Just back from Cinque Terre, Lucca, Montalcino, Rimini, Riccione, Ravenna, Monsummano Terme and Marina Di Pisa. What a magical trip. Don't forget to stamp/validate your train and bus tickets. There is a very steep fine if you did not "punch" them. Just buying the ticket does not constitute a validation. In the train stations there is a small yellow unmarked box on the wall - that is where you validate your train ticket after purchasing. On the bus, there is a little yellow (I think yellow) box to stamp your bus ticket. The train personnel were not helpful at all and nothing was explained about having to punch the ticket. We didn't punch our first ticket and I remembered reading in the Rick Steve book about needing a validation but didn't know about the yellow boxes. Oh and be careful about pick pockets everywhere. My father-in-law just lost 200 euros last week along with important documentation in the bus.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
John, sometimes locals don't stamp because they're evading the fee. But often they don't stamp because they have a monthly pass and they only need to stamp it once.
Posted by
Denver, Colorado, USA
26 posts
Thanks Pam!
I know for a fact that locals sometimes dont stamp - especially in Naples and Pozzuoli. Because of this, the overwhelmed tourist will inadvertantly skip this procedure only to end up with like you stated - a huge fine.
Posted by
Bothell, WA, USA
206 posts
Actually, you don't validate tickets after you purchase them necessarily. You validate your train ticket just before you board. Bus/tram tickets can be validated when you get on the bus/tram for your first trip. If you have a pass (like a 24-hour, 3-day, etc.), you validate it in your first trip also. We did not lose any money or documents thanks to our money belts....
Posted by
Florence, OR, US
267 posts
See my post "big fine on the train"...
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8058 posts
Speechless.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
This is SOOO easy to forget to do, especially with the train. You may be busy trying to figure out which track (binario) your train is going to be on, when it leaves, which car you should get on, etc. that it can slip your mind. If you get on the train and it takes off and then you realize that you forgot to stamp your ticket, proceed immediately to the very front of the train. If you meet the ticket guy on your way, tell him you forgot to stamp your ticket. Be very apologetic. He will probably endorse the back of it for you. If you don't meet the ticket guy, keep going to the very first car where the engineer is. He or someone else can endorse it for you at that point. Humbly accept any lecture he gives you about the importance of stamping your ticket. (Your goal is to avoid the whopping fine.)
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
48 posts
I have to say that it also took us awhile to figure out that we needed to get it stamped. We rode the trains the whole time and NEVER got asked. I read about the fines in Rick Steves' book but not once did we have some one ask to see our ticket.