I have been having problems with booking on the tenitalia website for our trip starting next week. I did check into Rail Europe but the cost is double. What do you suggest I do? Keep trying on tenitalia site, wait and buy once we get to Italy, or go with Rail Europe and be done now. Do the tickets cost go up as dates get closer? Do they sell out? Here are the routes we are needing: Rome to Napels Naples to Florence Florence to Venice Thank you for the help!
Chris
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you succeed in booking on the Trenitalia site, you still may be able to get discount fares. Standard fare tickets are the same whether you buy them today or at the station just before departure. High-speed trains run about once an hour on all your routes. It's unlikely that any train you wish to take will be sold out. However, it would be good to buy all your tickets as soon as you get to Rome, just to be safe.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17580 posts
If the Economy fares are sold out you might as well buy them when you get to Italy. No need to pay inflated RailEurope prices. For our recent trip to Italy ( late June/ early July) I just went to the station a day or so ahead and bought our tickets then. That worked out fine. The one time I bought just before departure ( we had to return a rental car so I didn't know how that would go and which train to reserve) I was sorry. The station was very crowded and the lines were long. Better to find a smaller station if you csn or go when it is quieter.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32397 posts
Chris, All of the trains you'll be using will likely be Freccia (fast) trains which require reservations. While it is possible to pre-purchase discounted tickets, they often sell out WELL in advance. If using Regionale trains, there's no point in pre-purchasing tickets (usually not possible anyway). NOTE that if you are using any Regionale trains, tickets must be validated in the yellow machine prior to boarding the train. I typically use the same method mentioned by Lola, buying tickets either when I arrive in a particular location (since I'm at the station anyway), or a day or two before I'll be travelling. I tend to use the automated Kiosks most of the time as there's usually a huge queue at the staffed ticket windows. There's no way I'd pay inflated prices at Rail Europe!. If you buy a few days in advance, you may not be able to qualify for Super Economy fares, but even if you can get Economy you'll save money over the higher Base fare. NOTE that if you pre-purchase tickets, you'll be "locked" into a specific train and departure time. If you miss that train, you'll likely have to buy new tickets at full price. Happy travels!