Eurail Italy Pass?

Question

Ciao everybody! I have a question. So I have bought a Eurail Italy Pass at Roma Termini station, but now I am not even sure how to use it properly. Here are some questions that I have:

1. Can I take any trains there are or only the ones Eurail schedule has? What if the city I want to go to is not on the Eurail schedule?

2. Do you know how can I make reservations in advance? Because I have to travel for a while and I would hate to stand for 6 hours.

3. When I bought the pass at Termini, they just gave me a slip of paper saying that I am entitled to traveling for 5 days, that's all, no schedule, nothing. And on top it says - Trenitalia Youth Pass. Is that the same thing as Eurail?

So, I am very confused right now and I would appreciate ANY help at all! Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Check out these sites:

http://ricksteves.com/rail/rail_menu.htm

http://seat61.com/Italy.htm

Generally you cannot buy Eurail in Europe, except at some selected stations. IIRC, Roma Termini is one. But going from my Interrail experience, I think you did not get a Eurail pass. Don't really know though.

Answer 2

You bought a Trenitalia Youth Pass, which is perfect for your needs if you are traveling only in Italy.  (Eurail Passes are multi-country passes, which are more expensive.)  You can travel on almost any train in Italy with the pass you bought.  Go back to Termini with your pass and the dates and times of the trains you want to take.  You will be able to buy all of your reservations in advance.  If the pass has not been validated, be sure to have it stamped when you make your reservations.  

You can check train schedules online: http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html .

Before you get on a train, make sure that you have put down the current date (whether or not the conductor checked your ticket or failed to stamp it last time!).  

Hope that helps!  Have a great trip!