We have always just landed in Rome for a few days and on the first day gone to the travel agent and set up all our train tickets for the trip. We do this because we are at and age where with family and all we are never 100% sure we won't have to cancel a trip and loose all that money on train tickets. So we would rather pay the higher price and not loose money. Has anyone done this recently. Things change and I want to make sure we can still just buy tickets when we get there in May.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You can still do it; no problem. On another thread, Roberto just said he's never seen a train fill up, although perhaps 2nd class might. When buying a last-minute ticket in the station with my parents in 2013, I could not find three seats together in 2nd class and chose to pay $15 more per person for the next class upgrade (not the highest; the fastest Italian trains now have 3 or 4 seating categories). We also had the choice of waiting an hour for the next direct train (Bologna-Milan), but chose not to.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
In some small towns without a staffed train station, I go to travel agencies to buy tickets. Never a problem, and the markup in price is very small. You can definitely go to one agency and buy all your tickets. You can also do this at the train station, which has a customer care office, but even there the lines can be long. I would go with the travel agent (make sure there's a Trenitalia sticker or sign, not all travel agencies sell train tickets).
Posted by
OP
Grass Valley, California
506 posts
Thanks Laura and Zoe, we have done this in the past and don't mind the extra cost because they are so good at organizing our whole trip. I just realized a lot has changed since 2008, when I went to make hotel reservations and had some problems I thought before I assume that all is the same with the trains I better check!
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
Judy, I generally buy train tickets either in advance online or at the train station, ideally a day or at least a few hours before traveling, to avoid last minute lines which can make it difficult to actually catch the train. I have once in a while bought a ticket at a travel agency. However, be careful of counting on small travel offices. I have encountered them having limited hours or being closed for lunch hours, and have also had to wait extended times to be attended to when the one travel agent was engaged for a long time assisting someone, usually a local person, in planning a major trip.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
Judy,
You can absolutely buy the tickets in May when you arrive there. If you're planning to just buy tickets a few days before you'll be travelling it's just as easy to buy them in Italy, either at a Kiosk or staffed ticket window. As you're buying them a day or two before travel, you'll be paying Base Fare which is the highest price tier, but I don't find that to be a problem for the few rail journeys I make.
If some legs of your trip will be via Regionale trains, BE SURE to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! If you're buying tickets with compulsory seat reservations for the faster trains such as the InterCity or Freccia, note that these are specific to train, date and departure time and can ONLY be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you board any other train, even by mistake, again hefty fines.
In my experience, it's unlikely that trains ever fill up, although some legs in second class can be "crowded" at times. Usually some of the crowd disembarks a few stations down the line, and that provides a place to sit down. If you're concerned about crowds, buy first class tickets. If you're travelling on the faster trains, you'll have compulsory seats reserved, so you'll always have a place to sit. Even if a particular train was completely full there will be another one along within half an hour or so, so that's not too much of a problem.