My wife and I are flying into Milano Airport and taking a train straight to Pisa for the first night. The next day on to Rome. Three night later on to Venice, and then three days later back to Milano Airport. Any advice on train travel? I have been reading a bit about reservations and was wondering if those are really necessary in December? and yes I know it's gonna be cold, but come on, we're from Colorado :) Anyways, Can I just buy the tickets at the station and be sure I’ll have a seat? Is it really that busy between Dec.15th and the 23rd? Thanks in advance for the help
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
There are lots of trains; you can buy your tickets as you go at the train stations and they come with seat reservations as needed. Don't sweat it.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I suggest that you buy all your tickets when you first arrive in Milano. Yes, there are lots of trains, but the closer you get to Christmas, the more likely it will be that some of them will be sold out.
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
19 posts
It depends on if you want to travel in 1st or 2nd class or if you want to only take the fastest (ES) trains. If you want to ride 1st class on ES trains, I would recommend you get reservations before you go. If not, I wouldn't think it would be as big a deal.
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
359 posts
For our Rome to Venice trip, we took the Eurostar. To get the Amica fare, which is 20% cheaper, we got our tickets 3 days before we departed. I would recommend that you get your Rome to Venice tickets upon arrival in Termini. If there are Amica fares available, it will save you a decent amount of money.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
As mentioned above, it is very easy to buy the tickets at the Milano train station. You can use the machines which will accept your credit card. If seat reservations are required, the machine will prompt you through these as well. The machines also speak English. The second choice is to buy your tickets at the ticket window. This can easily be done but I would strongly suggest that you already have the date, train number and departure time written on a piece of paper to hand the ticket agent. I find that they don't speak English all that well and I also find that they are hard to hear through the glass window openings. Note that it's a 4.0hr - 4.5hr. train trip to Pisa from Milan. Some trains change in Florence, some in Genova and still some in Viareggio.
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Leon, just curious - why Milan and directly down to Pisa? Did you consider flying directly in to Rome?
Posted by
OP
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
3 posts
My sister and her husband live in Kuwait. We were going to visit them for Christmas and saw that we had a layover in Milan. So, we naturally changed the 3 hour layover into 8 days :) since we have never been to Italy. That is why we are flying into Milan. Since Pisa is kinda on the way to Roma, we decided to see the leaning tower. Thanks to all of you who responded. I feel alot more relaxed about the whole trip now that I kinda know how to handle the train situation.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
As a thought, the leaning tower and the historical grounds near the tower is about all you'll see in Pisa. It's a wonderful sight but in my opinion, the rest of the city isn't worth the train time and layover time. I would suggest heading directly for Rome. More to do and more to see.