I'm going in October and planning to take a train between Rome to Florence, then Florence to CT, then CT to Milan. I plan to stay a few nights in those places of course! Now, do I have to reserve tickets in advance or are those the kind of tickets I can just purchase the day of travel? If I purchase in advance, how far in advance am I allowed to purchase? Thank you!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
To add to Sam's reply, high speed trains can be bought on the day of travel, but you will pay full (base) fare. If you buy in advance, you can get discounts, but these will be non-refundable and non-exchangable (or have significant restrictions on these actions). Here's Ron in Rome's detailed description of how to use the Trenitalia website. Take a look now so you can see the range of prices, and decide if you want to book ahead or not (base fares in Italy are not exorbitant): http://tinyurl.com/c4t693b Remember that for high speed trains, you must board the specific train you have a reservation for, or risk heavy fines. So, if you don't know your schedule, it's better to buy in Italy. Regional trains (non-high speed) are best thought of as a "city bus on tracks." There are no seat reservations (if you can't find a seat, you stand). The tickets cost the same regardless of when or where they are purchased. Tickets can be bought online, but these actually have more restrictions than tickets bought at the station. So, just buy them in Italy. You must validate these tickets before use, or risk heavy fines. For your trips to and from the Cinque Terre (particularly to Milan), you will likely be taking a combination of regional and high speed trains.
Posted by
Green Bay
21157 posts
The Rome-Florence leg can be bought 4 months before the travel date. The advantage being you can get a 19 euro fare at a time of your choice. The Florence-CT leg will be on regional trains, so no advantage to advance purchase. CT-Milan can also be bought 4 months in advance.