Train Travel in Italy

The train company is Trentialia. See the website. Reservations are included when you buy a seat ticket. Reservations in advance may save you money, as there are discounts offered in advance, and they sell out. but you can also buy tickets a day or two ahead at a station, no problem. From Venice to Cinque Terre, you can travel in first Class as far as Monterosso. If that is not your village, you switch there to a local train, and if they have first class on those I've never foud it. Anyway is is only 10 minutes or so and doesn't matter.

Not sure what you mean or asking about, "What train service." All Italian trains except Regional require a reservation. You can easily purchase tickets at the train station just prior to departure. However, if willing to commit to a specific date and time you can purchase advance tickets at discount. To buy the tickets early use trenitalia.com. You always have a choice of first or second class tickets. Cinque Terra is a region or area so you need to pick a city in CT.

Elizabeth, For rail travel in all the areas you mentioned, you'll be using Ferrovie dello Stato, which is the Italian national rail system. You can verify travel times and other details on Their Website. On the trip from Ravenna to Venice, there are some Regionale trains which don't require reservations (nor are they available for those). There are changes in either Bologna or Ferrara on that route. Note that your destination station is Venezia Santa Lucia. Some of the other trains use EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita which DO have compulsory reservations. If you decide to travel via any Regionale trains, BE SURE to validate your ticket prior to boarding, or you'll risk a hefty fine, which will be collected ON THE SPOT. On the trip from Venice to the C.T. (using Monterosso as an example), there are a variety of trains each day. One of the easiest routes involves one change at Milano Centrale, with a total travel time of 6H:12M. Both legs on that trip have compulsory reservations. You can easily buy tickets at the rail stations in each town, either at staffed ticket windows or automated Kiosks (credit card required). I often buy tickets for the outgoing journey when I arrive in each place, since I'm at the station anyway. If you purchase tickets no later than midnight, two days prior to your travel day you may be able to get the discounted "Mini" ticket for travel on the ES/AV trains (not the Regionale). You might find it very helpful to have a look at This Website which has extensive information on train travel in Italy. Happy travels!