I have never been to italy before, i would like you opinion on trains there?

Question

hello! i will be traveling throughout north italy in June, not making hotel reservations for some cities because we dont know exactly how long we will stay in each city. i was wondering, would it be ok to just "show up" at the train station when we are ready to depart, or would it be better to plan certain trains to take to each city? or do the trains run pretty often? also, does anyone know what the latest train or bus is that runs from Florence to Siena? GRAZIE!

Answer 1

Just buy your train tickets as you go along.

The trains are great there. They run very frequently.

The machines that you buy the tickets from are also in English but if you don't understand something go to the window. Most people there understand English.

Just remember to get your ticket validated at the little yellow machine on the platform! Nobody told me about this and I was fined on the train. If you don't know what I mean ask at the window when you're there.

Have fun!

Answer 2

trains aren't that bad in italy.  some are better than others, of course.  the ones that only run locally aren't as nice as the bigger ones.  they usually don't have air conditioning (which sucks in the middle of june).  tickets aren't expensive, either.  and there's usually more than one train a day going to each destination, so if you just show up at the station you'll still be able to find a train.

Answer 3

The trains in Italy are wonderful.  We took a regular from Venice to Florence and it took forever, although it was ontime.  We took a Eurostar from Florence to Rome and it only took about an hour.  I would highly suggest at least checking the time differences and paying the price for quicker service.  

I am not sure if all the trains have reserved seats, but both of ours did.  The one from Venice to Florence was booked by our travel agent.  The train from Florence to Rome we purchased the day before at the Termini.  The day we departed we decided to leave on an earlier train and when we were assigned seats we weren't seated together.  Close, but still not in the same group of seats.  Both trains were very packed, but if you book the day of you should be able to get a seat, you just might not be able to sit together.

From what I saw in these three cities the trains run very often, I am not sure how late.

Answer 4

Hi! The trains are pretty reliable and run frequently. I was in Italy last year travelling around. There are automatic ticket booths at almost all stations so you can get a ticket anytime. It's not a bad idea to check the connections though. You can do that by going to http://www.trenitalia.com/ (it will redirect you to http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/). There you can see the routes, times and ticket prices. Hope you have a great time!

Answer 5

there are different kind of trains (see abbreviations like IR, IC, ES etc) and those used by commuters daily can be terrible and often late. Use ES trains for your big transfers but actually these need reservation, that you can anyway make until one hour before the train leaves.

If you want to take any other train just showing up at the station, be aware that there are often long queues at the ticket office so consider the possibility of missing a train because you're there, waiting.

Answer 6

I would visit the trenitalia website & print out the train schedule of when you think you might leave.  A vacation always runs a little smoother with a little preplanning.

Take the bus from Florence to Siena.  

BUS SCHEDULE FLORENCE - SIENA

Firenze        Siena

-------       ---------

6,45           8,00   W

7,00           8,15   WS

7,15           8,30   WS

7,45           9,00   WS

8,10           9,25   W

8,50           10,05  WS

9,10           10,25  

10,10          11,25

10,30          11,45  WS

11,10          12,25  W

12,10          13,25

13,10          14,25  WS

13,30          14,45  WS

14,10          15,25  W

14,40          15,55  

15,40          16,55  WS

16,10          17,25  WS

16,30          17,50  WS

17,00          18,15  WS

17,10          18,25  WS

17,20          18,35

17,30          18,45  WS

18,10          19,25  WS

19,10          20,25

20,15          21,30  WS

Siena          Firenze

-----          -------

6,25            7,40

6,30            7,45   W

6,40            7,55   WS

6,50            8,10   W

7,10            8,25

8,00            9,15   W

8,05            9,20

8,15            9,30   W

9,10           10,25   WS

10,10          11,25   W

11,10          12,25

11,50          13,05   WS

12,10          13,25

13,10          14,25

14,10          15,25

14,50          16,05

15,10          16,25

16,10          17,25

17,10          18,25   WS

17,40          18,55   WS

18,00          19,15   WS

18,10          19,25   WS

18,45          20,00   WS

19,10          20,25  

20,15          21,30  

20,45          22,00   WS

W = weekdays only

WS = Mondays to Fridays.

The Bus company that organized the sevice Florence-Siena is called SITA Tel.48365.