tickets when we get to Milan?

Paula

Just returned from 16 Days- Milan to Lucca, car to San G and Perugia, trains the rest of the way including Venice with stops at Padua and Verona... had no problem booking, going second class, finding luggage space even with the Eurostar. Granted this was May and it will be tougher in the summer months...from Malpensa landing at 6:30a.m. we were in Centrale Station by Malpensa Shuttle (Bus 6 Euros per)in time to book 9a.m. but it would have been rushed. Bon voyage. George, Pittsburgh