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Express train tickets--buy now or wait to buy in Italy?

We want to take an express train, the AV, 1st class from Rome to Pompeii for a day trip. Should we buy our tickets on-line today or should we wait until we are in Rome in early April?

Posted by
23642 posts

There is no problem with waiting. Plenty of tickets will be available. You only option to buy now is through RailEurope and that will be very expensive because of their markup and fees applied.

Posted by
891 posts

Just wanted to clarify as it is my experience that there is no direct train from Rome to Pompeii. Did you mean that you would take the high speed train to Naples and then switch to the local commuter train called Circumvesuviana. And I would agree that a 1st class ticket is not necessary unless that's how you roll.

Another note of clarification, you cannot buy train tickets ahead of time using American credit cards as the Italian train website, Trenitalia, does not accept them. It is economically wasteful to purchase it ahead of time through a third-party broker, such as RailEurope. Wait until you get there and then buy it as soon as you can.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you all for your responses. We'll buy the tickets for all of our train trips when we arrive in Rome. Great feedback!!!