We went to Germany and England and we were very fortunate with the help of this group to avoid high costs of train travel and had minimal issues with transfers. It was recommended to purchase the Bayern card for Germany/Austria (Munich, Fussen, Salzburg, and Regensburg) and when in England (Seven Sisters, Bath, and Windsor) to purchase tickets in advance and avoid busy travel times.
I am now researching Northern Italy ( Milan, Turin and Genoa) and hoping for some advice to save some money on train travel. Thanks!
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
997 posts
Regionale trains don't go on sale, but the long distance fast trains through Trenitalia (state run, more wide reach) and Italo (private company) can be bought for very little if you buy WAY in advance AND are ok with restrictions (of changeability and refundability). If I have a trip that utilizes regionales as well, I wait to buy them all together when they are available (many schedules don't get released until December and/or June) as I don't want to deal with multiple transactions and separate "trips". In general, I have my long distance "home base changing" trips booked in advance for VERY little (I even scored a 2-for-1 first class trip once which was cheaper than two economy tickets in 2nd class) and then buy the regionale trains (which are CHEAP anyways) for my day trips on that day.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8612 posts
You can book fast trains in advance at discounted prices- read the restrictions
Regional trains do not need to be booked in advance as price never changes and they can’t sell out
There isn’t really a pass that is beneficial in Italy
Use the official website or their easy to use apps
Trenitalia- fast and regional trains
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
ItaloTreno fast trains only in certain routes
https://www.italotreno.com/en
Train travel in Italy info
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm
Posted by
508 posts
Hello,
You can also use 3rd party website for research www.Trainline.com and then purchase tickets directly through Italo or Trenitalia. Trainline charges a fee to purchase from them. So, use for research only
Posted by
Chicago
2244 posts
In April of this year, we traveled Florence to Rome to Salerno to Sicily, all through Trenitalia. Booked early, yes with restrictions, etc., but got dirt-cheap 1st class for around 40 Euro/pp per leg. I had to buy them in pieces because release dates were different (some opened for sale last October and some December), but I downloaded the Trenitalia app to my phone and really that made it seamless. My itinerary was all on there, the train people were familiar with it.
I did do the initial booking on my laptop, and for the trip--just like I always do--made hardcopy printouts of each part of the journey as a failsafe.