Train travel in Italy

[blambition]

I have friends that will be taking the train from Venice to Rome when their cruise ends. Their question is two fold.... do they need to purchase the train tickets in advance or are they better off waiting and buying the day of transfer and also is it worth the extra money for the first class seating?

Thank you in advance for any information.

Vicki

[ab0si]

The fast trains' 2nd class is perfectly reasonable. First class has a bit more room for luggage .. beyond that, I do not think it is worthwhile.

 

These trains require a seat reservation... in theory at least. I would suggest getting the tickets a day or three in advance in possible. they an be purchased up to 60 days (I think it is 60) in advance from any Italian (and most European) train stations or most Italian travel agents .. I don't know where the cruise goes before hitting Venice or if they are spending some time post-cruise there.

[travlin]

My daughter and I used the train system for a couple of weeks all over Italy. We made most of our reservations online before we left. We then just went to the kiosk and printed out our boarding passes. It was very easy. We booked our ahead so that we didn't have to "worry" about that when we got there. I don't know if we needed to do so, but we found it an easy process from home. We did find one leg of our trip that we had to wait until we got to Italy to reserve. Buying tickets at the station was very easy as well.

We booked first class on all of our trips. We found that the extra room for our baggage was important to us. The cars were not as crowded, and we were given a snack and a drink. After visiting the second class cars, we believe there may have been a bit more leg room, but that is an oft debated topic. All in all, we met some of the most interesting people on the trains and loved the trip. Your trip will have lovely scenery all the way!

[hylasgirl]

We made our reservations online at RailEurope.com It really is better to wait until you arrive Italy,(only for price) but if they are wanting to leave THAT day and they are saddled with cruise luggage... I would pre-buy. It wasn't a whole lot more expensive than waiting... and now we have our tickets, our seating assignments and we don't have to deal with it with all our luggage.

 

I have read from many Italians that the high speed trains don't have much of a difference between 1st and 2nd class. We saved the money and went 2nd. Some have said that luggage hold isn't any different either.

[ab0si]

travlin:

 

May I ask where you live?

 

I ask because the Italian train site tends not to like U.S. credit cards. I have heard it has gotten better at this lately, so I wanted to check.

 

Thanks

[GSPLover]

I think that the biggest and strongest arguement for waiting until you are close to your actual travel time to buy tickets is the inflexibility of the trains exchange/refund policy. You plans change and you cannot travel as planned. You are stuck with tickets. You might get a refund IF you have an Italian mailing address.

 

The only time that we have purchased tickets ahead of time (one day at most) is when we have planned to travel on the Eurostar which requires reserved seats. All other trains (150++) have been walk up purchases.

[travlin]

I live in the States. We did have to try twice to get it to go through. However, the entire process took less than 5 minutes. The above posters make good points about waiting to buy. I just like to have my ducks in a row before I go. The station in Venice is very easy to navigate. Buying tickets there will be a simple process. I still vote for first class, especially for a longer ride like yours.

[ab0si]

I live in the States. We did have to try twice to get it to go through. However, the entire process took less than 5 minutes. The above posters make good points about waiting to buy. I just like to have my ducks in a row before I go. The station in Venice is very easy to navigate. Buying tickets there will be a simple process. I still vote for first class, especially for a longer ride like yours.

 

Thanks, travlin. Nice to know they are no longer blocking U.S. credit cards.

 

I was not particularly arguing against 1st class, btw. However, It is important, I think, for someone new to Italian trains to understand what you get and don't get -- not like 1st class versus couch on an international flight. <grin> When traveling with my wife, we go 1st class; when traveling by myself, I go 2nd class on such short rides (long ride: I did Venice to Syracuse once)

[taxatty]

You generally get better prices on the Trenitalia website than from Rail Europe--for the latter, you're paying for the convenience. If you HAVE to be on a particular train, get an advance reservation a couple of days in advance at the train station, through your hotel concierge or from a local travel agent; otherwise, there are plenty of trains and seats between Venice and Rome. Just don't show up at the last minute to buy a ticket and try to jump on a train in this large and busy station. I agree that there is not a huge difference between Italian 1st and 2nd class, especially on the EuroStar trains, but for a longer trip like this one I agree that 1st class may be worth it for you.

 

Les

[hylasgirl]

travlin:

 

May I ask where you live?

 

I ask because the Italian train site tends not to like U.S. credit cards. I have heard it has gotten better at this lately, so I wanted to check.

 

Thanks

 

 

We live in Salt Lake City... I have never had a problem purchasing on RailEurope.com Now, Trenitalia site is another story:)

[CintiPam]

I have friends that will be taking the train from Venice to Rome when their cruise ends. Their question is two fold.... do they need to purchase the train tickets in advance or are they better off waiting and buying the day of transfer and also is it worth the extra money for the first class seating?

Thank you in advance for any information.

Vicki

 

We always have purchased our "distance" train tickets in Italy a day or two before we planned to use them. No need to wait in any lines, however, because if you go to a travel agency in Italy, you pay the same price as at the train station.

 

For example, two years ago, while in Padua on a day trip from Venice (using a local train ticket purchased that morning in Venice), we visited a travel agency on the way back from our Brancacci chapel visit to the Padua train station to book our "distance" tickets for our Venice to Florence train ride. While in Assisi, we booked at a local travel agent for our next day train trip from Assisi to Rome. We've never traveled first class in Italy, so I cannot compare first and second class travel, but we felt second-class was fine. For all "local" train travel, such as Pisa to Lucca, Lucca to Florence, we have used the kiosks at the train station, which always have an English language option.

[blambition]

Thank you all for the great replies!!! My friend is a new member of CC and I will direct her here to read the answers. She and her DH are very excited about their upcoming cruise. I know she will have more questions and will find many helpful suggestions from all the wonderful people on this board. Thanks again.

Vicki

[pete_coach]

I have frequently travel by train in Italy.

If your freind is staying in Venice, then a small detour to St Lucia station is not hard. Go get the tickets that day before. Choose a side seat for two. There are groups of seats in twos and fours.

I do recommend that you go first class, the price diffence is not that great and, as someone else stated, there is more luggage room.The luggage racks are in the back of the cars do you do need to keep an eye on them, especially at other stations. If you have a bungee cord or something just to make it difficult, try and tie all your bags together.

It is quite a long trip (6 hours) so, before you board, buy a bottle of wine, some cheeze, bread and salami and enjoy yourself on the trip.We have done this after our first train trip when we were sitting there drooling at all the other folks.

Oh, make sure to get your ticket punched (validated) by the yellow machines trackside before you board the train. If not, they will fine you and they will not accept, "I did not know that" as an excuse. No kidding, experience talking here LOL.

Here is a really interesting site for traveling by Train in Europe. It has tons of great information.

http://www.seat61.com