Arrive in Milan late afternoon for one night Oct 10. We want to take the train to Venice the next mid to late morning. Should I buy tickets online now or wait to buy day of? Is there a discount for prebooking? I have the Trenìt! App and the prices are all over the place. I don’t understand the differences. We are seniors, 66, so we want a bit of comfort in seating.
I read a good explanation here on the forum but cannot find it again.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Yes, buy early, there are major discounts for doing so.
There are 3 price levels, Super Economy (the cheapest), Economy and base (the most expensive). These price levels are all for the same seats.
The Cheaper tickets sell out first, leaving only the more expensive options as you get nearer to the date. Some trains are more popular that others, their cheap tickets sell out earlier, and the prices change to the higher levels sooner.
As for seats, you have a choice of "Standard" (2nd class) and "Premium" (1st class). The same 3 price levels exist for both classes.
For lots of info about Italian trains see here: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
I am assuming hat App is the Trenitalia App. Trenitalia is the company running the trains ( http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en ).
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Yes, a limited number of seats are sold at cheaper rates in advance. Buy the cheapest ticket that's available now. I would choose the Standard class of service, but Premium or Business class can also be affordable with advance discount. At www.trenitalia.com, prices are laid out in a pretty clear grid format, reflecting both seating areas and discount levels. No discount for being a senior, and you're unlikely to have any discount cards, so just the top three price categories apply to any adult: "Super Economy" (up to 75 percent off), "Economy," and "Base" (full, unrestricted) fare.
Posted by
Green Bay
21274 posts
The Frecciarosso trains actually have 3 classes of service. Standard, Business, and Executive. Within Standard, there is also a slight upgrade to Premium, which is the same basic seat size, but leather seats and some other amenities. Business (aka 1st class) has 3 types, Silenzio (quiet, no cell phone voice calls), Regular, and Salatino, which looks to be grouped in 4-seat areas where business people can work on the train. Executive is super 1st class.
There are also a couple of EC trains early afternoon that are almost as fast as the Freccia trains, 2 hours and 35 minutes to Venezia S. Lucia vs 2 hours and 25 minutes on the Frecciarosso. They have just 1st and 2nd class seats and are slightly cheaper.
Standard and 2nd class seats are perfectly comfortable and it is only 2 1/2 hours on the train. Other than that, price variations are by time of day. Mid morning and late afternoon are usually most expensive as that is when business people like to travel and is reflected on higher prices for the discount levels of Super Economy and Economy. Those are basically nonrefundable.
For October 11, I see both the EC trains at 12:05 and 13:05 have 1st class seats bought now for Super Economy are 39.80 EUR for 2 seats. That is a pretty good deal, but you got to buy and commit now.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
To add to what Sam said, be sure to notify your credit card company of international purchases (before) you try to book.
Posted by
OP
67 posts
Got them! 1st class for 39.80. I was expecting to pay much more. Can't wait to ride the Italian train. Thanks All for your kind and accurate info. This was the last bit I need to arrange for our trip. I'm all set except for packing. Also I just learned my airline has a weight restriction for carry on luggage of 15lb....ouch! I guess we will be checking our carry on size bags. I fly Alaska Air most often and they do not have a carry on bag weight restriction. It pays to read this Forum.