Trains in Italy?

Question

OK, so I'm embarking on a long (4 months) journey through Europe in a couple of weeks and obviously will be taking a lot of trains. One thing I've made clear to myself is that Eurail, even with its passes is horribly overpriced, compared to domestic ticket prices.

As far as France goes, I know I can get cheap tickets via voyages-sncf.fr - those tickets are at domestic prices, which means that even for the longest distances, they are usually under 50 euros, most of them are under 25.

However, I'll be starting out in Italy. SNCF has reasonable prices for their trains as well, but I'm thinking that it would be more sensible to buy train tickets right there on the spot. However, I speak 0 Italian and I would prefer to take late-night trains so that I wouldn't have to pay for the night's stay in a hotel. Would it be troublesome to get such tickets there? Should I order the tickets on SNCF (for example the price to go from Venice to Nice on SNCF is 55 euros) or should I not worry about it?

Answer 1

Here is the website (in English) of the Italian railways system (Trenitalia).
http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html
There are timetables and any kind of information. Overnight trains are also quoted in the schedule.Tickets can be bought on line but also at the Italian stations.I've no idea about possibility to buy tickets covering international routes but I guess you can do that too. Only be careful about the period since Italian trains can be overcrowded in specific times of the year (Xmas and Easter holidays , summer holidays late July/early August and also in correspondence of the 'bridges' for multiple festive days all over the year,etc. Also in trains like Eurostar advanced reservation of the seat it's absolutely mandatory.

Have a nice long journey through Europe.

Answer 2

Hi, I live in Italy. Maybe it's best that you buy individual tickets so you can travel whenever you like. The faster trains such as Eurostar and Intercity are going to be more expensive than the regular trains such as regionale and inter-regionale. For Intercity and Eurostar you need to book your seat and buy what's called "supplemento" (supplement). You will get two tickets (1 for the regular price and 1 with supplemento written on it or the ticket should say the price + supplemento). In most train stations there are ticket machines, so you can use those to buy your tickets.....they are written in Italian, French, Spanish, German, and English (and I've even seen Arabic and Cantonese in some cities) so you shouldn't have a problem. Remember to convalidate your ticket at the beginning of each trip in the yellow machines you'll find in the actual train station and near the train tracks.....they will give you a fine if they control your ticket and it's not convalidated. Okay, I hope this helps....ciao.

Answer 3

You're probably fine buying your tickets on the spot in Italy. I was in Italy in December with a Eurail pass. Even with the pass, I was still required to reserve seats on the train for an additional fee. I think that I would have saved a great deal of money by just buying individual tickets. I also do not speak Italian, but just about every agent I spoke with at the stations in Venice and Milan spoke fluent English.