train seats

Foreward / reaeward facing seats can be problematic. For instance, if you are travelling from Venice to Rome, the train will reverse direction at Florence.

If you book two seats on a train, then mostly the seats will be facing one another, so one will be facing foreward.

For most stations, I would see five minutes between trains as being very tight. It only needs one train to bve delayed by a minute or two, or being at the wrong end of the platform, or the stairs being crowded and you are in trouble.

We would mostly want fifteen minutes between trains.

Five minutes between trains is adequate in very small stations. Where are you changing trains?

Peter explained forward/rearward seating well. We always book seats facing one another when we can. Then there is at least one forward facing option and we can trade seats as needed.

I agree that 5 minutes really isn't enough time between connecting trains. You'll want at least 15 minutes like Peter mentioned. During our trip, which we took many trains, just looking up at the arrivals boards - 2/3rds of the trains were at least 5 minutes late and several were more than 5 minutes. I'd say half of our trains were 5-15 minutes late with one being 45 minutes late.

From my understanding, if you are buying economy/super economy tickets (which don't allow changes/refunds) and don't leave at least a 15 minute window between connections, Trenitalia won't assist you with getting tickets on the next train without charge in the event of missing a connecting train due to a late arriving train - you'd need to purchase new tickets.

When I was researching train schedules, I also noticed that when it puts together connecting trains, they often have very short connection windows. However, if you do your own search from, say, your second station to the third station, you may find that there are other trains available that would give you a more comfortable amount of time between trains. This is what we did to reduce the stress of missing a connection.

Can you be a bit clearer on your train plans? Where are you going, and where are you changing? That will also enable us to say if the train will reverse on route and the sort of stations where you will be changing...

My experience having worked on trains for many years is that motion sickness usually doesn't tend to affect people on trains, regardless of direction facing. The inside of the carriage is large with plenty to look at, and the countryside passes smoothly and gently, even on high speed trains it is usually easy to focus on something in the distance.

Most current cars are designed with all of the seats facing the middle so that the car can run in either direction. And sometimes trains change direction of travel. So it is impossible to determine the travel direction of your seat. At any one time half the people will be riding backwards. If riding forward is critical, your only solution is to book two seats facing each other so you can switch with your seat partner.

Five minutes could be tight but it depends on the train. Many stations it is simply walking across the platform.

Usually Trenitalia considers 5 minutes as sufficient in small station and 15 minutes in major stations. Both are very narrow windows if the incoming train is delayed.

As for booking forward seats, you can't. There is no way to know, from the place selector in Trenitalia web site which way the train is traveling. - In some itineraries the train does not reverse, but every train calling at Torino Porta Nuova, Milano Centrale, Firenze SMN, Roma Termini and Napoli Centrale will have to reverse - so in some itineraries the train reverses one time (mostly at Firenze), sometimes it reverses two times (usually at Firenze and Roma). If sitting forward is very important for you, you can ask fellow travelers if they mind to exchange places. But I observe that even people that are very much disturbed by car travel are rarely disturbed by train travel.

Hi mkusters2. You've gotten a lot of good info. Since I am subject to motion sickness, I will add some first hand info. I would plan that you will not be able to ride backwards. I have tried it and I get a headache / nausea within a few minutes. However, I enjoy trains and have taken probably thirty or more train rides in Europe with no problem. I use the methods others have mentioned: book opposing seats and take the one going forward; move to an empty seat (there are almost always some), or ask a stranger to switch with me. People have always been sympathetic and willing to switch, and in several cases it was a good way to strike up a conversation. Enjoy your trip!

Or just go to the bar car that you will find on most trains and have a drink or a coffee.

The default when buying two seats is a pair of facing seats, with a table in between. You will find USB charging outlets on many trains, also Free WiFi (tunnels are problematic).

Thank you all for the information. I guess the best of thing to do is to book two seats facing each other, which I will do for remaining train reservations. I had already booked one train ride from Domodossola to Venice, where we are both facing the same way, which I thought could be facing the front of train (hard to tell by seat diagram) not realizing how the train goes in reverse.

The train trip that I was looking at with the transfers was from Venice to Manarola. I would have 30 minutes to transfer in Florence, 5 minutes in Pisa and 6 minutes in La Spezia. There are earlier rides that have more time in Pisa and La Spezia but only 13 minutes in Florence. I did prefer the first ride as it was only 5 hours vs. 51/2 and 6 hours and departs about an hour later than the others. Maybe I should do as suggested and reserve each segment of the trip separately allowing more transfer time. Or just reserving the first segment to Florence and then buying the next 2 regional train tickets (Pisa and La Spezia) at the train station when we get there. Or as mentioned, if I didn't make the Pisa or La Spezia connection, the regional ticket is good for 4 hours (correct?), I could just catch the next train. Is there usually room or are they at times full? Any thoughts?

You can't reserve Regionali, which are the 3 trains you will be riding after Florence. They never sell out, so if there are no seats, you stand until one opens up.

The first connection at Florence is comfortable 30 minutes. The train will originate in Florence, so you can board as soon as it is spotted on the platform, 10 to 15 minutes before departure, so you can be the first on board and get a seat in the direction you want.

The second connection is at Pisa Centrale and is tight, but you should make it if you arrive on time. If it is late, the next train toward Manarola is 39 minutes later, so get on that one. Trenitalia suggests changing to the Cinque Terre Express at Sarzana, the town before La Spezia, and that is a 17 minute connection, which should be fine. You will arrive in Manarola 40 minutes after the train you were originally scheduled on. Your tickets are still valid because you are well within the 4 hour time window.

The later train from Pisa also originates in Pisa, and you have plenty of time. So just like at Florence, you can be one of the first to board. At Sarzana, same thing. Train will be arriving for the CT and turning around to go back. You will be the first one on board.

Laurel, I am thinking that Pisa and La Spezia are smaller train stations. If trains arrive on time, would 5 minutes in Pisa and 6 minutes in La Spezia be a sufficient amount of time to transfer.

And my understanding from what everyone is saying is that even if I book this trip as one train trip, from Venice to Manarola, that if I do not make a connection with the regional train that I am scheduled to take, I'm have a 4 hour window so I can take the next regional train???? Would I have to renew ticket or just get on the train?

If I switch my travel to an earlier time, which gives more transfer time in Pisa and La Spezia, would 13 minutes be enough time to transfer in Florence?

I am thinking that Trenitalia puts these routes together, with the thought that if the trains are on time, that the transfer/connection times are sufficient????

Regionale tickets do not have to be reissued if you are inside the 4-hour window and will arrive at you next destination (or point of train change) by then. Just get on the next regional train on the same route.

Yes, they figure that you can make any change that shows on the schedule. Whether the train arrives on time for that connection is a different issue. You can get tickets reissued if you inbound train is severely late enough that the connection is impossible.

Is 13 minutes enough time to transfer from a Freccia train to a regional train? Thanks

13 minutes should be enough time, but again, it depends what station you are at.

Sorry I forgot to put Florence in post. Station Firenze S. M . Novella