Trenitalia vs Italiarail

They will not sell you a ticket if the train doesn't exist. So not sure what your concern is. Trenitalia has a history of being late in loading the semi-annual schedules. So buy when it is available. Regionale train tickets should never be purchased on-line, in advance. And the only reason to purchase the other tickets in advance is to take advantage of any deep discounts that might be available. But that will lock you into a fixed scheduled.

Florence-Cinque Terre (which CT town?) and Cinque Terre (?)-Pisa can be done with Regionale trains. They are not loaded yet, but there is no price advantage to buying in advance. Trenitalia is showing 2 IC trains in late June for Pisa-Rome. The 6:47 is available for 9 euro SuperEconomy. It does not stop at Termini, but at San Pietro and Ostiense before continuing on to Naples. The 11:06 IC is shown, but not available for purchases yet. Most of the connections on the Pisa-Rome route will involve a Regionale to Florence, then a Freccia to Rome.

A while ago, one of our Italian co-respondents explained that Regionale prices are subject to negotiations with regional governments, since they are partially subsidized by tax money. Like all such negotiations, they tend to go down to the wire.

Italiarail is betting there will be no substantial changes in prices and schedule. They are official resellers for Trenitalia, but do charge a small commission.

Thank you! We are going to be going to Manarola in the Cinque Terre. I guess we will wait to buy tickets then until we get to Italy.