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When to book in Advance - Bus? Train?

Posted by (Madison, WI, USA) on

I am debating how much we need to make reservations prior to traveling.

It would be nice to have some flexibility, while it would also be terrible to find a train had been booked solid. Has anyone ever had trouble booking short train trips? How about busses?

Any preference between busses/trains in Tuscany?

Here is the list of connections we will be making - some we have already decided on booking and have been omitted, FYI.

Venice --> Verona
CT/La Spezia --> Pisa
Pisa --> Lucca
Lucca --> Florence
Florence --> Montalcino (bus)
Montalcino --> Siena (bus)
Siena --> Rome (bus/train)

Thanks!

Posted by
8067 posts

I tend to be less concerned about making any travel arrangements ahead of time for Italy. First, I do not believe that bus reservations are possible (maybe I am wrong) and the Trenitalia site can be tricky/Hit-or-Miss from the US. RailEurope is an option, but usually at a premium.

You do not mention a time, but all of the routes are main routes with very frequent trains. There may very well be some trains that sell out, but it is rare, and if you are flexible, can find an available train.

My preference would be to wait until you get to Italy, if you have some fixed dates, you could make arrangements within the first few days of arrival, make arrangements to leave a town when you arrive in a town, or just wait until the evening before leaving a town to get tickets. I can honestly say in a number of trips I have had no issues with availability.

Posted by
4152 posts

There is no need to book train or bus tickets ahead of time in Italy. they never sell out and there are several an hour and lots during the day. It's not like you're going to Never-heard-of-it, Itlay, the cities you listed are all popular spots with very good transportation.

If you choose to book ahead the only way to get train tickets is through a re-seller like raileurope. They will charge a fee and you must still add 10 euros for seat reservations on the fast trains. These are not included in the rail pass price. If you want to make a reservation for the bus you must email them. You won't be able to use their website, like the trenitalia site it won't work, but people have had sucess through email.

Donna

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