Infantile Instructions for Train Travel Please

Hi Beth. It will go fine. :) Not sure if you even need physical tickets. Did you get a 6 digit PNR # for each journey? If so, you can just tell or show that number to the conductor - they have a hand held computer that will verify. But if you feel more comfortable with paper tix, yes you can get any or all of them at any station in Italy at your convenience. Enjoy your trip!

Per Bob, if you've been sent the PNR numbers then you can just do this electronically on your smart phone.
You're aware that Italia Rail is a 3rd party consolidator and doesn't actually operate the trains, right? Point being that if you do need to physically collect paper tickets at the station you'll need to go to the ticket window (or kiosk) for Trenitalia ... or whoever is operating the train on your route.
Probably best to do this the day before your scheduled travel in the unlikely case that there are any issues. Wouldn't hurt to brush up on your Italian language skills either.

Although I have not encountered particularly long lines at Italian train stations, I have definitely experienced slow lines. The folks in line with you may be mostly people seeking complicated tickets, non-tech-savvy older folks with time on their hands who want to chat with the ticket-seller, etc. Do allow plenty of time.

I'm always a bit nervous about electronic tickets; what if my phone chooses a very bad time to die? (Yes, I am not young; why do you ask?) I try to download e-tickets to my tablet as well as my phone. In your case, you might consider forwarding your confirmations to your chaperones if they can access emails from their phones.

You didn't ask about this here (perhaps it's covered in another thread), but I've seen posts on a different, non-travel, forum by a high-school teacher who has taken groups of students to Europe and has had great difficulty when parents gave their kids pre-loaded cash cards to use for non-included expenses. Her experience has been that those cards often/usually do not work at all. Even the ones that work usually have bad transaction fees, but the latter would obviously not be your concern unless it means the youngsters run out of spending money unexpectedly.

I don't know what solution to offer if your kids run into problems with their cash cards, but I thought you might like to consider your options, just in case.

Only Trenitalia/FS operates your first two Italian trips and can certainly get all the tickets printed at one stop, normally from a machine. Since they have had "ticketless" travel with just a PNR for a few years, I'm not sure when/why the instructions to pick up in the station sometimes apply, but would go ahead with the plan to pick those up in Milan.

From Florence to Milan, any train starting with "Frecce" is also the same national railway system, versus if you booked a departure operated by "Italo," that's a different company and different ticket kiosks, available in Milan or Florence, but not in the smaller towns.

We just returned from Italy. I had pre-purchased tickets from Trenitalia and the information they sent said to get the tickets at a station in Italy. I tried a kiosk which did not work. I then went to the ticketing area and stood in line. The first person I talked to there (at the "Information" windows) just shook her head as if "no, of course the kiosk does not do this." She indicated I needed to get in line at the ticket window, which I did. The very nice woman at that window said that she could print out the tickets for us but it wasn't necessary - the code would be sufficient. (I got the paper tickets anyway.) And yes, they can do all the tickets at once for you.

Lifetime G.S. member here, remembering fondly our intrepid leaders who took us to Our Cabana. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Your Girl Scout troop is so fortunate to have you leading this trip! It's understandable that you are anxious; as you mentioned you are traveling with inexperienced adult and teen travelers. Have you used the website seat61.com? Perhaps it would be helpful to your group to take a look at the specific sections on Swiss and Italian trains. You are so right--you DO need to experience European trains to really understand how the systems work. But, perhaps a little information will help the Scouts know what to expect--and could help ease your concerns:). I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Sounds like you've had some good advice in the above threads. Somebody else probably already said this, but don't forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding.

Hope you all have a wonderful trip!!

Beth,

It's unfortunate that you hadn't posted here before buying your tickets. As I recall, ticket purchases from Trainline.com don't have to be picked up at the station. They can be printed at home.

"Somebody else probably already said this, but don't forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding."

Tickets for express trains (Freccia, Intercity) never need to be validated, as they're specific to train, date and departure time. Advance purchase tickets for Regionale trains also don't have to be validated, as they come "pre-validated". Only locally purchased Regionale tickets (as well as Metro and Bus tickets) have to be validated prior to boarding on the day of travel.

THANK YOU ALL! I feel better already. It's been 7 years since I have been on an Italian train and wasn't sure how much technology has changed things. I do have the PNR# for all the trips, so it sounds as if it might be easier than I thought. Either way, I'll plan on standing in line at the information kiosk at the very least and get it sorted. They are a delightful group of Girl Scouts, and we are going to have a terrific time...once I finish scanning and printing and organizing and packing and nagging!

Lifetime G.S. member here, remembering fondly our intrepid leaders who took us to Our Cabana. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Janet - Our intrepid leaders took my troop to Our Cabana about a million years ago! We were all too young then to realize how lucky we were to have those women in our lives.

Frutigen eh? Sounds like a trip to Our Chalet. My wife says, "wave to it for her and hug a tree".

We are indeed spending 5 days at Our Chalet in Adelboden, Switzerland! We built the rest of the trip around our "summer camp in the Alps". ;) Cheapest airfare was Milan, so we chose the rest around what is easy accessible and affordable. Can't WAIT for the 3 nights in Cinque Terre! This is the second troop I have taken Internationally (took my older daughter's troop to Pax Lodge in London and Paris in 2016). We're going to my Cabana with those girls next spring break - they are seniors in high school next year. Needless to say, if you ever need cookies...

I buy train tickets through TrainlineEU (which absorbed Seat 61 and another of its transformations). It’s in English. You can pay in dollars through your credit card.
Suggest each girl have either a Costco or Marshall’s/TJMaxx credit card. No international credit card transaction fees.
Suggest each parent of girls open a Charles Schwab acct. A no fees euro atm withdrawal card.
Suggest each girl bring a 5x8 Moleskin watercolor book and small watercolor set. Good for journaling and noting their trip. (And passing time waiting for trains.)
Lucky girls to have you. I was also a life long girl scout, too. My leader meant so much to me - I cried when she died. I swore I’d payback by becoming a leader - and then had all sons! Ha!
It will be a grand adventure.
Another note: I sew pockets inside my vests/jackets so my hands are always free and can’t be pickpocketed. And have whistles on lanyards. I hope your girls are using backpack suitcases.
Report back after your adventure.

I believe it would nit be a good idea to pay for European train tickets in dollars on trainline.eu or any other website. That gives the seller the ability to use any currency exchange rate it prefers, and that will almost certainly not be beneficial for you.