We are wanting to book some train tickets ahead of time, for example from Varenna to Venice adn stop in Verona along the way. Does anyone know if we are able to get off and hop back on a later train. From what I've read these advance purchase tickets are not flexible, so I'd hate to loose the last leg of our ticket if we get off.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Tickets for high speed trains (for example Milan to Venice) are specific to one train, you decide when you buy what train you want. On the ticket it says date, time, train ID, and your seat numbers. So if you want to get off somewhere, you need two tickets, Varenna to Verona and a second one on a different train Verona to Venice.
You get a big discount for buying weeks in advance, from the Trenitalia website ( http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en ). If you want to decide on the day you can buy tickets at the station, but that will cost more
For lots of info about Italian trains, see here: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
To add further to Chris's reply:
Tickets for high speed trains in Italy are not hop on, hop off. They are for a specific origin and destination. You can get off earlier than the ticketed destination, but then you can't use that ticket again on any other train.
This is true whether you buy in advance or just before travel. It is true whether you buy online or at a station. And it is true whether your ticket is full price (Base fare) or discounted (Economy or SuperEconomy fare).
However, regional trains work differently. For these, you can break a journey, but it must be finished within 4 hours. However, these tickets don't go up in price, so there's no need to plan in advance. You can just buy them as needed, for the segments you need. If you're buying them in advance in person, you need to specify the date you will be using them, but then can take the actual train anytime on that date. Just don't forget to validate the tickets before you get on the train! And regional train tickets bought online come pre-validated with a limited time window (not just a date), so they are actually less flexible than the ones bought at a station.
From Varenna to Milan, there are only regional trains. From Milan to Verona and Verona to Venice, you can take either a high speed (Freccia - "arrow") train or a regional train.
To look up all train options and prices, use the Italian rail (Trenitalia website): http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en. Note that even on this English version, you still have to use the Italian station names.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you both! That's very helpful!