Best Train App To use in Italy

Most people take the Leonardo Express into Rome Termini and then catch a fast train up to Florence. The trains run almost continuously so making reservations and buying tickets ahead of time is not really required.

To get to Cinque Terre, you would take the train out of Florence to LaSpezia. There you would catch a local train that takes you a short distance into Cinque Terre.

I would just purchase tickets in the train station when you're wanting to go. Or, purchase them the day before leaving for a specific time.

Download the TrenItalia app. You can check schedules, prices, purchase tickets and you’ll be able to check real-time status of your train. Remember to enter city names in Italian!

you might get a better deal or timing on .Italo treno https://www.italotreno.it/en the competitor on the high speed lines with Trenitalia. You can have both apps. I personally prefer .Italo trains but different folks have differing opinions. They are often cheaper.

For the trains to the Cinque Terre region (there is no destination called that in the rail world) - there are 5 different towns each with a station named for that town - hence the Cinque (5) Terre (lands). You need to put a town name into the app to get information to get there, and only Trenitalia can help on the Firenze (need to use names in Italian) to whichever Cinque Terre town you want.

David, Philip, & Nigel, thank you for your insight, the information provided was really helpful

Trenitalia app - it's super user-friendly and legit secure.

If I could ask one more thing, when using the apps, do you still need to get a paper ticket?

No.

An alternative to the individual Italian train companies is the Trainline app, my personal favorite for trips to Italy (and elsewhere in Europe) the last 2 years. It’s totally secure, and easier for me to use than the individual companies’ Online options. It shows you all the times, various train companies’ offerings, and prices, and you can purchase tickets through the app. You get a ticket on your phone to show the conductor, so no paper ticket is needed.

For one leg of our trip last fall, my husband insisted on using the Trenitalia app. He saved something like 17 cents by buying direct from the Italian train company, after I found what train we wanted thru Trainline. They charge a tiny commission for the convenience of their app, and it’s totally worth it to me for the efficient and user-friendly experience.

The problem with trainline is that they may sell you a through ticket from FCO airport to Florence via Rome, combining tickets from competing companies. And such connections are not protected.

As an example, the airport trains are run only by Trenitalia whereas the Rome-Florence trains are run by both railway companies.

If Trenitalia's airport train was severely delayed and you missed Italotreno's high speed one to Florence, you wouldn't be entitled to be rebooked for free on another Italotreno train to Florence. You'd be at the mercy of Italo's (usually nice) employees... While holding a ticket issued by a re-seller.

Now that you know the small risks, do as you like.

Note that all city names will be written in Italian inside the train stations. Even on bilingual ticket machines and monitors

I’ve used the Italo app and had great success.