HI! I'm new to the speed trains in Italy...if we are traveling Mid-May on Fridays, do we have to book it in advance or can we wing it, like in the old days? I realize the fees are higher last minute but what I'm worried about is, Will there still be seats? We can be flexible with times, but need to get to the arrival point since we have hotels booked. Or, perhaps, we could always buy a partial speed train portion (say Rome to Bologna) and then an EC to Verona...I definitely want the speed but my guy wants some freedom! : ) Also, any tricks to knowing which side to sit on would be most helpful. Thanks much!!!
Posted by
Firenze
500 posts
Friday and Sunday afternoons may be busy with people moving for the weekend; of course some itineraries are busier than other ones. Personally I would buy tickets (that include seat reservations) a little in advance; if you do not want to go to the station twice or buy online, almost all travel agencies around sell trenitalia tickets.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
Linda,
It would help to have some idea which rail trips you'll be taking?
To answer your question, Yes you can "wing it" and buy tickets shortly before travel. The main disadvantage of that is that you'll be paying Base Fare which is the highest price tier. If you purchase well in advance, you can obtain discounted Super Economy or Economy tickets at substantial savings. However, a couple of points to mention
- the cheapest Super Economy tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable once booked.
- the Freccia and other fast trains require compulsory reservations, which are specific to train, date and departure time and you can only travel on the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you board a different train even by mistake, you'll face hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
- if you'll be using Regionale trains at any point, these don't require reservations but you MUST validate the tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again hefty fines!
- you'll need to know the names in Italian of the stations you'll be using when you buy tickets, since most cities have more than one station.
One other thing to mention is that on some of the routes you'll be travelling, you may also be able to use the newer Italo Treno high speed service. In some cases these use different stations than Trenitalia but something to consider.
Will there still be seats - if you're buying tickets on the fly, if one train is sold out there will be another along in an hour or so. On the Freccia trains, you'll have reserved seats whether you buy tickets on the day of travel or buy in advance, so you'll still be travelling regardless of how busy it is.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15156 posts
All seats sold out never happens, but it is possible to have trains where the cheaper second (or standard class on a Frecciarossa) is sold out, especially earlier in the morning.
If you are in Florence and show up in the morning at the station in the peak of tourist season with the intention of wanting to go to Venice, chances are that the tickets on standard (2nd) class for the very next train might be sold out. At which point you have two choices:
1- buy tickets on a higher class of seats (like first class) which nearly ever sell out or
2- buy second class ticket for a later train an hour or two later, which probably will not be sold out yet.
A safer strategy, if you want to get on that early train, is to buy tickets a day or two before, either at the station or at any travel agency.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
In my experience, most but not not every travel agency sells train tickets, but those that do usually have a Trenitalia or Italo logo posted on the door.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
"All seats sold out never happens..." Yes, I followed this advice, too. And on my 1 day that I needed to travel from Sorrento to Naples to Rome the Naples -> Rome trains were 99.9% sold out. The only available seats were on the very first train which meant we had to catch the very first train out of Sorrento which was in the 5 AM hour. NOT FUN! We had an amazing hotel with an inclusive champagne breakfast - but not at 5AM. Don't wait until the last minute. Just buy your ticket and be done with it!
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles, CA, USA
88 posts
Thanks you guys...I may go with Tim's advice since they are both on Fridays. CAN THE BASE FARE GO HIGHER THAN POSTED TODAY IF IT'S FOR MAY? I waited too long to get economy tix except for one leg. My big legs are Rome-Verona and Verona-Milano. (I'm definitely going to wing it for arrival from airport: Milano-Roma...maybe trying Italo.) I guess I was especially worried about the leg to Verona bc I don't want to be on a longer trip if I don't need to be. I've taken the Venice-Milan trip many times, so I'm ok taking an EC/IC instead, if need be. I just have never taken the newer fast trains and was curious about last minute availability.
Is there any way to know, when selecting seats for the Frecce, which way the train is going online? I didn't see anything...
Thanks again everybody! I love Rick Steves' site....
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11315 posts
Linda,
Base fares will not go higher, and those tickets can be changed before the departure. I always buy in advance, Milano to Roma there are many trains, hourly in fact and probably more. Just get to Stazione Centrale and see about the next train.