Italy - train ticket

You can get deep discounts by reserving trains three months ahead at www.trenitalia.com. But if you miss that departure, then you'll lose that fare paid and have to buy a new ticket, probably at Base/full fare, which translates to about $100 per person in 2nd class on the fastest trains, or a you might have to buy up to the next class of service for a bit more.

Check the schedules on Trenitalia.com and you will see what you options will look like. Your origin station will be Fiumicino Aeroporto and your destination will be Venezia S. Lucia. I checked for September 10 and the schedule shows trains leaving FCO at 8:35, 8:50, 9:50, and 10:50 (plus many more). It takes about 4 and a half hours from FCO to Venice. Keep in mind that these super economy tickets are non-refundable, so give yourself adequate time to clear immigration and get to the train.

I did look them up and was going to purchase them in advance. The cheapest one was at 11:50 for $24 per person. Is that going to be way too much time between arriving at FCO and departing from Rome? The one at 10:50 is $48 per person, but I don't know how much time I should give myself. I was thinking more time is better then not enough time and missing the train...

How many people are going? To me, the difference between $24 and $48 for, say 2 people, is minimal compared to the price of the total trip. I know I am tired when I arrive and want to get settled ASAP. I would pay the extra and get on my way to Venice.

If you are going to book it now, then consider the direct train departing FCO at 11:08 for €39 or $48 per person. I think you could still make that even if your flight were two hours late, but of course not if it were several hours late.

Or, if you still have time to add a flight connection to the same ticket, then your airline and its partners would be responsible to get you all the way to Venice. A separate flight ticket wouldn't have that benefit.

It is for 2 people. Is there a lot to do at the airport for 4 hours if we waited until 11:08 for the direct train to Venice? I was thinking if we took the express train to Tremini and we had a lot of time, we could just hold our luggage at the station in lockers and walk around a grab some breakfast or something. At this point I don't believe we can add a connecting flight to Venice as we booked the package already. We had thought about flying into Venice directly but it was about $900 extra then flying into Rome and then just taking a train. Plus I love taking the trains in Europe...get to see the scenery.

I believe Termini has a staffed left-luggage office rather than lockers. (I could be wrong.) If so, it will be important to allow for the possibility of a line at the time you want to pick up your bags.

I would take the direct train from FCO to Venezia Santa Lucia.

Roma Termini has a left luggage room, no lockers.

First, you may not have four hours. Even if you plane is at the gate exactly at 6.45. On a good day you are looking at an hour to probably an hour and half to get off the plane and get through immigration. On a similar arrival on a Saturday morning a couple of years ago, it took us over two and half hours to clear immigration. That was unusually long but you have to anticipate. There is not a lot to do in the airport but you can get a decent breakfast and walk around a bit outside the airport to get some sun and start to work on jet lag. I guarantee you will sleep most of the time on the ride to Venice.

Very true...thanks for all the replies! Seems like that is probably the best option! Can't wait to be there!

I'm curious about how you're looking up fares for Sept. 10 if the tickets aren't posted online until 3 mos before? I'm arriving in Rome 9/11 and look online daily for posted train tickets for 3 train trips we'll be taking mid-Sept -mso far no trains are listed when I check (trenitalia). What am I missing?

Inmnapa,

What are your destinations? FCO to Venice shows up now because it's within the 120 day window and one of the freccia trains. Tickets for that route are not available past September 13 today. Regional trains are not available very far in advance and won't show up on the schedule until about a week out.

I looked on there and I actailly bought mine from https://www.italiarail.com/
They post them 122 days out, so til Sept 13 as of today.

Thanks for the info. Our train travel dates are 9/14-9/20 so I guess I'll be online tomorrow! I've been looking at Italrail site too and it seems to be more user-friendly, definitely more information about posting dates etc.

I checked Trenitalia and Italiarail this morning. No trains listed... I've looked up Roma Termini to Vernazza and/or La Spezia (9/14) - nothing. One of the websites only lists trains after 10 pm with 3+ connections. I'm hoping this doesn't mean that all other trains are already sold out?? The curious thing is that I have searched August and July and I also get - Nothing... It seems that people on this forum have purchased tickets for September. Again, what am I missing? Thanks for your help!

I typed it in and it came right up. There is only one tra17:56
Wed, 14 Sep
Roma Termini
TO
04:59
Thu, 15 Sep
Vernazza
11h 3m
2 Connections

FROM
US$19
in that day that leaves in early evening, it's 11 hours.

If you want to private message me, I will help you out. I've been on that site for weeks now, so I think J have it all figured out. But it pulls right up when I search for one way.

Inmnapa, the train from Rome to Vernazza is going to be mostly a regional train and not a high speed train. For those there is no price savings to booking early. They have also not posted those routes yet for your time frame which is why only one train for 11 hours shows up. The train ride will not be 11 hours long and there will be several to choose from. They do not sell out. Pick a similar day of the week for the current month (May) to see the most likely options for you in September. The Man in Seat 61 website is a great resource for train travel information.

There is a timetable change on June 12, and trenitalia hasn't uploaded local trains schedules yet.

This is the reason why those who are travelling with high speed trains (i.e. Rome to Florence and/or Venice) can purchase tickets till the 13th of September while those who are going to take Regionale and/or Intercity trains (i.e. Rome to Vernazza via La Spezia) either can't find anything or find only absurd 11 hours routes (!!!).

The new timetables will be very similar to the actual ones, use a date before June 12 to get a good idea of the usual services.

I guess They'll upload the new schedules in a couple of weeks, it's not a big problem: there are no discounts for advance purchases on Regionale trains and they don't have reserved seats, so they can't sell out.

After June 12 you'll be able to buy Regionale tickets 120 days in advance, like any other train.

Do not trust any re-seller that tries to sell regionale tickets if Trenitalia hasn't updated the system, yet. They're taking your money betting that the new schedules will be identical to the old ones. If they are wrong they'll send an e-mail saying: "We're very sorry, but..."

Thanks so much for taking the time to clarify the process. I saw the 11 hour train ride in Sept. and also the numerous, much more desirable options available in May - I knew there had to be something I was missing! I will be patient and wait until after the new schedules are posted in June. Thanks again.