Travel in Italy? What is the best transportation?

Question

My wife and myself are planning a 6 days trip in Italy( Milan, Vience and Rome) We plan to take train and found following two website http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/ferrovie/util/inglese.jsp

what is the difference b/w them? Which are more economic? Thanks

Answer 1

Both sites are from the same company, the Italian railways. Travelling via train is convenient but please remember to reserve your seats always or you will end standing for the whole trip. I just hope there won't be any strike when you are there...if you are worried about missing a train try to have a backup plan (renting a car or riding a bus).

Answer 2

Hi,

there's no difference between the two, it's the same website, it's the National Railway, in Italy it's the only one we have on a national scale. Train is definitely the best transportation; true, there can be delays and it's a bit expensive (although you'll find that compared to the UK it's actually quite cheap, lol) but there are trains for almost anywhere, so in that respect it's quite good.

The fastest trains are more expensive. The nicest one is the ES (eurostar) then there's the ICplus (Intercity plus) and you need to book them at least an hour before the departure cus you won't be allowed on without a reservation. Then there's the IC (intercity) which is the same as the ICplus, just bit busier cus booking is not compulsory. And then there's the R (regionale) , E (espresso), which take  a bit longer and are not that nice, but they are cheaper. There are also other trains but i cant recall them all now, anyway, as i said, the faster, the more expensive.

You can buy the tickets also from any railway station and some travel agencies.

One more thing, watch out for pick pockets, on trains and especially at the stations (and city centres).

Hope this helped! Have a nice holiday, enjoy Italian weather, scenery and food!!

Answer 3

Hello,

One is the Italian version and one is the English version.  This is a great website for checking train schedules and prices.  You can wait until you get to Italy to buy your train tickets.  There is no benefit in buying them before you leave.  If you live in North America you won't be able to  buy them through the trenitalia website as they don't take credit cards that are not european.  

You should buy point to point tickets and try to buy them at least 24 hours in advance to qualify for the amica fare.  This is a 20% off fare on most trains.  

Have fun, Donna

Answer 4

http://www.eurail.com/

We used it to go from London to Paris and then to Melan...

another time we rode all over Italy with the 4 day pas.

You can buy a 7 day pass i think

If you belong to AAA you can buy them from them... easy

if there are 2 of you ... you can buy a pass that is cheaper but you have to trave together.

Answer 5

hi!! i'm italian and i live in milan!! ferrovie dello stato and trenitalia are the same thing!! sorry for my english.. buon viaggio