Reservations on Italy trains

Fred, first of all, could you clarify whether you're referring to * Sirmione * on Lake Garda? If so that's an easy trip from Levanto. The travel time varies a bit depending on which train you choose. The shortest trip is one departing Levanto at 11:01, arriving Desenzano Del Garda-Sirmione at 15:36 (time 4H:35M, one change at Milano Centrale, reservations compulsory for both legs). To answer your original question, in my experience when you purchase a reservation to accompany your Railpass, it will cover the entire trip. The reservation will be printed on a small card, the same as used for P-P tickets and will specify your Car No. (Carozza), your Seat No. (Posti) and may also specify Finestrino (Window) or Corridaio (Aisle). Happy travels!

Thanks Ken. You were correct on the location. One last question. In the example you gave there are two trains, would we get a reservation showing the car, seat no etc for each train or would the car, seat no etc be the same for the full trip?

You will have a different car and seat each time you change trains.

Depending on the train run you choose, you may have two train changes - one in Genoa and one in Milan. Ken describes one of the better ones with only one train change. Also, the last train from Milan to Desenzano is a Regionale. No seat reservations necessary or possible on a Regionale train. Since you have a pass, you just get on and find a seat.

Just to clarify..... The trains that I suggested were BOTH listed as "Prenotazione obbligatoria in Italia" on the Trenitalia web site. The train from Milano Centrale to Desenzano Del Garda-Sirmione was an ES City/FrecciaBianca, so that's probably why the reservation is compulsory. That seemed to be the fastest route, but there are other trains available at various times. Of course, schedules are subject to change. Cheers!

Thanks everyone. I was looking at a couple of our other trips and connections. A couple only have about 15min between trains. What happens if we miss the connecting train. Do we need to purchase another reservation for the balance of the trip?

If you have a seat reservation on a train that you miss, you have a time frame, could be 90 mins, to exchange for another seat reservation but you need to go to the ticket office.