Italy train tickets buy in advance?

If you buy tickets in advance, you may save some money. You should be aware that tickets bought in advance are for a particular train on a particular date, so you have to be certain that that is when you wish to travel.

If you want to save money buy Florence-Milan and Milan-Venice in advance. Milan- Lake Como (where)- Milan are regional tickets that are always the same price, so you can buy as you go.
Family of 4, what are the ages? Young ones can get discounts depending on age.

10 and 13 years old

Purchasing advance tickets for the high speed trains can save money, with the amount of savings depending on whether you get Super Economy or Economy tickets. Super Economy tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased, so choose carefully! Economy tickets allow one change. If you buy Base Fare tickets (which allow changes), the price will be the same whether you buy in advance or on the day of travel.

Note that you MUST commit to a specific departure on the express trains (Freccia, Intercity) * as tickets are specific to train, date and departure time.* With tickets for Regionale trains (ie: Milan - Lago di Como), it doesn't matter whether you buy in advance or buy on-the-spot, as tickets are the same price regardless. Are you going to Varenna on Lago di Como, or another town?

Note that on the high speed routes, you can use either Trenitalia or Italo Treno. Check both and use whichever has the best prices and best fits your schedule. Italo trains are a bright maroon colour, so you'll notice them right away.

I've never travelled with children, so would have to do some research on possible savings on tickets for them. Hopefully someone else can provide that information.

If you wish to buy advance tickets, you might consider www.trainline.eu as they sell tickets for both major rail lines in Italy, as well as other countries in Europe. You'll have to register on the site, including payment information, but once that's done the process is very user friendly. They also have a smartphone app.

Here is one offer called "Bimbi Gratis" (kids ride free)
https://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Offers/Bimbi-Gratis

Here is another called "Famiglia"
https://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Offers/Famiglia-offer

These have to be bought in advance.

TrenItalia has a very easy to use app for tablets and smartphones. When you enter your journey and pax info, it will display various fare levels so you can get the best discounts. You won’t save anything by purchasing Regionale tickets in advance but could save substantial € by getting Frecce tickets as early as you are able to commit.

If you were to buy tix for Firenze to Milan for 2 adults and 2 children on August 1st, Super Economy fare would be €77.80, Bimbi Gratis €112.00.

Please confirm High Speed Train tickets can be purchased from www.TrenItalia.com? Is Itali Rail (a private line) same as Italo Treno?

"Please confirm High Speed Train tickets can be purchased from www.TrenItalia.com? Is Itali Rail (a private line) same as Italo Treno?"

Trenitalia is the operator of most train lines in Italy, and on many routes they are the only operator. They run both high speed and regular speed services, depending on the route. Yes, the website for Trenitalia is https://www.trenitalia.com/, or in English, https://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en. Note that even on the English website, you need to use the Italian city names, such as Napoli, Roma, Firenze, Venezia, Milano, or Torino.

Italo is a competitor, running high speed trains on the most popular routes (such as Milan to Naples via Bologna, Florence and Rome). Their website is https://www.italotreno.it/en. If you are taking a train on a route they run, compare it with Trenitalia, and choose the one that has the best price and time for you.

Italia Rail is a third-party reseller of trains, not a train operator. There's usually no need to use them, as it is now easy to buy tickets on either Italo's or Trenitalia's websites (there were times in the past when these websites did not work with foreign cards).

For more information on Italian trains, here's a great primer from the rail guru The Man In Seat 61: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm

Many thanks to Harold for your amazing post and link to Man at seat 61. I am beginning to feel a little over whelmed with all this train info. Is there any travel agent that would help a family of 9 get these train tickets for several destinations in Italy? We are from suburb of Philadelphia.

My wife and I used to rely on travel agents for train tickets, but for our recent Italy trip we used loco2.com to order our own tickets in advance and I was amazed how easy it was. It was my first EVER purchase of any kind using a smart phone and my first EVER use of a smart phone to buy a product sold in another country, so you can tell I'm technophobic and no expert. It's really easy. You don't need a travel agent. You just need to know your dates of travel, do you want first or second class, smoking or non smoking, request window or aisle (depends on availability of course). Take a look at the loco2 website first and look at the information for the routes you want. Look at the FAQ for their rules and restrictions (they're normal, don't worry). Their customer service reps responded to my emailed questions within 24 hours, and they are very helpful. Before you purchase , call your credit card company and tell them you'll be using your card on an international website. The prices are in British pounds so your credit card might charge you a currency conversion fee. Loco2 will email your e-tickets to you, or in Italy you might only need a reference number so you can travel paperless. I had my concerns about paperless, but it worked, the conductor in Italy accepted the reference numbers alone, no printed e ticket, no problem. I also checked with one of the Trenitalia agents at the station to make sure we were good; she checked the reservation before our train arrived, no problem. i was even able to convince the Italian traveller who was sitting in one of our seats to move (politely of course). You can do this without an agent!

Hello!
Can I add a question to this post? We are traveling from Rome to Florence with 1 large suitcase each. Which class (standard, premium, business, etc) should we get? Of course I don't need to splurge here, but I want to make sure we won't have issues with our luggage (which I understand travels with us, not checked in?).
Grazie!