Train tickets

Jules , Buying tickets in advance ( which I usually do ) serves two purposes ; netting substantial discounts and secondly the convenience of not wasting time on potential ticket lines with a connection in the offing . Evidently the discounts are of primary importance . With the exception of the Jungfrau trip and the Frecce train , merely knowing the service designations of the various trains without which countries and dates of travel are involved makes it impossible to give you specific information . Scoring a discount on a Frecce train so close to your upcoming travel date is relatively difficult given that these tickets go on sale 120 days in advance and may be sold out by now . Depending on how many days and where exactly you are in Switzerland , you may benefit from a Swiss pass or half fare card , but you need to provide more specific information for help.

Thanks Steven. We will be traveling from Padua to Varenna, then from Varenna up to Murren via Milan. We will then travel from Murren to CT.

CT ? Do you mean Cinque Terre ?

That is correct.

There are no discounts or reservations on Regionale trains in Italy so you just buy your ticket the hour before or when ever it is most convenient. Those tickets MUST BE validated - time stamped - in the yellow boxes or the blue/grey boxes prior to getting on the train. If you are willing lock yourself into no change/no refund tickets but with a discount, then purchase in advance on the internet.

I'm assuming that your hotels are booked ? if not you might want to reconsider your itinerary . From Padua up to Murren and then all the way back down to the Cinque Terre seems a great deal of what I call ping pong travel . Depending on where you were headed after CT is also a structural component of this . In any event , in Italy ,any of the trains other than the high speed Frecce can be bought as you go with relative ease . In Switzerland , you would have to determine which specific trips you are making to ascertain whether a Swiss Pass or half fare card would be advantageous . Also , keep in mind that when pricing tickets on SBB.CH ( Swiss Federal Railways site ) , the posted fares assume you have a half fare card .

Yes, the rooms are reserved. I guess I get that from playing Pong in the 70's. Anyway, we made a switch in the itinerary that caused this, however, the not a problem to us. Tried not to have backtracking, just worked out that way. I will look at booking the high speed train today. Thanks for the tip on this as well as the Swiss Rail.

Sorry , just to correct a comment I made earlier ; You can buy the high speed Italian train on your trip with the same ease as the regionale trains , it's only the discount that's the issue . In any event , certainly look at the Trenitalia site , it's possible you still might snag a discounted ticket , Enjoy your time there , it's all beautiful !!

Thanks, I picked up the tickets for the high speed train. Thought I had better get this taken care of.