Basic Italy train questions

Hi, Rob. Check the Trenitalia site regularly, schedules should be up soon(er or later). 1. Summer schedules will probably have more frequent runs, not fewer, but schedules can change by a few minutes. I use the schedules available now for planning purposes but I am waiting to buy tickets in hopes of getting heavily discounted fares. 2. You can buy a single ticket that includes transfers, but if some segments are on regionale trains, you may not find those segments available until a few weeks before you travel. 3. Trenitalia will have the best prices for online advance discount purchases, once the schedules are available. And, remember to vLidate your regionale ticket before you board.

To supplement Zoe's answer... Regionale tickets can only be bought online 7 days in advance... and then you are locked to that specific train - which works if you have a Regionale "leg" in between or after a high-speed train route you've already purchased. Otherwise, it is easier to just purchase Regionale train tickets when you hit your first train station. Italo - another option - has discounted tickets also, but far more limited schedules at this point. Trenitalia, as Zoe says, is probably your best bet...

Rob, I have a few comments to add to the others. Regarding your questions..... (1.) Yes, the train run every day. Although the new schedules may not be posted yet, I doubt that they'll be much different. If you research a trip on the same day of the week that you plan to travel, that should provide a close estimate. (2.) On a trip from Venice to Monterosso with 2 or 3 changes and buying tickets locally, you'll likely be issued with a separate "card" (ticket) for each train. If travelling on a train that has compulsory reservatons, the card will indicate your Car No. (Carrozza) and Seat No. (Posti). You MUST use the train specified on the ticket or face hefty fines. If one of your trains is a Regionale (no reservations required), you MUST VALIDATE YOUR TICKET prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again face hefty fines (which will be collected on the spot!). (3.) Yes, you can buy tickets online for some of the trains you'll be using. As Ron noted, it's not really worthwhile to buy tickets for Regionale trains. Just as easy to buy those when in Italy, either from a Kiosk or a staffed ticket office. You could use an Italo train for the portion from Venice to Milan, however it would be more of an effort as Italo uses Milano Porta Garibaldi rather than Centrale, so you'd have to get to Centrale to connect with the train to Monterosso. I'd suggest using Trenitalia for the entire trip. One of the easiest trains on that route is a departure from Venezia Santa Lucia at 08:50, arriving Monterosso at 15:02 (time 6H:12M, one change at Milano Centrale, current fare listed at €56.50). I normally just buy tickets when in Italy, a day or two before I'll be travelling. Happy travels!

thanks everyone!

Rob, when it comes to train travel, first time visitors to Italy don't yet grasp the enormity of the train system there. Many U.S. travelers have never been in a real train station. Trenitalia has 8,000 train departures a day. Most routes run every day. On the popular high-speed runs, trains run 2-3 times an hour during the day. You won't need to worry about trains or trains being full. Second, you will receive on ticket for each different train that you will be on. Same with your airline tickets. For your journey from Venice to Monterosso, expect a journey time of about 5.5hrs-6.0hrs and 1-3 train changes depending on the run. Expect a high-speed train from either Venice to Milan or from Venice to Florence before changing to another train. For this run, you can purchase online if a high-speed Frecci train is involved. In this case, your train to either Milan or Florence will be such a train. In Milan, you could switch to an intercity train or a Regionale train. In Florence, you will switch to a Regionale train. Ordinarily, you cannot buy Regionale train tickets online more than 7 days out from the time of travel. But, when coupled with a Frecci train, you can. I can see the runs and fares for June 3 right now. Once you buy, all of your tickets and seat reservations where required will be provided. Nothing further for you to do. When buying Regionale tickets online assoicated with a Frecci train, your ticket is pre-validated. Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the notorius tardy Italians refresh their schedules. They do this every 6 months.

thanks Larry and others. So any educated guesses when schedules starting on June 24th will be posted?

Rob, Yes, when you get there, they will have train schedules all over the train stations, and they don't change. They are on big preprinted sheets in the train stations.
You buy the ticket from one place to another and that includes connections. We do everything with Eurail however, so don't have to buy ticket. If you are doing a lot of travel on your trip, that may be something to look into. Good luck, Karen