Italy Train Travel

"...it would provide us with the flexibility that my fiance wants and the security that I want" - sounds like you've already got your mind made up. why do you think a rail pass is going to be cheaper than point to point tickets?

I think a rail pass is more expensive then point to point tickets then more expensive again when you add on reservation fees. I also have read that you save up to 75% by booking your point to point tickets in advanced as opposed to booking them a day before or a day of. I just wanted some input because I change my mind constantly especially after hearing what other peoples recommendations are.

I'd prefer to just book all of our long distance tickets well inadvance and save money but my fiance doesn't want to feel restricted and have to leave some place when we may want to stay an extra day.

The big savings on advance-purchase tickets is on the long-range trains but it looks like many of your trips are shorter Regionale trains for which day-of purchases are the same cost as buying in advance. Reservations on the longer trains, Regionale trains are open seating. "Winging it" sounds like he doesn't want to do hotel reservations in advance, either? Might be harder in July.

The only high speed trains on this itinerary is Rome-Naples round trip. That is still a relatively short haul, so paying full price spur of the moment isn't going to break the bank. All the rest are cheap Regionales (and buses), made for spur-of-the-moment travel. A railpass would be a waste.

My fiancé will be glad to here!! Well he doesn't want to book accomodation but I can't handle not booking. I have actually booked every night.... It is free cancellation at this stage though. I will be telling him that I'll need to keep the hotels booked because it's a busy time of year.

kirra,

A few thoughts to add.....

• Accommodations - for travel in July, I'm glad to hear that you've got those booked. July is one of the busiest times in italy, and "winging it" is not usually a good idea at that time of year. While you might be able to find accommodations on short notice, you'll have to waste valuable holiday time looking and may have to settle for something that's above your budget, in a bad part of town, or a not the most desirable in terms of quality.
• Possagno - that's a bit off the usual tourist path. Just curious on the reason you're visiting there?
• Lake Garda - where are you planning to visit on Lake Garda? You won't be able to reach all locations by train, so it would help to have some idea which towns you'll be going to. Have you considered any of the other lakes instead?
• Rail Pass - a Rail Pass is usually not cost effective in Italy as tickets are relatively cheap.
• Advance tickets or buy at the time - you can save money with advance purchase tickets on the high speed trains such as the Freccia or InterCity. However, tickets for those require compulsory seat reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time, so you wouldn't be able to "wing it". If you miss the train you booked, the ticket is worthless. Don't try to use the tickets on another train, as you'll risk hefty fines! On those routes where you'll be using Regionale trains, you can easily buy your tickets a day or so before travel or even on the day of travel using a Kiosk or at the staffed ticket window. There are no discounts for those, so advance purchase won't save you any money. However, for locally purchased tickets you must validate them prior to boarding the train on the day of travel or risk hefty fines, which will be collected on the spot! You also need to validate tickets on Buses, Metro and other transportation (including the electronic validation on the Vaporetti in Venice) or again, hefty fines! You can see all the train solutions on the Trenitalia website.
• Number of destinations - your plan to visit 12 somewhat geographically distant locations in a time span of 28 days seems to be a bit "ambitious", to say the least. That's an average of about 2.3 days per location, with no allowances for travel time between them. If you're on a budget, keep in mind that each change of location will have a cost in both time and money. Each change will require at least four hours, when all is considered (in some cases a bit more time, in other cases a bit less time). Especially when travelling in the south where transportation networks are a bit more challenging, I'm not sure how well this is going to work. You may end up seeing more of Italy from the window of a train, rather than enjoying the locations you've come so far to see, and enjoying the "slow travel" lifestyle.

Good luck with your planning!

Thank you for tips. They will most definitely be taken into consideration. My fiancé's family is in Possagno :)

In Lake Garda we are staying in a town called Rivoli.

Ok, I might need to go back to the drawing board and maybe cut a few places out.

What would you suggest cutting out? We are a young couple but we don't party so we are more about adventure, beach, and exploring hidden places.

Are you sure about Rivoli? The only Rivoli I can find is 10 km from the lake.

Sure it is not Riva del Garda?

This is a good opportunity to practice compromise. See if you can buy your longer, more expensive tickets in advance (this means committing to hotel stays) and wing it for the shorter, less expensive routes.

Train tickets in Italy are cheaper than in most European countries, so even paying full fare isn't terribly expensive.

Kirra I was directed to this website prior to our trip to Pisa/Lucca/CT/Moneglia last fall and it was very helpful.
http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.Vsc7P8v2Y5t I do better if I can see what I am looking for when I wander into a train station and this site was very helpful. We are not from a part of the US where train travel is used so if you are in a similar situation with train travel this site will be helpful. dj

kirra,

Could you clarify your location on Lago di Garda - there is a town of Rivoli but it's nowhere near Garda. If you're referring to Riva del Garda, that's at the far north end of the lake, and will involve either a combination train & bus, a bus or a boat trip from the south end.

I do think that you'll need to pare down your list somewhat. Is there a specific reason for visiting Saturnia and Procida? Were you planning to stay in the town of Amalfi, or just somewhere along the coast? One method that works well is to stay in Sorrento and use that as a home base for day trips to Capri, Pompeii and Naples. There are many possibilities.

Ok so, I have cut out Lake Garda, our accomodation was right in the lake it said Rivoli but maybe it wasn't. Anyhow it has been cancelled now.

Sestri Levante is a must for us as it is our base to visit both Portofino and Cinque Terre.

We are visiting Lucca to travel to a near by water hole and Pisa.

From Florence we plan to hire a car and drive to Naples and stay one night in Saturnia as we would like to see the natural hot springs.

Procida was really just added for no reason. We could instead maybe just stay at Naples purely to visit Pompeii then head to Capri for a couple of nights before 4 nights in Amalfi then finally spend our last 4 nights in Rome?