Just wanting to confirm what I have read in RS' and here... We will be taking trains from Rome airport (express)to city center. Then...after our stay in Rome, Rome to La Spezia (and pick up train to Vernazza). After our stay there, we will take train back to Florence and then after our stay in Florence to Venice. After reading it sounds like we will need to purchase all train tickets once we are in Italy--there is no purchasing ahead online.
However, what about reservations? Once we arrive in Rome...should I make reservations for all other travel or are reservations not really necessary? Thanks.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1216 posts
Hi Melinda. Not sure where you got the part about 'there is no purchasing online'. Go to trenitalia.com. Click on English option; when entering city names, use Italian names; type slowly and it will let you choose. For trains that show as regional trains, do NOT purchase online, there is no advantage. But for major / fast trains (Roma Termini to La Spezia Centrale and Firenze SMN to Venezia SL), you can buy online for a big discount if you are willing to lock in a date and time. For those trains, you can buy up to 90 days in advance. See the website and you will get the idea. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
OP
Beaverton, OR, United States
245 posts
Thanks Bob....it might have been my own interpretation of RS' train transportation section of book in implying easy to pay as you go. Thanks for the guidance! I'll look into reserving ahead for the fast trains.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Melinda: what may have mislead you is that, at various times in the past, the Trenitalia site would not work with US credit cards (I believe this is what Rick had said in the book). At this time, people are not reporting major difficulties (as long as you register on the site first). It's very easy to buy tickets in Italy; it just means that most discounts will be sold out. Here's Ron in Rome's summary of the current Italian train fare system. As you can see, there are three prices. If you don't mind the highest price and/or need the most flexibility, you can wait until you arrive to buy tickets. If you want discounts, book now. Just out of curiosity, I looked at Milan to Rome for next week; the super economy were sold out on all the runs I saw, but the economy were still available for about half. On high speed trains, the ticket comes with the required reservations. On regional trains, there are no reservations, and there is no advantage to buying ahead. No need to book the airport train tickets ahead, either.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
922 posts
I can confirm what Harold indicated about credit cards and the Treniatalia web site. I recently purchased advanced super economy tickets and had one of my card issuers deny the transaction because they believed it was fraud. My other card worked just fine. You may have to contact your card issuer and tell them that you are actually trying to spend $20 on cheap train tickets!