We will be travelling to Italy in May/2019 arriving in Rome and then must make our way to Naples. We plan to take the Leonardo Express to Termini and then on to Naples. Is it advisable to purchase our train tickets ahead of time? My concern is booking train tickets and then our flight is delayed. Would we be safe in just getting tickets when we arrive at Termini?
Is there a big difference in price between buying online months ahead of time and buying at the station when we arrive?
The best idea is to buy tickets for your arrival day when you get there. The OTHER days, buy in advance, but the arrival day, you can't do much if your plane is late, so just buy them when you get to the station.
Buy them at the station. Also, check the difference between coach and first class. It's quiet, it's mellower, and often, the price difference is negligible.
Totally safe to just buy your tickets when you arrive. There are very frequent trains to Naples. You'll just be paying full fare, which is still inexpensive.
Correct me if I'm wrong, gang...
Leonardo Express runs about every half hour, takes 32 minutes and is 14 Euro. Can't imagine you'd have to buy in advance or whether you even can do it.
Roma Termini to Naples Centrale...how lucky do you feel? If you want, give yourself enough lead time and buy tickets 90 days in advance (120? Maybe...) You'll pay around 17 Euro per. 'Course, if the plane's late and you miss that train, you'll have to buy at the window right then & there and pay the full shot, which is about 40 Euro per.
Enjoy your planning!
The is no advantage or reason to buy L Express tickets to Termini in advance. From Termini to Naples you might look at the price. If the Super Economy is really cheap you might gamble with a four or five hour window from arrival with the understanding that if you do not make it, it is a throw away ticket. If the price is right it could be worth the gamble. You will have no problem buying a ticket on arrival at the airport ticket office since trains rarely if ever sell out. Buy all your tickets at the airport ticket office. BE SURE to validate the L Express ticket prior to boarding. Expensive if you don't.
PS -- Did a quick check for next Spring, Wednesday. The SE fare ranges from less than 10E to about 16E depending on time of day. The base fare (walk up) is roughly 27 Euro depending on time. First class at the same time is 36E. Not sure if difference between 10 or so and 27 is worth the gamble.
If you prepurchase an economy ticket with departure 5 hours after airplane arrival, there is a good chance you’ll make that train unless flights are a total disaster that day.
The issue for me would be that the 10-15€ savings is not enough to repay me for waiting an extra 4+ hours in case the plane arrives on time or even early (which happens on long flights). When I land, I want to hit the road right away not wait for a train 5 hours later, when I could be on one a few min after I retrieve my luggage at the bag claim.
If you were going to Venice by train, which is much farther and expensive than Naples, I would say to go for the cheaper train fare later in the day, but Naples is only 70min away and the full base price isn’t exorbitant.
Thanks for all your answers. They have helped a lot. Now I have one further question. . . Is there a big difference in price between buying online months ahead of time and buying at the station when we arrive?
Supereconomy fare can be more than 60% off the full “base” price. Economy fare is about 30% off the base price.
For example the Rome Termini to Naples Centrale on Standard class (2nd class) on a Frecciarossa is:
Base price 46€
Economy fare 32.90€
Supereconomy 16.90€
If you take a slower Intercity train (2hr journey instead of 70 min on a FrecciaRossa), the prices in 2nd class are lower:
Base 27€
Economy 19.90€
Supereconomy 9.90€
Ya -- three classes of tickets -- Super Economy, Economy, and Base The SE and Econ are discounted tickets with restrictions - no change, no refund. These ticket are limited in availability and once sold are gone for that train. The probability of the SE tickets and even the Econ ticket being available on day of travel is very, very low, to zero. So if you want the discount tickets, should be purchased around the 90 day out mark. But that locks you into a fixed schedule. The Base ticket can be changed at anytime, the Econ ticket ticket once paying current price, the SE - never.
