Train Transfers and Missed Connections?

I did a Verona, Bologna, Florence, Venice trip by train, including a couple of regional side trips, and not one train was late.

In general, if you miss the connection due to a delay in the origination, you are able to
take the next available train at no charge.

Procedures may differ between countries, but, at the same time, on a crowded train,
the tickets are often never checked again, so it can be a moot issue. The issue may
be if you have (paid for) a seat assignment on the connection and you have to take
a different train. In that case I suspect you would talk to a conductor or stop at the
connection station ticket counter. It probably depends on how much time you have
to make the alternate train.

If it does start to look like your connection is in peril, I would have the real-time website
URL prestored so you can check what the "real" situation is while you're still on the
train. You can get timing, track assignments, etc. You can often, between youtube
videos and online maps, get an idea of whether there are escalators and/or elevators
to go between platforms. All of this is hopefully moot, but, saving a minute or two can
be the difference between making or missing a connection.

A lot of good advice here in this thread. A really good general guide to European trains is The Man in Seat 61: https://www.seat61.com/

In short I agree that you're overthinking it. Italian trains are that way most people move around the country everyday and pretty good and tend to run on time. Trenitalia has a good app that will let you check schedules, buy tickets, hold your purchased tickets and check train progress in real time. Transfers are generally easy, quick straightforward with the tracks laid out in order nest to one another - the exception being Bologna when changing from local regionale trains to fast trains or vice versa where the fast trains as several levels underground.

The earlier you book fast trains the cheaper they are but you are trading flexibility by committing to a specific train. They only thing you gain by paying more is more flexibility or credit if you need to change trains - but this will only happen if you miss it because of your actions. If the train company is the reason you miss a train you booked straight they have to make it up to you. Local tickets are always the same price, don't sell out, and don't guarantee you a seat but only need to be purchased as you need them.

I can't recommend Venice over Vicenza enough, but it doesn't have to do with trains. Naples and Salerno are both interesting but drastically different than Sorrento. Concentrate more about the places you want to see and explore and worry less about the trains. Even if you have to take the creaky Circumvesuviana to get there. Even if something happens you will just get there a little later or on a different train which won't matter once you're there.

Explore where you want to, have a great trip,
=Tod

Hi Josh, the first priority is to stay in the city that interests you.

If your first train is late, just go to the ticket office or go into your Trenitalia app to manage it. If I have an extra long route on a high speed train, I may just take an earlier Regionale train, plan to have a coffee in the station or nearby, and give myself a little more leeway for a delayed train.

You are overthinking it, nobody would pick the city where to stay because of train transfers. To tell the truth, nobody gives trains so much importance.

Like in any other EU country, if you miss a connection between 2 trains run by the same company you are always protected if the first train was late. But You must get a through ticket on the official Trenitalia site/app: resellers may or may not respect the minimum transfer times determined by Trenitalia. The type of fare you paid does not matter in such a case.

The Sorrento-Naples trains are not run by Trenitalia; as written on any guidebook, EAV-Circumvesuviana is a small-gauge commuter line owned and managed by the Regional Government. It works like an overground metro for Naples and the surrounding towns.

If you miss a Trenitalia train with mandatory seat reservations (all Freccias and ICs) you must go to the booths by the tracks and get a new seat reservation on a later train for free.
If you miss a Regionale train (no reserved seats) just show your ticket to the conductors by the doors and get on.

Also know that, technically, there are no "last minute" fares on train. Trenitalia's walk-up fare is called Base while Italotreno's is Flexi. That's the highest price you can pay a ticket. Base and Flexi are not only more expensive, they are also more flexible than the discounted fares. It's evident that nobody buys Base/Flexi tickets in advance.

just go to the ticket office

Don't! The lines at a the ticket office are always horrendous, if you couldn't install the official apps go to these booths: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s2eDDkaDhEtvdkhq6 or https://maps.app.goo.gl/b2zcQ9AYjJCG22um9