Trains?? So confused.....

Public transit - buses, subways, trams, etc. - in cities generally require some type of single ride ticket that is often purchased at tobacco shops, ticket offices, etc. Often a one day pass or multi day pass is available. But it will vary from city to city. Stop at the TI and they will explain the system for you. Travel between cities via train requires a tickets. And again it will depend on the type of train as to the type of tickets, seat reservation may or may not be required. The tickets are available from ticket machines and ticket offices in the train station. Most train stations are locate in or near city centers. PS -- Read some guidebooks. Rick Steves generally has good section on using local trains.

Thanks Frank - I am kind of getting my crash course in travelling in Europe, not to mention travelling alone. :) I just realized Rick Steve is doing a 1.5 hour info class on Italy on the 29th nearby. It's probably worth a 'go' to set my mind at ease. Joie

Also see Ron in Rome's excellent guides: http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/buying-a-train-ticket and http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/1st-class-versus-2nd-class

joie, Don't worry about the aspect of "ignorance". If you haven't dealt with this subject before, you have to start somewhere. To answer a few of your questions, the rail stations are usually occupy a prominent location in the centre of each city. Some cities have more than one station (ie: Paris, which has about six). Yes, you can buy tickets at the stations, either from staffed ticket windows and in many cases from automated ticket Kiosks. Some trains have compulsory reservations, and those will be included in the cost of the ticket. It's not usually possible to buy Railpasses when in Europe - they have to be purchased here and then activated in Europe prior to use. Whether or not you can "hop on and hop off" depends both on the type of Pass and the specific train. When using reserved seating, this is usually specific to a particular train. "Little jaunts around Tuscany" will depend on which towns you're traveling to. Given your location, you might find it VERY helpful to take a drive up to Edmonds and spend a few hours at ETBD. While there you can pick up a copy of the current Rail Guide and speak to the rail experts. You could also read through the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door in the free Library. Cheers!

Support the local economy and buy the RS Italy 2011 book. You'll be glad you did and it's empowering to figure it out for yourself. Good luck.

Definitely go to one (or more) of the RS classes in Edmonds if you can. They are full of great information and entertaining, and there are helpful staff members available at the ETBD store. Usually people who attend the classes also can pick up discount coupons (good for that day only) for the ETBD store, so you could pick up your guidebook or other travel items there as well. Like you, I was very nervous about both the metro (subway) and the train system the first time I visited Rome and Italy. You get used to it pretty quickly though. One of the best pieces of advice I got was to write down the train number, time, and destination from the website. The ticket agent at the counter in Orvieto had a hard time understanding me, but could read my notes just fine and gave us the correct tickets for the correct train. One last note, whether on a train, subway, or bus, most forms of public transportation requires that you VALIDATE your ticket, usually in a bright yellow box that is either at the train station, or by the driver inside the bus. You'll get hit with some nasty fines if caught riding without validating. Also be sure to hang onto your ticket until you complete your journey, as you may run into inspectors before leaving the train station, as we did on the Rome metro.

joie, riding trains in Italy is quite easy. After a couple of trips you'll be a train veteran and it will probably become your primary mode of transportation in Europe - it is for us! You can buy your tickets online through the Trenitalia website, if you can get your credit card to work... but I'd NOT recommend buying in advance as it appears you may need to be more fluid... and what the heck, might as well learn how to buy your tickets in Italy! Using the kiosks is quite easy. You could buy all your tickets at one time at the FCO Train Station if this is your arrival point. They do have a manned counter and kiosks there. Or you could wait until you get to any train station, like Roma Termini Station. I would explore the Trenitalia website and maybe even print out some route options. This will help familiarize yourself with what's available, and if necessary, you can just show the print outs to a Trenitalia ticket vendor if there is a language issue! Tuscany may be a little more challenging by train. This is one of the few places I recommend you rent a car... and it's fun to drive in Tuscany! Make sure to get your International Driving Permit in the States if you plan on driving in Italy. It's the law! Bring a book, a bottle of wine, some cheese, and reserve a window seat ... that's "training" in Italy - Good luck!

For Italy you can't beat Ron's guide. The people at Budget Europe Travel Service offer free, friendly, and expert advice. Go to the site and download their free 38-page European Planning & Rail Guide.

We would just walk up walk up to one of those ATM looking machines and buy our tickets for whatever destination, time, price, seat and what kind of train it was (bullet or regular). Another thing I was able to do was print on my comp. the schedules for that day before I left home. The only problem we had was in Naples, the machines were malfunctioning and not accepting credit cards. An attendant that spoke very little english came to help me. It was quite entertaining for everyone watching us communicate... But we worked it out and went back to Rome safely. Your going to see about half a dozen Hop on-off in Rome. Pick one the routes are somewhat similar (we used the Open 110 line). Remember that Sundays the schedules change a little.