Train question

Posted by Angela (Seattle, Wa, USA) on 03/13/22 02:40 AM

So I’ve FINALLY nailed down the itinerary for my upcoming trip in May, booked hotels, came up with a rough plan of sites to see, foods to eat, etc. and now I’m thinking train reservations are next. And I don’t see the wonderfully cheap 9 euro train tickets anymore!

Cries in a corner.

So…. Is there really any reason for me to purchase tickets far in advance? Other than tickets might get sold out? The routes that I need are Rome to Florence, then I will be on a RS tour, then I’m going from Lucca to Stresa. I can’t imagine that I’d need to book any of those more than a week in advance if there is no advantage anymore to booking months ahead for the big discount.

Posted by Jazz+Travels

Chicago

03/13/22 02:51 AM

8250 posts

Rome to Florence and Luca to Stresa you would book in advance for the lowest fare. Look and book directly with the train companies trenitalia and it's rival italotren for the best prices today.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

https://www.italotreno.it/en

Posted by MaryPat

Irving

03/13/22 03:24 AM

3331 posts

One of the problems with buying train tickets way in advance is you don’t always see the most direct routes until you get closer to the time of departure. I like to look to see what’s available one week out and then check to see if it’s also available further out. If not, wait until it is.

Posted by Dario

Italy

03/13/22 11:30 AM

3812 posts

I haven't seen the 9 Euro tickets on trenitalia.com for years.

If you are departing in May 2022, both companies' sites are showing all the routes. Even if you waited up to one week before the departure you wouldn't see more direct routes.

From Rome to Florence, on trenitalia.com you can choose between high speed trains that cost 29 € per person and the Regionales that take almost 4 hours and cost € 21.75

Italo's cheapest tickets from Rome to Florence start from 19.90 €. To save more, subscribe to Italotreno's newsletter and wait for their promo codes on Fridays. You can take Italotreno also from Florence to Milan, but your connections wouldn't be protected.

Posted by Robert

Colorado Springs

03/13/22 02:29 PM

3059 posts

You'll save money by booking in advance - just not as much as you were used to - and per Dario the routing isn't going to change inside of the published 60 day train schedules.
Your best bet is to view the links provided by Jazz and do some dummy bookings to see what the cutoff date for the discount is (30 days?), how much you'd likely save, and then determine in your particular case whether it's better to book ahead or preserve some flexibility by booking later.

Posted by Angela OP

Seattle, Wa, USA

03/14/22 02:22 AM

663 posts

Thanks everyone! My last trip was July 2018, so it wasn’t such a long time ago in my mind. And the Rome to Florence route was 19 euros even then, so I guess the price isn’t drastically higher.

I’ll definitely book the Rome to Florence journey in advance since I have to be in Florence at a set time. My schedule for the Lucca to Stresa train journey is far more flexible, so I will likely wait on that one.

Posted by Dario

Italy

03/14/22 03:37 AM

3812 posts

so I will likely wait on that one.

Don't wait too much, the walk-up fare from Florence SMN to Milano Centrale is € 56 per person, one way.

Neither company sells Discounted tickets on the day of travel. There is no fixed cutoff date, but it's almost impossible to find the cheapest SuperEconomy tickets less than one week before the departure day. Especially for trains headed to Milan.