Travelguy

Sorry, what do you mean by "take advantage of"? How to avoid paying? How to pickpocket travellers?

A train will take you from A to B, as long as A and B both have stations, which is the case for all large cities and most medium sized towns (above about 10-20,000 population). You buy a ticket, you get on a train - easy.
You are going to have to be more specific about what you want to know.

P.S. For looking up times and prices, the Italian railways website is: http://www.trenitalia.com/

Meant just what I said. Take advantage of the rail system. Certainly did not to suggest pickpocket travelers. I also plan to PAY for a ticket. Sorry for the confusion and perhaps my grammar. The information you provided will be most helpful. My question originated from only honorable intentions.

Where in Sicilia? Some travel may be more convenient by bus or bus/train combination.

Point-to-point tickets are probably a better choice than a rail pass.

EDIT: you can buy super economy train tickets for fast trains but there aren't many of these routes in Sicilia.

Sorry if my sarcasm upset you. I still don't understand the question.

I could spend pages describing trains, but I can't guess what you need to know.
If you could ask more specifically what you want to know, I or others would be happy to answer.

If you want a basic primer on trains in Italy look here: http://seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
This website is the best resource on the net for general train info. It is a British site so it is designed for travellers starting from the UK, but the information is still the same.

Thanks for the additional information. My vagueness is because nothing is nailed down yet. In Sicily are tentative plans are to spend some time in Catania, Messina and Palermo. We then plan to head north to Naples, Rome, Florence and Vicenza. Perhaps this is too much to expect for a week but as I mentioned, nothing nailed down yet.
We are also able to take advantage of Military bases and Military travel so as you can see, when we will be relying on space a travel are plans are anything but confirmed.

In Rick's travel guide I read that riding the regional train in Italy is preferred rather than a rail pass on Eurail.
I will take a kook at the links that you have provided. Once again, thanks so much for the assistance that you have provided. As of now our calendar for travel in Italy is from approximately Jun 13-20.

Thanks you again.

OK r4rick, I'll try. I would say the best way to take of advantage of the train system to travel from Sicily to Aviano, which is north of Venice, would be "very sparingly" unless you have a full itinerary of stops along the way, or especially want to spend many hours on trains. To go from Sicily to well north in Italy, it is generally best to fly from either Palermo or Catania, to whatever is your next stop, such as Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice, or the like. You save lots of time and often money. You can use trains in parts of Sicily, and to get to from northern cities to most cities and towns further north, and use public buses, rental cars and taxis the rest of the time. When using fast trains from one major city to another, you can often save considerable money by purchasing economy or super economy tickets well in advance, although you give up significant flexibility to change your plans once you purchase those discounted tickets. If you tell us your travel plans, when and where, we can provide more specific information or guidance.

Just an FYI! Since you have limited time, a flight from Palermo to Rome can be as low as $25 during that time period and only takes a bit over an hour. You can also fly into Pisa or Florence for a bit more, check the Kayak.com travel search site if interested. Happy travels!

Obviously we will be much more specific as we near our departure and can be so much more specific. We will definitely make contact with this that have responded. Alt ought nothing wrong with being spontaneous when traveling and not always "locked in" to
a specific itinerary.

Thanks to all for the responses

...In Rick's travel guide I read that riding the regional train in
Italy is preferred rather than a rail pass on Eurail...

I think you have misread or misunderstand that statement. First, Eurail is not a train system. Basically a travel agency selling train passes that tend to be less than the most economically way to go. Second, you need to understand the train structure. Spending some time with good guide books such as Steves' Italy book would benefit you understanding. Quick summary of the Italy train system - basically three levels of trains - high speed, intercity (with a couple of variations), and Regionale. The high speed and intercity connect nearly all of the major population areas but not always directly. These trains all require a reservation (seat and car number). These tickets can be bought on-line and if bought earlier enough there may be deep discounts available but these tickets are limited and restricted - no/min change, no refund, etc. Those tickets are called Super Economy, and Economy. The standard walk up fare is called Base fare.

Everything else is a Regionale train and they go nearly everywhere. A lot like a bus on wheel. Somewhat slow in that they hit nearly every stop. But they are cheap and convenient especially for trips under two/three hours. No reservation needed. Buy a ticket, validate it (time stamp), and get on any Regionale train headed in the correct direction. And never buy a Regionale ticket on line. Obviously using a Regionale train would be far, far cheaper than buying any train pass.

I with Chris. Really have no idea what question you are asking.

r4,

Frank provided a good summary of the train system. I also wasn't sure on the intent of your question. To "take advantage of the train system", check the Trenitalia or Bahn.de websites to see schedules on where you want to go. Note that you'll have to use the Italian names when using the Trenitalia website. Also note that most cities have more than one station, so you'll need to know which one to use.

Then go to a ticket office or use a Kiosk, buy a ticket and board the train. On the "fast" trains, you can buy advance tickets online and save a few bucks, however those trains have compulsory seat reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time, so you can ONLY board the one train listed on the ticket. Also, DON'T forget to validate locally purchased Regionale ticket before boarding the train on the day of travel (as well as those for Metro, Buses, etc.), or you risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot.

If you only have a week, 2 locations would be best.

Where are you traveling from?

Are you US military or a NATO
Partner.

If you are currently located on base, go to the travel agency and check availability of lodging. These fill up fast!
May dictate where you can go.

Italy lodging

https://www.dodlodging.com/html/italy.htm

As mentioned above, budget flights may be your best option.

Once decided, come back for more answers.

Thanks Geri for the information. I am retired military and we do try and utilized base lodging whenever available. As we will be traveling during June, when school is out and a busy vacation time, we probably won't be able to stay on base but we will try. Our priority is the lowest when it comes to calling for reservations. I do travel with a military lodging book as well as space a travel guide for flights.

As was suggested before, flying within Italy on shuttle flights seem to be the way to go, given our short stay.

We probably will only be able to experience a "sampling" of Italy but still hope to enjoy some sightseeing.

Sorry for misspelling your name Gerri.

r4,

If you could provide more specific details on what you're planning, it would be easier to offer more specific suggestions.

Hello again - I've looked up Aviano (maybe I should have done this at the beginning). It is a small town of about 9,000 way up north in Italy, north of Venice, which has a US air base nearby. It has a railway station, but no trains. They have been replaced by a bus service.
So, you want to do a tour of Italy, starting at somewhere in Sicily (a US air base I guess), ending up at this Aviano place.
Very feasible, but you need to make a list of the places you want to stop at en route. Maybe Naples (for Pompeii), Rome, Florence, Venice and maybe more, depending on how much time you have.
This is all feasible by train, and indeed train is the fastest and most comfortable way to do this trip. The difficult bit is to from wherever you are arriving in Italy to the nearest station, and from the last station to your departure point at the US air base. Everything in between is easy.

You need to do some time planning, and cost out the train trips using the Italian railways site: http://www.trenitalia.com/
It is a lot cheaper if you book your train trips 2-3 months in advance (which requires you to commit to a specific train). If this is not possible, it is not that expensive to buy tickets on the day. All prices are shown at the above-mentioned site.

For lots more info, go to the site I listed earlier: http://seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm