Travellling around Italy by train?

Question

I am travelling from Rome to Florence to Viareggio to Milan by train and wanted to knw if it is best to buy tickets before I go or when I get there. I have heard about fixed rate cards for different numbers of days. Anybody been there and done it?

Answer 1

You can buy the tickets on the internet before but you can totally buy them when you get there. I actually think that's what everyone does. When I studied abroad, I almost always just showed up at the train station and bought a ticket. For big cities like Rome, Florence, and Milian, there are trains going there every 30 minutes to an hour. And rarely every happened to me, when you wait to late to buy a ticket, like two minutes before the train leaves, you'll end up without a seat. Then you'll have to wander around the train asking "posto libero?" (like, is this seat free) or standing by the door.

I can't think of any advantages of buying tickets before on the internet besides peace of mind. And in those instances, I purchased my tickets the day before.

Finally, about those "passes"--it's not worth it for you. You're only go to those four cities (um, I don't know if Viareggio is a city, I just know there's a beach there) not to EVERY city in Italy so I think you should pay as you go.

The only thing you should fret about in terms of the trains is what time they leave. And I would go so far as to say that they're constantly "in retardo" (running late) as many people here believe but still keep your eye out for that.

Answer 2

in italy, it's easier to get tickets when you get there in case you have a time schedule change because you buy tickets for certain times.  there are plenty of machines or you can stand in lines which move pretty quickly.  try to get trains w/ the least stops to your destinations.  you can look at schedules online or at the stations.  also, the fixed rate cards don't work out so well since italy is so small it doesn't cost that much to travel distances so my experience is you end up paying more when you buy a card in this case.  the bus system is pretty good also, not like usa.

Answer 3

it's easy to get your tickets by internet, go on the site from trenitalia, (i guess it'll be also in english) and watch there. almost all of the trains have to be reserved, but that doesn't count at all if it comes to trains running on time...

Answer 4

heres the link you need. you can prepurchase online and look at the times.

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Answer 5

I suggest you have a look at the web site for trenitalia

one thing if you're thinking of going there this month..the trains are over packed during August..so I advise you to check first and maybe book beforehand..the best trains are the eurostar at least you're guaranteed a seat..hope you have a nice trip..greetings Terry