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Train from Florence to Pisa/Lucca

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Planning a trip to Italy March 2024. I have so many questions, but I will try to focus to one topic in this post. We’ll be in Florence for 4 nights in the middle of our trip. If we wanted to do a day trip from Florence to Pisa and Lucca, what are the exact steps for booking the train?

I’d assume show up early morning at the Firenze S. M. Novella and buy a round trip ticket. However, I’m not sure if I buy a round trip ticket to Pisa or Lucca. Let’s say for arguments sake, we want to see Pisa first, then spend the afternoon in Lucca before coming home to Florence.

Do we buy a round trip ticket to Lucca? Then, do we get off at Pisa (many Trenitalia trains from Florence to Lucca seem to stop in Pisa) and spend the morning? Would we be allowed on a later train that goes to Lucca to spend the afternoon/evening? Or, is it something else I’m not thinking of?

When booking a regional, round trip ticket, I assume you specify the departure time, but do you also specify the return time? Or, do you buy the ticket to your destination and then you have 24/48/72 hours to board and return which is why they have you validate the tickets?

Any and all help would be much appreciated!

Posted by
7229 posts

Purchase point to point tickets
Florence to Pisa
Pisa to Lucca
Lucca to Florence

You can purchase at the station or on the app
If you purchase at station be sure to validate

No need to purchase in advance as regional trains can’t sell out and price never changes

Be sure to purchase on official site
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

Posted by
3514 posts

What Christine said.
On the day you want to go, just turn up at SMN station in Florence, head to either a ticket machine or a staffed ticket counter, and buy tickets.
Validate them in the little yellow , or some are green, stamping machines on the train platforms.
No need for advance buying.
Same going on from Pisa to Lucca, and Lucca back to Florence.
You aren’t locked in to specific times, so you can go and come back when you want.
Be sure to have the Trenìt! App on your phone, to keep an eye on the times of trains.
Have a look at the Italian section on The Man in Seat 61 website for wonderful information about how to use the trains.

Posted by
3010 posts

All good advice from Christine.
I would only add that the Trenitalia App was extremely helpful for us during our last trip. With it we were able to skip the lines at the ticket kiosks and book our tickets on the app. The tickets are then sent to you electronically as an attachment to a confirmatory email. No need to worry about validating paper tickets since the electronic ones are already time stamped. Just need to show the ticket checker the bar code for his reader as he makes his way thru the compartment.

Posted by
3812 posts

Robert is 100% right about the App, but note that

  1. Regional trains ticket can be purchased at any Trenitalia station. FCO station included. You don't need to be in Pisa to get a ticket for trains departing from Pisa
  2. The paper version of Regional trains tickets can be used on every Regional train running from A to B on the picked day of travel. They are day-specific, not train specific.
  3. You could buy all the Regional trains tickets you need in a single transaction at any station. Picking a day and a route, not a train and a time of departure. On the day of travel, validate and get on the first regionale going to your next destination within 4 hours.

Of course the app lets passengers enjoy the same last-minute flexibility without the need of time-stamping, but not everybody has good/cheap internet access in roaming while abroad.

Posted by
16133 posts

Not related to trains but I suggest to start with Lucca which has more to see. Pisa is one trick pony, with the trick being Piazza dei Miracoli with the Duomo, Baptistery, Leaning Tower, Camposanto. While the interiors close at a certain time, the outside is more beautiful in the evenings.

Posted by
33 posts

Roberto - I actually like your idea a lot. My only reason for going to Pisa first was to beat the crowds, but if I can do that in the evening as well, more time for Lucca.

Dario - This is awesome info. I feel like I’ve read that train tickets are good for any train time, but when I’ve watched people book some single route tickets on YouTube (for regional trains), they have to pick a route AND time.

Is the idea that… you have to pick a route and time when booking BUT if you wait to validate the 2nd (Lucca to Pisa) and 3rd leg (Pisa back to Florence) (assume you buy all 3 in Florence) that you can validate right before you actually want to get on a specific train at a specific time?

Sorry if this is worded poorly!

Posted by
3812 posts

You can't book a Regional train, there are no reserved seats. You can only get tickets in advance.

Online regional tickets can be used on the picked train and on any other regional train running the same route within 4 hours.

Paper regional tickets can be used on any Regional train running that route on the picked day of travel. The 4 hours start when you time-stamp your regional tickets before boarding.

YouTube videos show people checking the schedules, finding a train they want and then getting tickets. Of course the user interface of ticket machines let customers get tickets directly from the search results page.

Posted by
33 posts

Dario -

Thanks you for the clarification. I’m sorry if I used the wrong words: book/reserve vs. purchase tickets.

I imagine I will buy the tickets for the regional trains day of either at the ticket machines or via the Trenitalia app.

When I have seen people buy tickets for regional trains on YouTube, they have bought a ticket for a specific time for one way. I assumed that locked them into that train at that time.

It seems you are saying you have all day to ride a train from your current destination to your desired destination. If true, that would be helpful because I could buy all 3 train tickets that morning. If not, I’ll just buy them as I arrive at each train station for the next train to arrive.

Posted by
3812 posts

If true, that would be helpful because I could buy all 3 train tickets that morning.

True or false depends on how you buy Regional trains tickets.

If you get them online ChristineH is right and "You have 4 hours from the scheduled departure time of the train you purchased the ticket for".

If you get Regional train tickets either at the counter or at the ticket machines, the 4 hours begin when you time-stamp each paper ticket. You have the all day to start the clock.

Sorry, I don't know how to better explain it.

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