Planning first trip to Italy, starting to work on learning the train system. I've read enough on this forum and other online resources to recognize that reservations are advised on fast trains, but not necessary (and, perhaps, limiting??) on regional/intercity (was reading seat61.com this evening). However, test searches on Trenitalia from, say, Venice to Riomaggiore results in reservations for the entire trip. Makes perfect sense. But....?? I think I'm overthinking this. If I book in advance for fast trains and, by default, reserve the entire route...no harm, no foul? Anything I should be aware of? Thanks!!
Posted by
Green Bay
20991 posts
Where does seat61 say seat reservations are not required on Italian IC trains? I think you must have misread something. They are. You could get by with just 1 reservation by taking a Freccia train to Florence, then traveling to Riomaggore by unreserved regional trains. I am assuming you are talking about using a rail pass. When you buy point-to-point tickets, any required seat reservations are included in the price.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1260 posts
Hi lacey. Terminology can be confusing. When you say 'reservations', i think you really mean 'buying tickets in advance'? The reason to buy in advance is to lock in a discount fare. Do this if you are willing to lock in an exact date and time, and the savings makes it worthwhile. If you don't want to lock in your exact date and time, you always have the option to wait and buy in Italy, if so you will pay the 'base' fare. For regional trains, there are no advance discounts and impossible for train to sell out, so no reason to buy in advance. However, if your trip includes both faster and regional trains, such as Venice to Riomaggiore, fine to (1) buy the whole thing in advance, or (2) just buy the faster portions in advance, and buy the regional portions when in Italy, or (3) wait and buy the whole thing in Italy, and pay the 'base' fare.
p.s. when most people use the term 'reservations', they are referring to a seat reservation, which is optional in some countries, but not in Italy. In Italy, regional trains have no reserved seats, and for all faster trains, all seats are reserved, and a seat reservation is always included when you buy your ticket.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17253 posts
Are you using a rail pass, or buying tickets? If tickets, seat reservations are included in the price where applicable.
Between Venice and Riomaggiore, you are on amix of regional trains and fast z( Frecce or Intercity) trains no matter which way you go. In that case, reservations are included for the fast trains, but not for the regional trains.
Just be aware that if you buy a Super Economy ticket, the fare is non-refundable and the route cannot be changed.
Posted by
OP
Olympia WA
7 posts
Thanks for the clarifications! Tickets and reservations are not one-in-the-same! That helped immensely! We’ll likely not do a pass as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of cost-savings there for us—we’ll only be traveling 3 days by train—and point-to-Point tickets land in the ballpark.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
A rail pass can’t even begin to give you value when compared to buying your pt-to-pt tickets super early for super discounted fares.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32331 posts
LaNae,
Seat reservations on the express trains (Trenitalia Freccia and Intercity) are compulsory and are provided with the tickets whether you purchase online or on-the-spot. There are three different fare levels (Super Economy, Economy and Base) and the most heavily discounted S.E. are non-changeable and non-refundable once purchased. The seat reservations are specific to train, date and departure time and if you board any train other than the one listed on the ticket, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! AFAIK, reservations are also compulsory on the Italo trains.
The standard Eurail pass is not generally a good value in Italy as tickets are relatively cheap. These passes do not include the reservation fees, so those have to be paid separately out-of-pocket.
No reservations are possible with Regionale trains, whether purchased online or on-the-spot. You simply board the train and try to find a seat. If no seats available, you stand until there's a seat vacant. With locally purchased Regionale tickets, you MUST validate these (time & date stamp) prior to boarding the train on the day of travel or again, hefty fines collected on the spot! You may find this short video helpful - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvRkB7E-sY .
Note that tickets for Bus and Metro must also be validated before use or again (you guessed it), hefty fines.