We are landing in Rome and planning on heading to Orvieto right from there.
1) If we book our train tickets ahead of time before departing the states and our flight is delayed and we miss the train we were booked for, can you change the ticket/rebook with a credit?
We also will be taking multiple trains on this trip. Some will be regional and some will be the highspeed ones. Is there a rail pass that would be valid for both types of train rides?
Thanks!
for Roma to Orvieto you may as well use the RV trains (fast regional) which don't need pre booking. Or the slightly faster IC trains which can be bought at the station but are a little more expensive. If you booked that in advance even at "Base" rate it would only be changeable until departure time.
Youhave to be careful with pases in Italy! There is a Trenitalia Pass https://www.trenitalia.com/en/offers/trenitalia-pass.html but read carefully even before the prices - TRIPS in the chosen number of days, not really a pass at all!
Then there is the One Country version of Eurail https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/one-country-pass/italy a proper pass for the number of days, but you have to pay extra for the compulsory reservation on fast trains, which you don't with the previous.
And both are only for Trenitalia trains, not contracted out regional trains or Italo high speed.
It's best to wait til you arrive to purchase onward travel train tickets. You can download the apps (both Trenitalia and ItaloTreno) and use that on arrival or just buy at the station at a kiosk.
There are no direct trains from FCO to Orvieto- you will be taking the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini then a train to Orvieto.
Some tickets can be changed- but not all- read the info listed with each type of ticket.
Rail passes are usually of no benefit or cost savings in Italy- just buy point to point tickets as you need them.
If your remaining itinerary is set you can buy fast train tickets in advance at a discount.
Regional trains can't sell out and price never changes- no need to purchase those in advance.
All you need to know about trains in Italy (except buy on the official sites not third party as he suggests)
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm
Official train sites:
Trenitalia- fast trains and regional trains
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
ItaloTeno- fast trains only on selected routes
https://www.italotreno.com/en
Both have easy to use apps
Use Italian station names
Roma Termini
Firenze SM Novella
etc
Have you looked at the Trenitalia website for your date and times? I don't think there is any significant (if any) cost saving in booking in advance. And there are PLENTY of trains daily. I'd just buy tickets for the next available train when you clear baggage pickup.
The information I'm providing here is from our February 2025 visit to Italy.
You don't need to buy tickets in advance to Orvieto.
The route I know of would be to take the Leonardo Express to Termini train station. Buy tickets there. A few things to note, the RS guidebook makes it sound like its a quick trip from Rome to Orvieto. Not necessarily, was the case for us. Depending on time of day, the trains may not be hourly. Some trains connect in Orte and from there you take a bus to Orvieto. From Orvieto train station, you cross the street and take a funicular up to the city, and then either walk about a mile? or take a bus to the historic town center. All those transfers are easy, but transfers none the less.
With luggage, you might look for the routes that go to Orvieto directly from Termini. Be aware, that at least some of the trains to Orte and Orvieto, leave from 2est, which is a longish walk from the main part of the station.
We LOVED Orvieto, so don't let the logistics discourage you.
I wouldn't buy a train pass. I would buy regional trains day of with the app or at the station. You might look at the pricing of the high speed trains and determine if it makes sense for you to buy those tickets in advance. In general, tickets purchased in advance are not refundable/changeable.
