Train Tickets - What if I miss my train?

This is a ticket I wouldn't consider buying ahead of time. As you know, you can't predict when you'll be ready to hop on a train. The Bologna-Verona route has both regional and fast trains. For the slower regionals, there's no advantage to buying in advance. For the fast trains with desirable schedules (mostly Frecciargentos and Eurocities), you stand the pay about 13.50 euros if you buy now, vs. about 25 euros if you buy when you get to Bologna. The fast trains (excluding some bad circuitous routes) take about 55 minutes. The regionals are about 90 minutes.

So I'd wait and buy on-site. That way, there's no risk of throwing away a useless ticket or having to sit around for an extra hour or more, as might happen if you were conservative in picking a departure time now.

I agree with the above.
Buy it when you get there.
Bologna is a major hub so you will have plenty of trains options

As the others have mentioned, it's generally not recommended to buy your train tickets for day of arrival, due to unforeseen delays.

However, since you plan to travel to Milan later on, you can certainly buy that ticket in advance, especially if you want to save money.

You can book your ticket on the Trenitalia website.

Enjoy your trip!

As mentioned, the regionale trains in Italy won't change in price so there's no reason to buy those in advance.

If you're ok with swallowing the price increase for the fast train or taking a slightly longer journey on the regionale train, just wait and buy the tickets once you're in Bologna and know for sure what train you'll take.

Regionale train tickets in Italy are good for any train after the selected date. At the ticket machines in the train stations, you select a date and time, but the ticket prints without a time. These regionale train tickets must be stamped/validated before you get on the train to show what time you got on the train, but they can be used any time for any train that day. Perfect if you want a bit of flexibility.

If you wait to buy your tickets, you can still search on TrenItalia now to get an idea of how regularly the trains run on that route.

Have a great time in Italy. When is your trip?

Yes, there are Regionale trains at 2:10 pm, 4:10 pm, 6:10 pm and 7:10 pm. No reservations needed or available and the cost is 10.30 EUR. Buy at the station.

"...confused about the Non Refundable Not Exchangable"

Non Refundable and Not Exchangeable means just that - no refunds and no exchanges. Much like a non refundable non exchangeable plane ticket.

Don't prepurchase tickets for trains, planes, boats, etc for the same day that you arrive into the airport. Just don't.

Thank you all so much! This Forum is just amazing! I will wait and buy my ticket at the station so I can get the earliest train to Verona without worry about missing a booked train. Someone asked when am I traveling. I'm traveling alone in March and staying in Italy for 7 weeks, so although I usually travel light, I will have more 'stuff' than usual and want to minimize the hassles. BTW...because of this, should I just get a taxi from the airport to the train station, or is the Aerobus fine? I am comfortable with public transportation. Thanks again for all your great assistance!!

"should I just get a taxi from the airport to the train station, or is the Aerobus fine?"

No need to decide in advance. If you feel up to taking the bus, you can; if you're tired, stressed, or just want to treat yourself, take the taxi.

Make sure you understand what you are doing? Buying tickets on the Steves is through Rail Europe. Rail Europe and Rick Steves are travel agencies and do not operate any trains. Rail Europe tickets tend to be (but not always) more expensive because they don't sell tickets on all trains, infrequently sell discount tickets, and, of course, adds a little mark up to cover the cost of doing business. You should check directly with trenitalia.com to see who has the better price for the routes you are interesting in taking. And you may find other train options.

What part of No refund, No exchange do you not understand? This applies to ALL tickets purchased on-line at discount. The rules are even tighter that US airlines who can change for a fee. Super Economy tickets are absolute - nothing. Economy allow one change paying the difference in fare. And the Base fare (standard walk up fare) can be exchange anytime within one hour of the train leaving the station. BUT -- one single small but -- IF you have a discount ticket and miss a connection because of the faulty of the train company (late or cancelled) then you can get that one replaced at the ticket office.

Not sure what insurance you are referencing. That is some type of a third party insurance offered by Steves. Read the fine twice and ask them the questions directly. Insurance is not sold with train tickets through the Trenitalia.

Also, keep in mind that only ticket you can buy at the ticket window or ticket machine is the Base tickets. Discount tickets are only sold on-line. And finally, never buy a Regionale ticket on-line. No reason to do so. No discount and the on-line tickets comes with more restrictions.

Don't prepurchase tickets for trains, planes, boats, etc for the same day that you arrive into the airport. Just don't.

It depends on the situation. I've done it, as recently as last year in Paris. Let's say you get a ticket for 20 euros for a train that you'll most likely catch unless there's a major problem. If you miss the train, you just have to throw the ticket away and buy a full fare ticket on the spot. It's not something I would risk for a transatlantic flight home, but for a rail ticket, I'm willing to do it.

When I have a connection, the connection ticket is purchased ahead of time if it is not a commuter type trip. I pay for the refundable/exchangeable option. This has paid off for me as when arriving on time from an overnight train, I was able to change to an earlier train connection, so essentially I had no wait time.

There was an instance where I had booked a few weeks advance and then missed my train. It was absolutely non-refundable. It really was not fun. I suggest getting there a few hours early and buying the ticket on site. Unless it's a national holiday. The train usually has seats open. If you are worried, find time to buy it a few hours before.