I also have some confusion on Italy trains

To get schedules use bahn.de. Buy tickets through trenitalian.com. RailEurope is a travel agency that does not list all trains available - only the trains they are selling tickets for. Not that familar with Italiarail.

wait until you are in Italy and buy your tickets there using the automated machines in almost every train station.

Janet, As someone else suggested, the best idea is to simply buy tickets in Italy, either from the staffed ticket offices or the automated Kiosks. Rail Europe is not the best source of information for schedules, and the tickets they sell tend to be higher cost than one would pay in Italy. For rail schedules specifically in Italy, use www.trenitalia.com (I normally just use the site in Italian, but there's a button at the top where you can English). For rail schedules in Italy and elsewhere iin Europe, the German rail site, www.bahn.de is an excellent resource. Where are you planning to travel in Italy? Happy travels!

Definitely wait until you get there to buy the tickets. See http://www.roninrome.com/ for lots of useful info.

Thanks to all. We are going for 10 days starting March 20. We will be using trains and a car in Tuscany. I like to plan ahead but it appears buying tickets in Italy may be the way to go for the trains.l Thanks for hooking me up with the ron in rome site. It looks to have lots of good info.

Janet, I'm a planner too and it freaked me out the first time, not having tickets pre-bought. However, we bought our tickets about 45 minutes before the train departed using the automated kiosk at Termini station in Rome and it couldn't have been any easier. As I noted in the other thread, one of the best pieces of advice I was given was to write down the train number, destination, and time, when doing my online research. That way if you run into a language barrier with a ticket agent, you can give them the paper and get the right ticket you need. Saved us a lot of trouble in Orvieto!

If you can get US credit cards to work - and you are FIXED on your schedule - then buying tickets in advance on the Trenitalia website may save you money. They have a new discount, albiet limited, called the MINI. These tickets are sold on a limited-basis as the amount of MINI tickets controlled by Trenitalia. Unfortunately, it can be hit & miss on purchasing the MINI tickets, especially on popular routes. But if you can score MINI tickets, you can save more than 50% off the BASE price. And that's the cheapest ticket you'll find anywhere - from any vendor! According to Trenitalia, you can buy online 90 days in advance (I've never purchased anything outside of 60 days - the old standard on their website). One problem with the MINI ticket is... if you miss the train, the ticket you have is worthless. You cannot even apply the value in a ticket exchange. So you do have to SURE of your itinerary. As suggested, these other vendors are middlemen and whereas the prices may be similar on some tickets, often the fees (reservation, mailing, handling, etc.) are what lead to a more costly ticket. Thus, I would supplement the answers given above. If you can get a MINI discount - and you're okay with making that train - then buy your tickets on the Trenitalia website; If not, then buy once you get to Italy. If you are coming into FCO, you could buy all your tickets at one time at the FCO Train Station or once you get to Roma Termini Station. I'd recommend the counter at the airport rather than the chaos of Termini. Or you could use the kiosks to buy your tickets. Many people like to have tickets in-hand so your "first stop" may work for you. Good Luck!

Ron, I've said this before but it bears repeating. Your site is hands-down the best site for practical information on Rome. It couldn't be more helpful or more easy to understand. Thanks so much for all the time you put into it. Bravo!

Janet, Thanks for the additional information. As you'll be using a Car in Tuscany, be sure that each driver has the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year and easily obtained at any AAA office. Ron's excellent website has information on I.D.P.'s as well. For driving in Italy, a GPS along with a good Map are advisable also. If you're going to be driving especially in the Florence area, be sure to check other posts here regarding the dreaded ZTL areas ( each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket). Cheers!

The best site to see the trains and schedules is www.trenitalia.com and English in the top center of the home page. Trenitalia is the national train webiste for Italy. They have the best information on their trains. Other sites get their information from Trenitalia. U.S. citizens have great difficulty using their credit cards online so don't expect to purchase tickets from this site. Just use the site to gather train informaton. As others have said, it is so easy to buy the tickets there. Most Americans just can't grasp the enormity of the Italian train system. Overall, it works quite well. You'll only really worry about the 1st train run. Beyond that, you can buy tickets days in advance for your future journeys. Note that the Regionale train is the "local". No reservations permitted. LIke the MAX in Portland, you buy your ticket and get on. Just remember to get your ticket stamped at the little yellow machine. Most of the other train types will require seat reseverations. The seat reservation is included with the ticket purchase either by the agent or via a ticket machine.

Thanks everyone. I love this helpline! Janet