Train tickets - buy in advance?

Purchasing train tickets in advance for Italy is not necessary but can save you money.

If your itinerary is set- you know what day/time you want to take a train then you can purchase in advance for some great discounts. Be sure to read all the rules of the ticket.

RailEurope is a third party reseller.
Use the official train sites instead.

Trenitalia is the official state train company.
They run fast trains and regional trains.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

All Fast (Freccia) and IC (Intercity) trains require a seat reservation.

Regional trains do not and the price ever changes, they cannot sell out so no need to buy regional in advance

ItaloTreno is the private train company that runs fast trains only on selected routes

https://www.italotreno.com/en

Both train companies have easy to use apps- very handy before your trip and during your trip.

All you need to know about trains in Italy here:
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

If you decide to use Trenitalia, make sure you download their mobile app. It is surprisingly slick and presents all your digital tickets and QR codes and itinerary info in an easily accessible fashion, which is needed when the conductor comes by to check tickets. (But still make hard paper copies of everything--failsafe!)

And...when booking check to see the price difference between 2nd or 1st/business class. Usually--if you book early--the difference is usually only 10-15 Euro and well worth it. Our train from Salerno to Taormina, Sicily (the train car goes on a ferry across the Strait of Messina!) was quiet, peaceful and half-full in 1st class but a literal Sicilian zoo in 2nd class! Really interesting, but not for 6 hours!

Thank you both for your responses and the information. It is very helpful. I will definitely use the Trenitalia app to buy tickets in advance.

My husband and I went to the Puglia region of Italy -- highly recommend. Stayed there 1 week then went to Sorrento and stayed 2 weeks as a base.

I used the Rome2Rio website to look at the various transportation options and found it very helpful.

When it came to actually booking a bus or train, I always used the Omio app. It provided options by all the carriers for the routing requested. I never had a problem with it and it was very good at providing options for trains, boats and busses. Easy to book to book and pay for a ticket in advance.

We took the bus from Naples to Leece as it was direct with no transfers. A good way to travel. Then when we went Leece to Naples I booked the train just for different scenery -- but there was a transfer. Our timing was tight with the transfer and we almost missed the second train. I'd recommend taking whichever route is direct versus having to do transfers. The time travelling was about the same for us.

Hope that helps

Kate, just one caution? If your itinerary has you moving from your city of arrival immediately to another, you might want to wait until you land to buy your tickets, even if the price is more than if you'd booked in advance. Advance, economy tickets are normally less flexible should your flight be cancelled or delayed. If you're not moving onward on day of arrival by air, then go ahead and purchase in advance for other journeys but I'd only do so for those that involve 'fast trains' with time/seat/carriage reservations, and where economy tickets are available. Those that involve shorter hops by regionale train can be purchased on day-of basis as there's no price advantage in advance.

The same applies to tickets for attractions or tours: as they're almost always non-refundable/non-changeable should you miss your appointed time, it's not recommended to book in advance for day of arrival.

As you've posted in the Italy forum, are you planning on traveling only within the country or outside of it as well? What does your itinerary look like, if you've firmed one up?

Thank you for your reply. We will already have been traveling around by car for several weeks. When we return the car in Bari, that's when we will be taking the train to Bologna, then after that on to Lugano in Switzerland. We will definitely prefer to be on the fast trains for both of those trips. But since that won't be until July (!), I think I can wait until, say, April to look into purchasing those tickets on line. Does that sound reasonable? Thx.

As others have said, really not necessary, but it can save you money. We just bought tickets for the high-speed train between Rome<->Napoli in March. Total cost was about 22e per seat each direction. Cheapest seat options were about 15e. Waiting until right before the journey, you could end up paying full price, about double that. Buy the high-speed train tickets as far out as your planning allows.

For decades, though, it didn't pay to buy the regional/inter-city train tickets in advance because they Never fill up. For the slow trains, I'd always show up, buy a ticket for the next departure to my destination, and hop on.
Well, that seems to have come to and end for some routes. When we left Pompei last year to return to Rome, we arrived at the station and the next two trains were fully sold-out. We had to wait over an hour for the next train we could gets tickets for. So even for the regional/inter-city, you may want to purchase a couple days ahead if your schedule isn't flexible or if you're hauling luggage.

When we left Pompei last year to return to Rome, we arrived at the
station and the next two trains were fully sold-out.

Could you clarify what sort of trains you were using here and what stations you are referring to?

The train from Pompeii (Scavi) to Naples is a commuter train. That train never sells out- once seats are full it just becomes standing room only.
From Naples to Rome would be a fast train- these can and do sell out as seat reservations are mandatory.
If you were waiting for a Regional train from Naples to Rome- same thing. Once full it just becomes Standing Room Only.

If you were traveling from Pompei (town) to Rome you still have to change in Naples as there are no direct trains from Pompei to Rome. It would have been a Regional to Naples then a fast train to Rome.

My husband and I went to the Puglia region of Italy -- highly
recommend. Stayed there 1 week then went to Sorrento and stayed 2
weeks as a base.

I used the Rome2Rio website to look at the various transportation
options and found it very helpful.

When it came to actually booking a bus or train, I always used the
Omio app. It provided options by all the carriers for the routing
requested. I never had a problem with it and it was very good at
providing options for trains, boats and busses. Easy to book to book
and pay for a ticket in advance.

We took the bus from Naples to Leece as it was direct with no
transfers. A good way to travel. Then when we went Leece to Naples I
booked the train just for different scenery -- but there was a
transfer. Our timing was tight with the transfer and we almost missed
the second train. I'd recommend taking whichever route is direct
versus having to do transfers. The time travelling was about the same
for us.

Yes, tml, we are planning for March 2027 a direct train Rome/Lecce after 2 weeks staying at an apartment near Campo de' Fiori and just chilling. This is the first I've looked, and as a faux reservation I put in March 2026, and they came up with a direct (7 stops including Benevento, Bari & Brindisi) taking almost 6 hours. 2nd class is 80 Euro, premium class 90. Leave 10AM, arriving 4PM.

I bookmarked it and it looks to fit into our plans perfectly. The scenery out the window, even if only farmland and little towns, will be as interesting to me as Calabria & Sicily were to me last April.

I was talking to a friend at a party recently and I was waxing poetic about riding the rails--they're in their early 70's, a little older than us. And they said, no, we couldn't travel by train because we pack too much stuff to carry ourselves. It's true--too many bags will make train travel not fun at all. It's taken 4 trips for us to get our necessities down to a carry-on (TravelPro brand, love it) and a small backpack that attaches atop the bag. I insisted my cousins do the same and they thanked me for it, because we did Florence to Rome to Salerno to Sicily.