Purchasing Tickets in Advance via Trenitalia Website

This is a frequently asked question and you join a long list of people on this forum who have found it impossible to get the Trenitalia website to accept their US credit card.

Going from memory, I recollect that Canadians have had their credit cards accepted at the Trenitalia site.

For this reason, those on this forum with US credit cards have simply not been able to purchase tickets in advance online.

I'm not sure who advised you to pre-book, but I don't think you need to. We bought our tickets (for a family of 5 no less) on the spot, as did most of the folks in 2nd class.

My advice to you: go to the Trenitalia website (link below) and figure out your dream itinerary. Print out each leg of your trip, with a plus/minus 3 hour schedule around it (ie. if you plan on a 2pm train, have the schedule from noon-5pm). That way you know your options. Take advantage of the Amica fare discount by buying your tickets from Venice-Florence the day before you leave. When you get to Florence, consider buying your tickets to Naples while you're at the train station and get the Amica fare there as well. Repeat when arriing in Naples for the Sorrento leg.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=492299e8e609a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

The train situation was very easy and without alot of stress. See the Ron in Rome website, as he walks you through the entire process step by step - with pictures no less!

2nd class was great - especially on the newer, faster trains (the ones that are not regional). I was in 2nd class on a regional train as well and had no complaints, however we might not have had A/C, which the 1st class did have. I think we only had one leg of our many adventures that we did not have assigned seats and even then it was fine. We got on the train 30 min early b/c of the kids. The train would be empty. It fills up quickly in the last 5 minutes!!

Have a wonderful adventure!!

THanks for the Amica Fare tip, I had no idea what that was but I will defly be taking advantage of this on my trip!!

It's called the "Amica" fare, and results in a 20% discount over the "standard" fare, but requires an ADVANCE PURCHASE no later than midnight of the day before date of travel (and no sooner than 60 days beforehand).

Apart from the advance purchase requirement, the fare is available ANY DAY OF THE WEEK, but is CAPACITY CONTROLLED, so tickets at the discounted fare may not be available at the time requested. The MODIFICATION RESTRICTIONS of the "Amica" fare are stricter than for the "standard" fare, but nevertheless workable for many prospective travellers (except perhaps those connecting from incoming flights who might experience unanticipated delays)

The full terms and conditions of this handy promotional fare are found on the Trenitalia website

Thanks for the great tips!

Yes, I do. I do this all the time for myself and for clients. You can book within 60 days of travel. You can definitely use your credit card both here and there. Have you considered an Italian rail pass? I think with all of these trains, it would save you money. Then you only have to pay reservation fees on the trains that require them.

The Amica fare discount was this discontinued this past spring.

I buy the tickets from the machines while I am there. I have traveled extensively in Italy and I have never made advance reservations. I do prefer 1st class, which sometimes requires seat reservations. When you arrive you could purchase the tickets for the next destination before you leave the station. The machines are easy to use, provide directions in about six languages, and take credit cards. Plus, they have a larger selection. There are two types of machines. One is for regional service and one for everywhere else. You need the everywhere else.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Re: the Amica fares being discontinued, on the Trenitalia website they still mention the Amica fares. Is it definite that they have been discontinued? Are there any other discount fares available?

Even with verified by visa it does not mean they will accept your cards.
We tried my partners RBC Visa, my RBC Visa and my CIBC visa....all denied.

Who advised you to make reservations in advance? Trains in Europe are not like trains here; between major cities they run just about hourly. Your problem getting around Italy isn't going to be availability of a seat, its the chance of a rail strike. It is easy to purchase train tix when in Italy. They have self-serve kiosks that have an english menu. See http://www.roninrome.com/2009/03/05/buying-a-train-ticket/ for details. You can buy as you go, or buy all the tix when you first arrive.

As for the advice from a travel agent to buy a Railpass and the coy offer to "help" you -- I have never read a posting from a person that found a railpass was a better deal than point-to-point tickets for travel within Italy, especially since you're only taking 3 rides. Furthermore you'll still need reservation on trains that require them, which all the faster options between the major cities you listed require. These are an extra cost over the railpass. See http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/italy.htm On the other hand, if you find the trenitalia site confusing it might be better for you to just pay more to avoid the trouble of doing it yourself and have a travel agent make arrangements for you.

Lastly, I hope you know that you can't take Trenitalia to Sorrento, you need to go to Naples and then take either the Circumvesuviani train or a ferry to Sorrento.

Is there anyone who knows anyone who can help us with our credit cards so that we can use them at the train stations once we are in Italy? We've had the problem before, I think in Paris.
Larry has been mentioned. Who is he?
Thanks.

This website will give you complete instructions- with pictures:

http://www.roninrome.com/2009/03/05/buying-a-train-ticket/

Larry here. I'm a traveler who, like many frequent posters on this board, use my experience to assist others asking travel questions.

On your credit card question, I've seen two posters recently who have been successful in purchasing tickets on Trenitalia. I was successful earlier in the year but this ceased in April. There is hope.

For the itinerary that you do describe above, you don't need advance reservations. I realize that it may put you out of your comfort level to accept this but its true. U.S. citizens just don't comprehend the enormity of the Italian train system. For example, 53 trains a day depart Florence for Rome. Most are high-speed Eurostars. Many are non-stops. You won't miss your train. You are just early for the next one. Yes you will have to step into a train station and purchase tickets. For Naples to Sorrento, it's a different train system. The trains depart every 30 minutes. You won't see these trains on Trenitalia. No seat reservations are permitted on this local train so you can't make them in advance anyway.

I just returned home 2 days ago from Italy. We usually have a rental car with my husband doing the driving but this was a trip with my sisters and we used the trains. I was a bit nervous about the whole train thing but did my homework in advance and it was very easy! Did not even try to purchase on the Trenitalia website after hearing about other people having problems with it. We did PtP tkts and what I did do is go to their site and printed out the time schedules for each of our trips. We started in Venice and a few days before we left for Florence I went to Oltrex Travel Agency (one bridge past the bridge of Sighs) and purchased our tickets for all of our journeys bringing along the schedules I had printed out. There were 5 of us traveling together and Oltrex charges only a total of 3 Euros for each journey, not for each individual ticket. For example, for our ticket from Venice to Florence we had only 1 ticket but it had 5 adults printed at the top so Oltrex charged 3 Euros for booking. I know we could have done it ourselves at the Venice train station, but the convenience of this place was wonderful. From Venice to Florence we took the Eurostar 2nd class and it was fine. On another journey from the C.T. to Milano we did 1st class on an InterCity. I also studied the sample tickets in Europe Through the Back Door and the R.S. Italy book so I was familiar with what was on them. A tip someone gave me on this helpline--the train from Venice to Rome (stops in Florence)originates in Venice so get there early and find your seats and stow your bags. Good luck and buon viaggio!

Terry we bought tix. through agents,train stations and always used our U.S. credit card,it takes a while to get used to the confusion at the Train Station but that is the fun of Italy,now if you want to do the Train between London and Paris reserve a Tix. in advance or you will get screwed,in advance it would have cost us 385 dollars but we had to pay 895 for the 3 of us the day before our trip, good luck

Thanks to all, I feel much more comfortable now about the ticket purchasing process and am sure we can handle it once we arrive in Italy. After all, we have mastered the NYC subway system and that is no easy feat!