Motion sickness on Italo and/or Frecce and Veloce trains

RLC, I know exactly what you're talking about because I've had terrible motion sickness all of my life, and not all of the preventatives work for me either. The excellent news is that I've never felt the least little bit 'green' on a European train or metro (including in Italy). Never. They've been a godsend as riding in the back of a car or in a bus on very curvy roads can make me that color in a fat hurry.

Dramamine is usually my safest bet too.

I suffer from sea-sickness, therefore I cannot go on cruises. I'm ok on ferries as long as the waters are calm. For example I'm ok crossing to islands on the Mediterranean, which is generally calm, or on lakes or the SF Bay, all of which are calm. I've gone to fishing trips around here, but I start feeling sick as soon as we pass the Golden Gate out of the SF Bay. I'm also sometimes prone to car sickness (or bus sickness), on extremely curvy roads, but only if I'm the passenger. If I'm the driver I'm ok (so I am always the designated driver, no matter how much I drink). However air sickness does not affect me, even with turbulence, and I can take any trains with no consequences.

I can't guarantee you for sure, since each person is different, but based on my experience (and the experience of others I know get very sea/car sick) I'd say the trains are the least likely to affect you, because they don't move much like cars or buses or boats. Trains can take only wide curves, and the high speed trains in particular, must have very wide radius curves.

I don't suffer from motion sickness but I do have a condition called positional vertigo which can be triggered by, among other things, watching a rapidly moving object (like waiting at a stop light and watching fast traffic moving through the intersection). The solution to this is to close my eyes or look away for a few seconds.

I bring this up only because on the high speed trains, when encountering a train passing in the opposite direction, the fast motion while the opposing train passes the window can trigger a bit of vertigo. Should you encounter a situation like this, just look away until the other train has passed and avoid any chance that that "motion" could trigger a motion sickness attack. Otherwise I have never had any problems with vertigo or dizziness on high speed trains. In fact, I find the slow speed trains to be far worse with respect to swaying, jerking, stops and starts, etc

I did travel with someone who suffered motion sickness (unknown to me beforehand) on the Bernina Express. This narrow gauge route has many 360 degree loops as it climbs up and down the mountains. Fairly tight radius and in and out of tunnels. Then, after a couple of hours in Tirano, she had to do it all over again on the return.

The Freccia and Italo trains are a different animal. Many of the routes (Turin to Salerno) are on specially built tracks which are exceptionally smooth and straight This is necessary for trains to reach speeds of 190 mph safely. So there is almost no feeling motion at all on the trains. The only cue is the power line supports zipping by outside the window. So maybe don't look out the windows.

I have an inner ear condition that results in episodes of vertigo and I am very prone to motion sickness. I did not have any trouble at all on several regionale, IC, and Frecca trains! Yay! I did notice my ears popping while on a Frecca train from Boligna to Venice-not sure what that was all about, but the young couple sitting opposite us had the same ear popping at the same time! It passed in a few minutes, and all was well.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. It is helpful to hear about others' sensitivities to help me gauge what I may or may not be able to tolerate. I think I will go ahead and make my rsvp. Again, thanks to everyone who replied, I truly appreciate it.

And if anyone else has more to add I'd be happy to hear it. I will also update the post with my experience once my trip is over.

Hello RLC
I still get motion sickness while riding in the back of our car or on a city bus. I can take a very short ride, under a mile, as a passenger. Like another poster I don't become sick while I am the driver of the car. Never ever can I be a passenger in car with a cluch, unless I am driving. I have taken the train from London up to Edinburgh where I had forgotten to take Bonine but I was ok. That train ride up was smooth ride but the ride back down wasn't fun. For me, I'm motion sensitive, I cannot do rocking and jerking. Even with Bonine in me I cannot look down to my lap. If I read I have to hold the book up in my face. If I use ear plugs I have to look straight ahead while I'm listening to music or my book. Have discovered if I'm overheated in the car, bus, or train I will become sick much sooner. Flying or water travel doesn't bother me. I am a member of a sailboat racing team, racing doesn't bother me.

Much luck on the trains, and enjoy rest of your trip, Cathy

I also have motion sickness in a car or bus unless I am driving, on boats, amusement park rides (even watching something like a merry go round) and airplanes occasionally. I have never had an issue on a regional or high speed train in Italy. Although scolpolamine does work for me in the other situations so my motion sickness is not has bad as yours. Sucking on a mint also helps me, a lifesavers mint for example.

It was easy to ignore the visual cues outside. There were TV screens that listed the speed of the train and other still pictures to focus on if necessary. It was also nicely temperature controlled- it's worse for me if I am hot. You are allowed to pick your seats when you reserve the train but you can't tell (at least I couldn't) which seats would be going backwards or forwards. So we booked some of each and my group was nice enough to let me have the forward facing seat. And the high speed trains don't have as many stops but there are times when the train changes speeds.

Good luck to you!

RLC, you didn't report on your past experiences riding other trains. That would have been helpful. Can you ride a bus?

From your details, it sounds like the number of curves and the number of stops on the train would affect you. That means the route makes a difference. As knowledgeable as this board is, train routes are a tall order.

I'd point out that bargain air carriers provide a lot of connections that used to be done by train. You have to pack lightly (to save annoying fees) and of course take direct flights only. And you have to beware of secondary airports with poorer surface connections to the city involved. Would that be better for you? You make it sound like planes are the best.

Hello Tim, thank you for your reply. I did recently take a test trip on Amtrak here in northern California. I felt woozy at each station...pulling into the stops wasn't too bad, but the rocking motion of the car as it gained speed exiting the stations really bothered me. Also, it was bothersome to see the trains pass closely to other cars. If I could look far into the distance on a fixed object it was better. On the return trip I asked the conductor to let me sit downstairs because riding above exaggerated the side-to-side sway. They begrudgingly let me sit below in the area reserved for elderly and handicap. That trip was better than the first, as the side/sway motion was less. I have gotten sick on a ferris wheel and on a Blue& Gold fleet in SF bay. I also felt ill on the Tahoe Queen in Lake Tahoe. Sitting at the dock bobbing up and down was miserable. Lastly, I have taken Bart several times in the bay area with minimal discomfort. But then I took it across the bay (transbay tube) and that was a sickening experience. I am not sure what difference it makes, but I felt it immediately. I felt really nauseous for a few hours afterward.

I have considered flying between Florence and Rome, but with travel to the departing airport, checking in and travel from the arrival airport, we are looking at a few hours at least. My husband would prefer to take the 90 minute train between the two cities. I agree time-wise, I just do not wish to subject myself to 90 minutes of hell.

I would rather walk than take the bus, I avoid boats of any kind, and obviously cannot tolerate amusement park rides. I cannot even glance at my phone while riding in a car. I am just trying to determine by others' experience if the high speed trains feel something like an airplane, or is the acceleration and forces in a curve perceptible, like on an elevator or when a plane makes a banking turn (yuck!).

Dear RLC
I feel your pain! I also suffer from motion sickness so bad that for years I would carry trash bags in the car with me. I use the Sea bands along with ginger gum when flying and avoid any carbonation. I have taken many trains in Italy (both the high speed and locals). The high speed of course, are very smooth and fast, where the local trains are just that- they stop at little towns. The high speed will usually not give you any problem, but I always have my pressure bands on ahead of time and gum in my purse just in case. I always sit facing forward and tend to look out of the window one seat in front of me, not sideways for my window. Dramamine tends to make me very loopy, so I don't take it unless it is a last resort. Good luck!

Does it help to know there are so many fellow sufferers? Count me in the group. I have learned the hard way to travel with air sickness bags or plastic bags in my purse. The good news, I did not have any trouble with the high speed train in Italy. I have also learned the hard way that when they say, take the Dramamine 30 minutes before travel, they mean 30 minutes. I have been experimenting as to just how much I need to take - I 'd like to avoid the total Dramamine coma. I take 1/2 of a kids dose and that seems to work.

Good luck and I hope you have a great trip.

Add me to the elite motion sickness club! I didn't have trouble on the trains as long as I faced forward but may I suggest a ReliefBand? You can pick it up on Amazon or various places for about $90. It helped me tremendously on boats/ferries, the twisting roads in the Dolomites and Amalfi Coast, etc. I had zero motion sickness in the aforementioned situations due to the ReliefBand combined with a product called MotionEaze (available at Wal-Mart, on Amazon, etc,). I can't use Dramamine, etc. because I'm very sensitive and it makes me super drowsy for more than a day. The only circumstance in which nothing worked for me was on the plane but we had 10+ hour flights both ways since we live in CA. After 2-3 hours of flying, I get a terrible pressure headache and feel sick the rest of the flight. The only way I can get through it is to take a Xanax and some herbal sleep products and sleep through the flight. As for your original question, the trains weren't a problem but I did use my ReliefBand as a precaution and I always faced forward. Good luck.

Wrist bands don't work for me at all; probably the least effective of anything I've tried.

Make sure to get forward facing seats - some at the tables are back facing. The last trip when we just had 2 people we ended up back facing and I did not realize it until we got on. And it seems like most trains we were on did not make very many stops, so hopefully that will help!!

Kim

Sheron, I agree with Kathy that motion bands are totally ineffective, as is products like MotionEaze. The only thing that ever made me completely motionsick-free was Scopolomine tablets. They worked great, I could enjoy being on a boat and driving around Lake Tahoe without issue. BUT, for whatever reasons they are no longer available in tablet form and only the patch is available. I have experimented with the patches but they made me feel ill after removing.

Original Dramamine formula is still the best bet. It makes me sleepy and thirsty, but that's better than being sick. The new "All-day" Dramamine has a different active ingredient and to me it is less effective. I tend to think that pressure bands, ginger and herbal products like motioneaze are at best placebos. If they give comfort or relief, great, but they have never worked for me when I needed them to.

RLC,

The high-speed trains (either company) in and of themselves shouldn't give any problems as they are very smooth and you don't really feel the auto-tilting of the carriages. However, here are a couple things to consider:

• The rail line between Florence and Bologna consists of 73.8 km of tunnels in its 78.5 km length. This isn't one long tunnel but a whole series of tunnels of various lengths with gaps of various lengths. Some tunnels are so close together that you get just a brief glimpse of daylight and you're back in a tunnel again. If this "strobe-like" effect bothers your senses, you might want to consider traveling this route at night.

• Passing another train while going 160-190mph can really startle you as you really don't have a visual clue in advance. My mother was really uncomfortable sitting in a window seat for that reason.

But, on the other hand, the high-speed (frecci and Italo) trains have much fewer stops than the regional trains so the acceleration/deceleration motions will be fewer.

W2T, thank you so much, that is excellent information. I do indeed find the flashing scenery or other cars dizzying (don't know how else to describe it). But this is a very helpful heads-up. I will book aisle seats that face each other (my husband has no motion sentitivity at all, he could send texts while on a roller coaster). Grazie mille!!

Again, I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughtful replies. I will update this thread with my experience. Meanwhile, happy travels everyone!

Rlc...

You're welcome, and good luck!

Booking seats facing each other is a good idea as you don't always know which way is going to be forward. You and your husband can switch if necessary. Really, I think you'll be fine. The trains are one of many reasons we love Italy as they're comfortable, efficient, reasonably inexpensive... and don't make me green. Oy, we had to take a shuttle van from Sorrento or Naples to catch an early flight - too early for the trains to be running - and I was one very pea-green puppy by the time we got to the airport. Bleh.

You are not alone! I have to ride a train facing forward. If I can't get a seat, I stand until I can.

The bus ride down the Amalfi Coast almost did me in. Luckily we reached our stop so I could get off before I puked.

I also can't drive in parking car garages that go around and around. Even watching certain things on TV can set me off.

I feel your pain!

I just want to point out that the ReliefBand I referenced earlier is not the same as the acupressure bands commonly found in drugstores which cost $10-20. The ReliefBand emits an electrical signal and works much better. The acupressure bands have never worked for me either but the ReliefBand does! It sells for about $90.

This is a follow-up to my original post regarding motion sickness on high speed trains. I took the 92-minute Italo (high speed) train from Florence to Rome in mid-November 2016.

Many commented that I wouldn't feel any motion. That is not true. I equate the sensation roughly to a plane with slight turbulence. There is considerable vibration and a surging feeling that to me felt like an airplane climbing to altitude. Also, when the train would go into a tunnel I felt an intense pressure in my ears and my whole head felt stuffed. It was a bit nauseating when it would both turn or tilt and drop into a tunnel. I wasn't sure what was happening at those junctions but I felt it a few times in route. I could not look out the window at all, and the windows are so big it's difficult to avoid them. I kept my eyes closed or watched the monitor. I stood briefly thinking I'd use the restroom but had to sit back down immediately. I took Dramamine for the trip - one tablet the night before, 1 tablet the morning of travel and another just before departure. They make me sleepy and thirsty but without them I think I would have felt terrible. Fortunately, it is not so bad that the Dramamine doesn't work (like on a boat or in a cab in Rome).

I hope this is helpful to other motion sickness sufferers. Happy travels!

RLC,

Thanks for the feedback on your experiences with the high speed trains. You seem to have a very severe form of motion sickness, and it's good that the med's helped with that.

Yes, thanks for the update, RLC. Really, I can't think of another transport option that would have been better - certainly not buses or private driver - so I guess you'll have to manage future train journeys as best you can?

The trick with the windows is to focus on scenery far out in the distance that will appear to be passing much more slowly than objects closer to the tracks.