Italy and trains

1. I book the fast trains about 3 months in advance for good prices.

2. I don’t know about round-trip discounts; I have never checked on that.

3. Italo offers Senior rates. For Trenitalia, you need to apply for a special card and we have not done that.

4. I do not use the Trenitalia app; I do not care for apps in general. I am registered on both websites (Trenitalia and Italo) and book my tickets on the website. I print out the tickets as well as put them on our phones.

I imagine others will advise you differently about the app.

Trainline is a third-party broker.

Looks like you have done your homework. Enjoy, and I look forward to your feedback, as we will be in Tuscany in the spring.
Safe travels!

Trenitalia has same day return tickets at a discount.

Hi Marcia. Lola provides good info. Best time to buy is when you are sure of your exact journey time, as discount tix bought in advance are limited to an exact train. No discount for round trip. I use same approach as Lola regarding trenitalia app; I don't find a need for it. Have a great trip!

You can book a high-speed Italo train now at its easy-to-use website www.Italotreno.com. Tickets for the 2-hour trains in April are running about €30 at the moment on either of Italo’s or Trenitalia’s trains.
You can see each company’s train schedules at www.TheTrainline.com

I'm not a fan of Trainline. When I had an issue, I found their customer service to be terrible.

I've purchased Trenitalia tickets either on a website or in person at a machine. I find both the website and the machines at the train stations quite easy to use. I've looked at the Trenitalia app a few times. It looked manageable, its just that when I book in advance it is easiest to book from the website on my computer. When there is no savings to purchasing in advance (regional trains) I purchase them from the train station machines.

Jules, Just curious- when did you have the problem with The Trainline customer service?
It’s a common complaint online about Trenitalia having a clumsy website. Not as common as Renfe’s platform, but still a recurring theme.

I had to use Trainline to buy SNCF tickets because I couldn't get the SNCF website to accept payment. Our trip was cancelled due to COVID and the train was actually cancelled as well. Trainline told me I had to get the refund from SNCF and SNCF said that since they didn't sell the ticket, they wouldn't give the refund. It was a long distance train, Paris to Bordeaux so with two tickets we were out about $100. We eventually gave up on the refund.

I have never had a problem with the Trenitalia website. We were just in Italy this fall, and going back again in a few weeks. I purchased my tickets for Naples to Rome at least a month ago with no issues. I was actually surprised at how quick the whole process was.

I've never really had a problem with RENFE either. Sometimes I think the problems people have may be related to their browser, but I haven't given it much thought. I've never had problems buying tickets directly from any country specific train site, except for SNCF. I rarely use apps for train tickets. Generally, the website or ticket machines, occasionally a "live person".

Thanks for this great info! Will book directly with either Italo or Trenitalia!.

always always book direct, not 3rd party sites. Seat61.com goes over all this with you and goes into detail on the differences between Italo & Trenitalia - study seat61.com

the earlier you book, the better the price. We've done both Italo & Trenitalia - I'd go with best price and best times for you. If it's the same, I lean a little more to Italo.

Anyone over 60 is eligible for the trenitalia senior card. I received it with no problem in about 2 weeks even though I had read it might take several months. It turned out that I only ended up taking regional trains so I haven't actually used the senior card.

I found the Trenitalia app convenient to use because your information is stored so you don't have to take time to enter it each time you buy or change a ticket online.

The earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets. It is however not necessary to book months in advance to get the cheapest tickets. You will often still get Supereconomy tickets a week or two out, and economy ticket up to three days out. And normal price tickets are not that expensive either.

The "bandwidth" between the cheapest and most expensive tickets is not as high as eg. in France. And Trenitalia runs enough trains so that it is rare that they are all sold out on the day itself. (They are a far better railways than the French or Spanish...)

So there is no need to jump the gun on train tickets...

I have applied for Trenitalia’s Cartefreccia card for seniors, but still waiting on its arrival. I was checking high-speed train from Bologna to Firenze mid-April, approximately $60 RT. The dilemma is, will the cost be significantly cheaper with senior discount card when it arrives, or will the savings be lost in waiting for the card, as above posters have suggested the longer you wait, the more expensive the tickets become. If my plans were to change after booking, are they changeable or refundable?

The trip Bologna => Firenze is 37 mins - discount fares are available for less than $20 for some trains - available to anyone.

Re CarteFreccia:

If you are a CartaFRECCIA member and over 60 years of age, you can travel on Frecciarossa and Frecciargento trains for €29 and €39 depending on your chosen route.

This offer is valid for travel in Standard and 2nd class and can be purchased from all sales channels and authorised travel agencies, up until midnight on the tenth day before the date of departure of your selected train.

The offer cannot be modified and is non-refundable.

Are any train tickets in Italy, Belgium or NL refundable when purchased in advance? If so, I presume there is an extra fee. My dilemma is, do I buy now at a less expensive price or lose the price paid because of an uncontrollable extenuating circumstance for the date I pre-purchased?

On Trenitalia, you can buy an option to make the ticket refundable for a couple of euros per ticket. I usually take the option as cheap insurance, then buy the discounted advance fare. It's a bit of a gamble but has worked for me every time but once. Taking the refund option also saved me quite a lot when I once accidentally selected the wrong dates! I noticed immediately but it only cost me about 10 euros instead of nearly 100.

Edited: I just checked the terms on the refund option and they've changed from last time I looked. Darn.

With this option, you can request a partial refund up to midnight on
the second day before the departure of your booked train, subject to a
10% deduction to the original purchase price.

I booked a fast train on italo from Milan centrale to Florence. I was able to purchase promo tickets for 3 or more traveling together ( there are 4 of us). Italo had the best price/schedule.

"Are any train tickets in Italy, Belgium or NL refundable when purchased in advance?"

Belgium and the Netherlands are small countries, so all trains there are basically mass transit. The Netherlands runs the railways as a nationwide subway. Only a better subway then most US cities have...
So no need to buy tickets in advance.

In Italy for regional trains you do not need to buy tickets in advance either. The price is always the same as well. Only for long distance trains can you save money doing so.

Just look on www.trenitalia.com, and look at the prices offered:
If the only fare type offered is "Ordinaria" then just buy the ticket on the day of travel.
For long distance trains the "Base" fare is what you would pay at the station, and that is refundable. "Economy" fare is not refundable but can be changed. "Super Economy" can neither be changed nor refunded.