Hi: After reading a post here about the new mini fares, I went to the Trenitalia website to research fares for 4 trips: one-way Rome to Florence on 3/20, round trip Florence to Lucca on 3/23, one-way Florence to Siena on 3/25, and one-way Orvieto to Rome on 4/2. Fares for the trips to Lucca and Siena are shown as "not purchasable." And the "mini" fare from Rome to Florence is 35 euros, which is just 9 euros less than the base fare of 44 euros. I thought the mini fares were 60 to 70 percent less than the base fares . . . . Can anyone explain why some of the fares are shown as "not purchasable" and why the mini fare for Rome to Florence is reduced by just 20 percent from the base fare? Thanks very much.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
There's an excellent summary about the mini fares here: http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/trenitalia-changes-promo-fares-again Short version is that Trenitalia can set the mini rate at anything they want. And good luck trying to actually purchase tickets on Trenitalia. There have been many postings here about how challenging that can be.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
The train runs to Lucca and Siena will be on Regionale (R) trains. You most likely cannot purchase online. You used to be able to purchase online 3-5 days before the travel time but I'm not sure about now. On Regionale trains, seat reservations are not permitted. The tickets are open tickets that are good for 60 days. You will not find train run numbers or seat assignments on these tickets. You can use the tickets on any train making the same run for up to 60 days. However, once you validate the ticket and get on the train, the ticket is good for 6 hours from the validation time stamped on the ticket. Don't worry a bit about getting tickets. These trains do not run full and even if you get one that does, you can stand. It's just like a bus.
Posted by
Los Angeles
425 posts
Remember the following about the new "MINI" fares: 1. They are NOT NOT NOT available on ANY of the local "regionale" trains (those trains without seat reservations), such as Florence/Lucca, Florence/Siena and Orvieto/Rome (on the "regionale") 2. "MINI" fares can be as low as 70% below the regular "base" fare, but they can also be much, much less generous (e.g. 20% discount). The actual "MINI" fare (when available) is determined by the actual train chosen for a particular date, and the extent of advance purchase (but never more than four months in advance). 3. "MINI" fares are ALWAYS capacity-controlled, which means that they may not be available for the train chosen. Typically, you need to book well in advance to get a meaningful discount. 4. The DEADLINE within which to purchase a ticket with the "MINI" fare is midnight (i.e. 23:59) of the day beforehand. HOWEVER, the "MINI" fares are likely to be SOLD OUT by that date. 5. "MINI" fares have very restrictive rules for reservation changes and refunds. Make sure you UNDERSTAND these rules BEFORE you purchase. 6. Tickets for "regionale" trains are purchaseable over the Trenitalia website only SEVEN DAYS before the chosen travel date. Anything greater than seven days will result in the message "not purchasable". Bear in mind that there is NEVER any reason to purchase a ticket for a "regionale" train in advance, since there are NEVER any discounts, and NEVER any seat reservations. Just buy the ticket on the day of travel from one of the automated ticket kiosk machines at the station (or from a manned ticket window). Once purchased, the paper ticket has a validity of 60 days, and once "validated" in the little yellow machine by the rail track, the ticket expires after six hours.
Posted by
Sheboygan, Wisc., USA
934 posts
I also suggest that you purchase the tickets when you need them. However for Florence to Siena the bus is a better option.See Steves comments on it.