Train Reservations

Eric, Based on your description, it appears the duration of your trip is 14-days? Does this include the two travel days at the beginning and end? I'm assuming you're planning to use P-P tickets? One important point to remember is that your time in each of those places will be reduced by the travel time required to get there. Some trips will be shorter, but on average it will require about half a day each time you change location. That includes time checking out of the Hotel, getting to the station, waiting, the rail trip, and then getting to the next Hotel and checking in. Where are you planning to stay on Lago di Como? That will have a bearing on the travel times. I normally try to buy rail tickets for the outgoing journey at least the day prior to travel. That may allow purchase of discounted tickets. Note that P-P tickets will include reservations if these are required. The ticket will specify Car No. (Carozza) and Seat No. (Posti). Reservations are always required on the "fast" trains such as the EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita but not on Regional trains. The tickets for Regional trains are often "open" (ie: no specific travel date listed) so IT'S IMPORTANT to validate them in the yellow machine prior to boarding, or you could be fined on the spot when the Conductor checks, and it won't be cheap! You may find it very helpful to have a look at This Excellent Website. There's LOTS of information here on rail travel in Italy. I'd also recommend packing along a copy of the Italy Guidebook if possible, as I've found it to be a valuable reference source during trips. Buon Viaggio!

Thanks for the reply Ken. I know there will be some travel time involved on a lot of the days, and I'm okay with that. I think it's worth it in order to see as much of the country as possible. And that includes what I can glimpse out my train window when whizzing by at top speeds. I haven't decided yet between purchasing P-P tickets or a rail pass. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest option, but the best. If I go with the 1st class rail pass, would that make any difference as far as reservation times? i.e., is it easier to make last minute reservations in 1st class? Or do you think that it's necessary to reserve at least a day in advance no matter what?

If you want max flexibility, then you can buy your ticket just prior to getting on. All trains in Italy except for Regional require a seat reservation and that is included with the ticket price. Since trains rarely, if ever fill up you can buy these tickets within 30 minutes of leaving. All regional are open (no seat reservation). They never sell out but it might mean that you will stand if all seats taken. All regional tickets are open - do not specify train or day of travel THEREFORE, they must be validated in the little yellow boxes PRIOR to boarding. If not, the penalty is severe is not validated. Regional trains are the slowest but you can buy a ticket a couple days before and get on any regional train going in the right direction - AFTER VALIDATION. Max flexibility. Regional train tickets are validate for 60 days.

Frank,
I'm assuming that when you say that "Since trains rarely, if ever fill up you can buy these tickets within 30 minutes of leaving", you're speaking of Regional trains? Since there are no reservations, they never sell out, however I wouldn't be guaranteed a seat. Correct? So I could travel with maximum flexibility if I stuck with only Regional trains, however they'd be considerably slower if I understand everything correctly. Do any of you have any ideas on how often the faster trains (AV, Eurostar, etc) that require reservations sell out? (in high season) Or is the point of making the reservation in advance to save money?

Tthe main reason for buying tickets in advance for the IC and Es trains is to save money. They are frequent and "rarely" sell out, but it is possible. We generally bought our tickets a day or two ahead,. The one time we arrived at the station and purchased tickets for the next train (an IC which required reservations) the 2d class was sold out, and our first class tickets did not have assigned seats. I think it was just too close to departure time. We were able to find seats, however, The few regional trains we rode were really crowded. From La Spezia to our destination in Cinque Terre, it was standing room only in the foyer-no room in the carriage itself. It was a hot day, the train departed 30 minutes late, and we were standing in that crowded foyer with 15 of our best friends the whole time. Fortunately the actual journey was short. The regional train from Varrenna to Milan was also very crowded. this was on a weekday for the mid-morning train, which is quite popular. We had to ask people to move their luggage off seats so we could sit down. They were not happy.

It's rare to see a train in Italy totally full or sold out, even the high speed ones. This only happens on some holidays. You can book a high speed train up to 30 minutes before departure and 99% of the time will be able to get a seat. Since there are no seat reservations for regional trains, technically, they can't sell out. Before deciding on a rail pass you should do the math. Most of the time passes don't save any money. The cost for tickets on the trenitalia site include the seat reservation fee while with a rail pass you must add 10 euros each on the high speed train for the reservation. This could add up to a lot of extra money. If you do decide to book tickets the day of travel you can go to the trenitalia site the night before to see the train times for that day. This might help you decide how much time to spend in the city. Donna

Eric, you say your itinerary is set, but you may want to add a stop in Padua (to see the Scrovegni Chapel frescoes), it's about 30 minutes outside of Venice and on the way to your next destination. I'd give up Pisa for Padua. Just a suggestion. Tickets and travel time - you can buy tickets from the kiosks at most major train stations, from the ticket agent (there could be a long line), or from the customer care center at most major train stations (which has shorter lines). You can easily get tickets that require reservations on the day of your travel, but the larger the city, the longer the lines. If your railpass requires reservations, you'll be standing in a line anyway, so you won't be saving much time with a pass (except to use it on the regional trains).

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. This is good stuff, pretty much exactly the type of information I was looking for. Even reading Rick's books and other travel sites, it wasn't clear to me the reservation time frames. You're all great! Zoe I'll look into it - Thanks

be advised that your destinations are all very popular destinations and travelling in June is peak season it is quite possible that certain train times will be sold out
I've been in Venice in May and wanted to take a certain time train to Florence and that train was sold out a day in advance and I had to take later train. I still got to Florence but didn't get to go at the time I wanted.

If you need to be on a specific train book in advance. There are also a small number of "Mini" fares, discounted fares that can save you a bit of money but again, you would need to book in advance and you are locked in a particular train. Dear peak holiday season trains can sell out if you are trying to purchase tickets right before the train leaves, or sometimes second class will be unavailable. You may need to go first class to take the train you want. If flexibility is key, don't reserve.

Eric: For a 14 day itinerary, you're taking an aggressive schedule. A day going and a day at the end of your trip will be wasted going and coming from the airport. Your trip might be much more enjoyable if your trip was limited to less places. You would be better served flying into Venice, taking a train to Florence and taking a train down to Rome. Then, fly home from Rome. Lake Como and C/T are very far off the beaten path, and hard to get to. Milan only has a great cathedral and opera house, but is otherwise another big, modern city. Chianti region has wineries to visit, and Sienna and San Gim. and the hill towns are must visit places. Rome has enough sights to spend two weeks in. Italy's tough to travel to on your first visit, and there is a great culture change. It's just best done a little slower.

Thanks for the thoughts David. The intensity of the schedule is defintely something I've considered. Although the airport travel days aren't really a factor. We're arriving at 8am on Sunday morning in Milan and leaving on Sunday morning 2 weeks later in Rome so we do have a whole 14 days. The main reason I want to spend some time at Lake Como and Cinque Terre is that my wife and I really enjoy hiking. The thought of being able to hike among moutain lakes and along the coast of the Italian Riviera has us really excited. Saying that they're way off the beaten path sounds like big plus to me. (Although as I'm sure you realize, Lake Como is only 45 minutes from Milan) I guess for the most part we realize that we'll never be able to see everything that we want to see in one trip, so it's better to try out a lot of different areas so get a good idea of the areas we like for our next trip. Our vacations around California usually involve multiple hours in the car each day, so the thought of being able to spend that time looking out the window, reading, sleeping, or practicing our Italian with the locals seems like decent time spent. Can't wait!