Is it best to book travel between these cities while I'm still in US rather than wait until I get there? If so what site do you suggest? I had thought about stopping off in Padua and maybe Veronna on my way from Venice to Milan, but I'm not sure how that would work with train tickets. Can you jump off and on trains or do you need to book separate tickets for each stop along the way? We're traveling in September, and would feel more comfortable with advanced purchased tickets. Since strikes happen, if I purchase an nonrefundable train ticket and the trip is canceled due to a strike, what happens to my money?
Posted by
Minneapolis
1223 posts
Hi Debbie. You can do either - you can wait and buy when there; trains are frequent and almost never sell out; you would pay the full ('base') fare. Or, for InterCity (medium speed) or Freccia... (high speed) trains, you can buy in advance for a big discount, but you will lock in to an exact date and time. I usually do some of each. For regional trains, do NOT buy in advance. Use trenitalia.com Use Italian station names Firenze SMN, Venezia SL, Milano Centrale. Sept tix may not show yet, but play around with different dates and times to get the idea. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
OP
Maryville
27 posts
Thanks for your insightful advice.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Debbie, the principal reason for buying tickets in advance is to take advantage of the nice fare discounts. The trade-off here is that the Economy and Super Economy tickets are non-refundable and most are non-exchangeable. You are locked into a specific train departing on a specific day and at a specific time. If you plan well, these discounted tickets make sense. But, if you want to be flexible and you don't mind paying full fare, you can easily buy the tickets you need 1-2 days in advance as you travel. You can even buy on the day you travel. For the two runs you want, there are 30+ high-speed trains each day from Florence to Venice and from Venice to Milan. One caution however. You simply can't hop off and hop back on the high-speeds. Your ticket is for a specific trip from point A to point B on a specific train. If you hop off that train anywhere along the run and the train departs without you, the remainder of your ticket is toast. Alternatively, you can do easily take the Regionale train from Venice to Padua. Half the cost but a little more time. Then, you can go back to the Padua train station and buy another Regionale (or high-speed ) ticket from Padua to Veronna. Just don't buy a high-speed ticket from Venice to Milan and expect to get off and walk around.
Posted by
OP
Maryville
27 posts
I had read Rick Steve's information on Italy's trains, but you explained it better. Thanks.