We are planning to travel from Cinque Terre, via Pisa, to Rome on 19 September. We will have railpasses, but at least one leg of the trip requires seat reservations (and I don't know if they are recommended for the other legs). Will I be able to buy the seat reservations on the day? Or can these services fill up and should I buy them beforehand? If so, would a couple of days earlier be early enough (ie buy at a train station in another part of Italy once we arrive)? Thanks for any advice.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Before you purchase a rail pass, you may first want to check out the prices of the various legs of your journey at the Italian national rail website, Trenitalia. The general consensus on this board has been that rail passes are not cost-effective for Italy because of the relatively low train fares, and because of the high cost of reservations (which, in the case of premium fast trains, are really supplements for the privilege of using those trains.) I know I have always found point to point tickets cheaper.
The Trenitalia site also offers the chance to book discount tickets, some as high as 60% off the walkup price. This can be a major cost saving, as long as you carefully consider the refund and exchange conditions. The vast majority of Americans have had trouble making credit card purchases on the Trenitalia site. But Canadian cards (including mine) have worked, so a New Zealand card may work as well.
If you still want to use a rail pass, you can check to see which trains require a reservation by going to the German rail network, Deutsche Bahn, the best for checking any schedules in western Europe. Trains requiring a reservation will be marked with a little white "R" inside a red circle.
You can make your reservations when you arrive in Italy. But be aware that seats set aside for rail pass holders are becoming very limited, and may be gone for the train(s) you want. The alternatives include waiting for another train, or purchasing them in advance at RailEurope. You cannot purchase them from Trenitalia over the internet....others may want to comment on success or failure of booking reservations only over the phone.