Trains

Jaks, As the others have mentioned, while some of the trains will require reservations you won't be able to book Regionale trains. On those particular routes, I wouldn't bother pre-booking trains at all. It's very easy to buy P-P tickets in Italy, either from the staffed ticket offices or the automated Kiosks. If you're concerned about getting a seat on a particular train, purchase the ticket a day or two before you'll be travelling. One of the issues with pre-booking is that it will "lock" you into a particular train and departure time. If your plans change during the trip, it will complicate the situation somewhat. Happy travels!

The best website is the official site, www.trenitalia.com

Just another thought... Some of your segments, such as Florence to La Spezia, will likely be on Regionale trains. You won't be able to book these online. In fact, the website only shows the currents week's schedule. No need to worry though, because you do not make seat reservations for the Regionale trains, and they almost never sell out. Just buy your tickets for these trains when you get to Italy.

Regional trains NEVER sell out because there is noting to sell out. If the seats are full, you stand. AND with regional trains you need to validate your ticket in the little yellow boxes.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I guess, we'll just wait till we get there to book. For sure, we don't want to be locked in and rushed for time.
So thank you again for all your help. Jaks

Jaks, There is a good point to booking early if you are comfortable locking into a certain time/train. You can then buy the mini fare that can save you a lot of money. For example, on August 22 I will be traveling from Rome to Arezzo and while the normal fare is around 22 euro, I can book the mini fare for 9 euro. To me, that is worth locking into one train. But some routes don't save you as much, and sometimes you don't want to be locked in. All a personal choice, just wanted to throw it out there that it is a way to save money.

Jaks, I forgot to mention the "Mini" fares, which I believe are new this year. These can be purchased the day prior to travel (subject to availability). You may find it very helpful to have a look at This Website which is an excellent resource for information on travelling in Italy. Cheers!