We will be leaving in three weeks and will be training it mostly except for one week when we hire a car. I don't intend to book before I leave but should I have some idea of connections before I leave. Thank you once again.
Posted by
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
1127 posts
You can check train schedules and fares online at Trenitalia, http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html. You should be fine booking your ticket the day off or just a day or two in advance.
Posted by
Wodonga, Australia
440 posts
Carol, have a truly fabulous holiday. Throw a coin in the Trevi and you WILL return. Buon vacanza. Pat
Posted by
sauk rapids, mn
267 posts
we just returned from 15 days in italy and used the trains and buses for 90% of our vacation and did not pre book anything for trains. there were always seats available
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
70 posts
We booked our tickets usually a day in advance, never had problems with lines, etc. If you know what day you're leaving, buy the tickets the day you arrive and save the worries for something else. Traveled 2nd class each time and were very comfortable the entire time.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8056 posts
It does help to know the routes you will be travelling, so that you realize the train you are looking for to go to Orvieto for instance, is shown as going to Florence (Orvieto is just a stop) Also, if there is a train change, you are aware of it and you also get a good idea of frequency, how often a train leaves Venice for Rome for example. Trenitalia has a pretty good site, sometimes I print out the schedule for the days I am travelling for easy reference.
Posted by
Shoreline, WA, USA
41 posts
We just returned and took a number of train trips. Like others, we did not need to book in advance, but usually would a day or so just to get it out of the way. One thing to note is that there were some connections that were really crowded and although we didn't have trouble getting a seat, we couldn't sit together (there were 4 of us). So the last day, we decided to go first class because it was a short ride and it was only a few euro's more thinking we'd have better luck... what a WASTE - there was NO first class on this train because it was Regional and didn't have assigned seats - so please note that the trains that don't require seat reservations, don't seem to have first class cars - we are baffled as to why they sold us first class tickets - probably knowing they could make a buck off of ignorant tourists. The Eurostar and the IC trains that you do get assigned seats for do have first class, but don't waste your money on the Regional ones.
Posted by
OP
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
68 posts
Thank you all for the informative information. I will take all on board (so to speak). Carol
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
We researched times to get an idea of when the trains were departing. It made it easier for the long stretches to know the best connections and times to go. I printed it out and took it with me. We used 2nd class. For the trains we needed to book seats our hotel in Rome told us where the nearest travel agency was that booked trains and we stopped in and bought the reserved tickets ahead of time. We could of gone to the train station to do it but the travel agency was about a block away from our hotel. We didn't want to waste too much time from our touring. Someone on this web site had suggested using a travel agency when we got to Rome. We got great ideas of what connections to look for to get from CT to Venice from people on this web site.