Where to find timetables and prices for Italy train tickets? Tried FS site

Trenitalia is the main operator of trains in Italy. Have a look at their website, www.trenitalia.com , making sure to click on the word "English" at the very top of the first screen. In the big section labeled "Tickets", type in your departure and arrival cities, along with days and times, then click "Send". The resulting screen should list the available journeys, plus their prices. Use the Trenitalia site just for planning purposes - purchasing through their website is next to impossible. P.S. Try using just "Monterosso" instead of "Monterosso al Mare".

To get times and fares on Trenitalia.com you can't use too much of an advance date - one or two weeks, or you won't get prices. However, timetables only change twice a year, if at all, so you'll be OK for a May trip. Both Trenitalia and Bahn.de show lots of Roma-Bolzano trains, a very scenic trip that should be done in daytime IMO. You didn't mention timing, but Roma-Bolzano on Trenitalia is less than 5 hours and costs 76 Euros in II class. If you have trouble booking on Trenitalia, you can use an advance booking on the German site which offers a no-changes Bologna-Bolzano late afternoon departure for as low as 19 Euros, arriving in the evening, to which you should add a Roma-Bologna fare. .

On the Trenitalia website, I have noticed that fares for regional connections only are not given. I.e., if I look at a connection from Rome to Monterosso, there are some express trains (IC, ES) and the fares are given, even if the route includes an express train. If I go to Monterosso from Spezia, however, it's almost all regional trains and the fares are "NA" for those connections. Is this what you mean by the "FS site"?

Does anyone see what Guy is talking about? It's always been my belief that German Rail only sells tickets (online) for routes with one end in Germany, and Bologna to Bolzano would not fit that criteria. I can't find anything on the Bahn website to disprove that belief. The closest I can get is to book the EC (84) that leaves Bologna at 11:46 for Germany (Rosenheim, Munich) and get off early in Bolzano, but the advance purchase ticket for Bologna to Munich starts at €39 with a Europa-Spezial Italien fare. The SparPreis fares, which start at €19, are only for trips entirely inside Germany (or to "border" stations).

What Guy is talking about is that Bahn.de shows a Bologna-Bolzano advance ticket on sale from 19 euros. Check it out. I know that buying on line from Bahn. de requires a German departure or arrival, but there it is - Roma-Bolzano is shown available as a special fare at 19 euros, and at 28 euros full price. Perhaps, because German is the most used language in the Bolzano area, an exception is made?

Even when using the English version of the Trenitalia website, you must use the Italian names of cities. Many names are the same in English and Italian, but a fair number of large cities have different names: for example, Firenze (Florence), Roma (Rome), Milano (Milan), Napoli (Naples), Venezia (Venice) and Genova (Genoa). Also pay attention to the departure and arrival station in large cities, as most but not all trains begin or end at the main station.

I think I confused people by mentioning DBahn, my trips are all within Italy, I only looked there because Rick says it can be used for planning trips all over Europe. I haven't found it useful for this trip. Also, what I called the FS site is the same as trenitalia.com. Thanks for all your messages, I understand now that the reason I can't get prices is that my trip is too far in the future. I'll put in dates for a week or so out and hope that prices won't change too much. Thanks everyone!

Interesting, Guy. When I looked at the Bahn website at 8:30 PST this morning, the offer was not shown, but now it's displayed, and you saw it befor 8:30. Maybe the connection to Italian Rail was just momentarily down. Now I see bookable intra-Italy connections for all four of the ECs. You can now book tickets online from Brennero (or Bolzano) as far into Italy as that EC goes (Bologna, Venice, Milan, or just Verona), or between any stations on those stretches. And you can get the advance purchase online specials for segments of the train outside of Germany. The name for the offer, on the English language page, is "Offerta Speciale". Eurocity (EC) is at least partially owned by German Rail, which might explain the availability of booking. You can also book sections completely outside Germany on CNL, which German Rail also owns.

I thought maybe the intra-Italy connections (e.g. Bologna to Bolzano) had been there all the time and I had just missed them because I was never interested, but I see Innsbruck to anywhere in Italy is now ticketable. I know that wasn't there previously, because I looked at it for Austria to Italy travelers. Anyway, you can now get online tickets for Innsbruck to Italy on the Bahn website and get advance purchase, discount tickets in the process.