Should I book Train Travel All at Once?

You can do any of the above, depending on how committed you are to particular train departures and whether you want to save 20 euros on a longer leg that offers advance-purchase discounts.

You would not book ahead for Milan-Varenna, following flight arrival and served by unreserved regional train. Buy that one at the station and probably buy the return ticket to Milan at the same time. In Varenna, the travel agency at the station sells longer-distance tickets but is open limited hours and lines can form. The bar near the main square sells tickets back to Milan, but not further.

You might look at some of the prior postings on this subject as it is well covered daily. The ONLY reason to purchase tickets in advance, on-line, is to take advantage of the substantial discount that MIGHT be available. However, the discount tickets cover with restrictions on changing and missing a train. There are three levels of tickets in Italy - Super Eonomy, Economy, and Base. The Base is the walk up fare if the discounts are gone. Therefore, if you know your schedule and are willing in times, then buy on line IF a discount ticket is available. If not wait till you get there. One exception -- the Regional train tickets are open tickets that are good on any Regionale train at anytime after validation (time stamp) prior to boarding. All trains except Regional required a seat reservation and the tickets are specific to a certain train number, car no, and seat number.

Thanks for the info. I found a website raileurope.com and a ticket from Milan Centrale to Varenna was only $8 so I thought that was cheap and would make sense to have in advance. I guess I worry about arriving in Varenna and not having any other tickets purchased and want to go to Venice on my 3rd day in Italy. The same site has a ticket from Varenna to Venice for $43.. I'm not sure if these are good prices or bad prices since I've never done this before.

RailEurope is a travel agency that may not list the full schedule of available trains and charges a little extra for their tickets. Go to trenitalia.com both for schedules and prices.

For May 17th there is a train each hour to Varenna, all Regionale trains and the fare is 6.70E. Since these are Regionale fares, do NOT buy in advance since the on-line ticket comes with more restrictions and no discount. There are no seat reservation on Regionale trains. Just get on and go. No seat - stand till one becomes available. Buy the ticket at the station and validate it (time stamp) in the little green/yellow/blue boxes near the platform prior to boarding. Watch the locals do it.

Milan to Varenna never costs more than $8 but buying it ahead will lock you into at least a 4-hour window of time, if not narrower. The $43 rate for the next leg is $8 plus $24, translated from Trenitalia's €6.70 and €19.90. Only that second Milan-Venice leg reflects an advance discount. Full-fare that you might pay on short notice depends on which departure you chose - up €39 for a EuroCity (e.g., departing Milan at 12:05) or €45 in Standard class for Frecciarossa (e.g., departing Milan at 11:45 or 14:45). Similar advance discounts can also apply from Venice to Florence and La Spezia to Rome.

Mp - it works better if you think in local currency - hotel rooms, train fares, etc. So price everything in euro and start thinking that way.

Are you visiting the cities in the order in which you listed them in your question?

Check for well-priced tickets on the website Trainline.eu. Easy interface and the same price as buying direct from the rail companies, offers both the Italian state-run rail system and the Italo trains. And easily accepts American credit cards for payment.

I don't know enough to know exactly which trains are regionale and should NOT be purchased in advance, except for Varenna-Milan.

My guess is that you would want to buy these tickets in advance in order to save some money (you are of course then locked into your travel times, but that is usually worth it to me for the savings):

1. Milan - Venice (after having arrived back in Milan via a Regionale from Varenna, which as mentioend above, you should NOT buy in advance)
2. Venice- Florence
3. (I don't know about Florence - Cinque Terre -- it may be that part is a faster train and should be reserved early, and part is a regionale train which should just be bought day of travel - hopefully others who know the route will pitch in)
4. (same for Cinque Terre - Rome)

p.s. while the cost of the regionale trains will always stay the same, the cost for the longer hauls will only go UP as your travel dates approach . . . .

in fact this thread right down the page talks about the same thing in principle -- it's going from Rome to Cinque Terre, where you're going from Florence to Cinque Terre. I think the principle will be the same -- portion reserved train and portion regionale train.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/train-from-rome-to-monterosso-cinque-terre

Are you visiting the cities in the order in which you listed them in your question? YES-

Yes, my itinerary is Milan to Varenna (2 nights), Varenna to Venice (3 nights), Venice to Florence (2 nights in Florence and one in San Gimig), Florence to La Spezia (2 nights) then the final night will be in Citiv the cruise port before 11 day cruise.

Sounds like easy consensus is to NOT buy a ticket to Varenna in advance.. just arrive in Milan at 11am (jet lag ugh) and see Cathedral and maybe catch a cheap train to Varenna for the afternoon..

Sounds like a consensus as well to book Varenna- Venice, Venice-Florence and maybe Florence- La Spezia in advance as the prices could go up? I don't mind a few extra Euro here or there, I would prefer to pay a little extra to avoid long lines in train stations or to avoid the risk of being 'sold out' or something.. Most travel days I plan to wake up early and travel early to arrive in destination city around lunch time to enjoy as much of each new day in each new city.

I thought I read something in Ricks Italy 2017 that suggested maybe arriving in Milan airport or train station and just booking all of the train tickets at a local TI store.. maybe I'm wrong but I thought that was his advice?
Thanks all!!!!

To clarify, train ticket prices do not "go up". Prices are set when posted and do not change.

You may pay more for your tickets the longer you wait to buy them, because the cheaper, more restrictive tickets sell out fast on the most popular routes. Train fares are not like airfares, where prices fluctuate constantly.

Buy tickets from Trenitalia or Itslo, companies that actually run the trains, or italiarail which some say is easier to use. Let your bank and/or credit card company know that you are making international purchases.

The price to the consumer absolutely goes up as the cheaper seats sell out and only more expensive ones remain as an option for him/her to purchase.

Thanks all for the replies; I'm definitely going to book the major routes in advance now.

One last question.. How do I obtain the actual ticket? If I book online do I then print these myself, do they mail them to me or do I just get a confirmation number that I then show at the train station? Rick talks alot about making sure you validate your physical ticket before getting on the train but I still don't know how I obtain that ticket after purchase online.

thanks!!!!!!!

You will receive an email with the confirmation and probably a pdf attachment that is the actual ticket. You can print it at home (disregard the paper size instruction, 8.5x11 will be fine) and show it to the conductor. Some people just show the email pdf image.

Kim, I did say in my post that the buyer will pay more the longer they wait to buy the ticket once the low-priced tickets are gone.

It depends on the types of tickets you buy. On Trainline, for the big routes, I bought using the apps and the tickets are right on my phone. I'll just open them and when I'm on the train, the controller will beep them with their handheld scanner.

Same if you get a PDF that you print out (usually with a QR code that their scanner can read).

So in that sense the "rules of the game" are a little bit different than they used to be -- not every ticket gets validated in the machine any more!

For the little regionale tickets, there will be machines at the beginning of the platform that you'll stick your ticket in. Watch others do it and follow right along.

The ONLY ticket that needs to be validated is the Regionale train ticket bought in the station or at a ticket machine.

Thank you all for the replies; I was able to use trainline.eu and then downloaded their app as well and found great prices and routes. Also the ticket itself can be printed or used on the cell phone/ipad etc.. I actually found a Venice-Florence trip 1st class for 25 Euros when similar 2nd class seats at different times are as high as 50 Euros! Definitely saved time, money and stress!