Hi,
I know you don't need to book ahead for the regional trains, but do not know if it is a good idea to book ahead on the fast paced trains?
My husband and I are going in Sept. Do these fast paced trains book up way beforehand?
Or can we buy the day we leave? Or the day before we leave?
Thank you,
Joy
Buy ahead or buy as you leave; it's up to you. Buying ahead of time will get you discounted prices, but you're locked into that specific train and time.
Thank you.
I was worried there would not be any availability if we waited the day of.
There are a lot of similarities between flights and high speed trains, but one main difference: When a route is routinely sold out adding cars to a train is easier than adding seats to a plane.
As Dario explained, the answer is no. Trains don’t sell out seats. Seats are always available even at the last minute.
Occasionally, but very rarely, the seats in the standard class (the cheapest class) sell out in some trains. In that extremely rare event, you either buy a ticket in a more expensive class on the same train, or wait for the next train, which, almost invariably, will have availability in all classes.
For example, the next train from Florence to Naples, departing in a few minutes from now, still has availability in standard class.
The advantage of booking ahead is getting a discount. However in that case you are locked on that specific train you book, as discounted tickets aren’t refundable or changeable.
Once I couldn't get a last-minute ticket from Florence to Rome. It was Friday late afternoon. I did get one for the next train, an hour later. It's possible that there were first class seats and that I didn't try - bought from a machine,, the lines were long, but much longer for the ticket agents.
My advice is to drop by the train station the day before, when it's slow, to buy your tickets. Often at busy times, there are lines for both the agents and the machines. Note that some machines accept cash, but not all, and not all US cards are accepted.
Thank you
I feel much better about this now.
Appreciate all the great information.
Cheers
Joy
Hi Joy,
We are doing those same routes.
If you travel on a Saturday, you may be lucky and get the sale that we did: two for one.
We got two tickets Rome-Naples for CAD$15 each!, for a Saturday in September.
Book in advance.
Wow! That's great!
Thank you,
Ciao
Joy
