Trains

Ron in Rome has a great article on the different types of train tickets located here: http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/types-of-trains-ticket-in-italy The mini fare takes away flexibility as far as exchanging your ticket or getting a refund, and there is a limited quality of these fares. But you can save a great discount! If you know ahead of time exactly which train you'll be on, and you're not worried about missing it, then go ahead and buy the mini ticket (imo). There are some great savings through it.

The only time I would not book a mini fare is one the day I fly into Italy. If you miss the train with a mini fare your ticket is worthless so unless you book a train for several hours after your flight is due to arrive I would not chance it. Other than that, the mini fare is a great way to save money. These tickets are capacity controlled and the fares change with the trains so check several different departure times for the day you wish to travel to see if you can get a better deal. Donna

In that article it says there are well known problems with using a US credit card to book on Trenitalia. What are these problems??

Just back from italy and found online mini fares for all intercity travel...all easy AND Milan staion is not as bad as one hears--it too was easy, as was the metro even with heavy bags.

Rebecca, until a few months ago the trenitalia site would not take credit cards issued in North America. That's what the article is talking about. This prevented us from taking advantage of discount fares that must be bought in advance. Trenitalia fixed that problem so now we can take advantage of fares like the mini fare. Donna

Rebecca, thanks for the reminder... I need to update that "ticket" post. As Donna posted, since late last year, the Trenitalia website has more readily accepted US and other foreign credit cards. The one exception, according to their website, is non-Italian AMEX cards... although some Americans have reported that their AMEX cards DID work. So it appears that the credit card issues are becoming a non-issue. The mini fares are a great resource and option if your times, dates, and trains are "fixed." If you need more flexibility, you might be better served to wait until you arrive in Italy. I think Devon and Donna give excellent advice and would heartily agree that I don't pre-book any train tickets on my day of arrival. Here's some more info on the Trenitalia MINI promotion. Good Luck!

Anyone having any trouble registering on the Trenitalia website?