I am trying to purchase a ticket on-line on the Trenitalia website. The site requires me to register/log-in and the registration form requires an address in Italy - we are from Canada.
What am I doing wrong? Is there another website I can use?
Posted by
San Francisco
993 posts
They say to just not register (non sono registraro - or something like that....) - and then it will go through. I tried that and still couldn;t get it to work.
You can also book on the Italo website http://www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx
Much easier, but you have to pay a 3 euro fee or so... I thought it was worth it. You can supposedly get it refunded by looking on the seat61.org website - I didn't bother.
Hope it works for you! It can be very frustrating!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
It's been a bit tricky lately to buy Trenitalia tickets online. I believe that if you try the following, it will get you to the credit card or Paypal payment page.
1) Under Passengers, type in your name and surname. That's it. Nothing else.
2) Under Contract-Buyer, select Non-Registered User and fill in all five fields.
3) Select your payment method.
4) Accept the General Transportation Condition.
5) Press Continue.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent Ron In Rome website as that provides a fairly detailed tutorial on how to buy tickets using the Trenitalia website. Note that it's difficult to buy Regionale tickets online and there's no price benefit for doing so. If that's the type of tickets you need, just buy them when you arrive in Italy using one of the Kiosks.
Depending on which cities you're travelling to & from, you could also have a look at the relatively new Italo high speed trains. Their website is reportedly more "user friendly". However, it's important to note that Italo uses different stations in some cities.
Posted by
Spokane, WA, USA
121 posts
Go to ItaliaRail.com. I book all of my Italy train tickets there with no issues whatsoever. It's powered by TrenItalia.
Posted by
Tacoma, Wa, USA
34 posts
I've been a registered user of the Trenitalia website since 2011. I've always purchased tickets using the site, and when purchasing 1st and 2nd class ATV, or similar 60 day in advance, I was able to get super economy rates. For example, we're flying into Malpensa this week. I have already purchased standard class reserved seats on a Frecciarossa high speed train to Florence where we'll be staying our first week in Italy. Because I purchased them 60 days before travel (the maximum time you can make advance purchase), I was able to get super economy tickets. So instead of paying something around/over euro 120 for two, I paid euro 38 for two. I then waited until it was 60 days prior to return travel to Milan and nailed super economy tickets again. You can also buy intercity rail tickets in advance and get super economy, but they only ever have a very few of this low rate ticket available. So you have to vigilant like an Ebay bidder.
Purchasing this way in advance is called "Ticketless" option. As such, you do not have to validate anything before boarding. (See below)-
Trenitalias website takes american credit cards without any problem. The website sometimes is quirky but it's always worked out for me. You can purchase regional train tickets 7 days before travel via the website.
You might need to experiment with date/time to be sure you get the travel you want on the actual date you want. Remember, here in Wa State, it's 9 hours difference.
When we made online purchases, I was emailed my reservation all travel/train info, with bar and Q code on it. As this online purchase is a ticketless option, all you do is board, find your seat, get comfortable, and when the conductor comes around to check, show them your printout and they scan either the bar or Q code on it. I've even put pictures of these codes on my Tripit app and showed my smartphone to the conductor.
Ron in Rome is an excellent resource for using the Bigliettos- http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/buying-train-tickets-updated
Posted by
Tacoma, Wa, USA
34 posts
One more thing. I like to use Google Chrome browser but for Trenitalia, it works best when I use Safari on my Mac. I NEVER use IE and maybe that one works too. FYI.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Trenitalia tickets can be bought up to 120 days in advance. Make sure your credit card company and bank know that you are making foreign purchases.
Posted by
Sacramento, CA
55 posts
I encountered the same problem about two weeks ago and figured out a way to get around it. See another recent post about the same problem. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/train-ticket-purchase-online
Larry's directions above are correct. Do not fill out anything else for the passengers except the names. The website has a glitch and won't work when you do this.
Posted by
Tacoma, Wa, USA
34 posts
Zoe, that's right. I think it used to be 60 and this last time I learned it was 120. As long as they don't strike when I travel, I'm good.
For the calendar of strikes go here- http://www.mit.gov.it/mit/site.php?p=scioperi
Posted by
1 posts
Rick is right. The Trenitalia website will not work properly with Chrome on a Mac. You must use a different browser. Safari worked for me.