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Above:  The Colosseum, Rome.  You can walk there from Rome's Stazione Termini in about 25 minutes.

There's no better way to see the great cities of Italy than by train.  Driving in Italian cities is a nightmare;  flights waste a lot of time at airports and you won't see anything of Italy at 30,000 feet.  You'll find trains faster, more convenient and more relaxing.  Trains link just about every Italian town and city of any significance, city centre to city centre.  A new high-speed network is taking shape:  Rome to Florence takes just 1 hour 35 minutes at up to 175 mph, Florence to Venice 2 hours 40 minutes, Rome to Venice 3 hours 45 minutes, Rome to Naples 1 hour 10 minutes, Rome to Milan 2 hours 59 minutes.  Faster than flying!  Journeys to and from Sicily can be made overnight on a time-effective sleeper train.

On this page...

How to check Italian train schedules & fares

How to buy train tickets for Italy - at the station, or buy online...

What are Italian trains like? - Eurostar Italia, InterCity, regional, overnight trains

Travel tips - ticket validation, taking a bike, catering, luggage, places not served by train, language problems

How to use the Italian Railways website, www.trenitalia.com

On other pages...

Getting from the UK to Italy by train - take an afternoon Eurostar to Paris, then a direct sleeper train to Rome, Florence or Venice.  Easy!

General European train travel information - luggage, bikes, pets, maps, timetables and advice.

Sponsored links:

	Above:  There's no check-in, and no hassle. You simply walk straight from the city centre onto the station concourse, look at the indicator board to find your train and hop on, any time up until departure.  Here, passengers board a sleek, high-speed Eurostar Italia AV train in Naples Centrale...
	Above:  The main concourse at Florence SMN station.  The station is walking distance from the famous Duomo or even the Ponte Vecchio...

It's easy to check train times and fares for any journey in Italy, using the Italian Railways (Trenitalia) website, www.trenitalia.com (English button at the top)

• The new high-speed network links Naples, Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin & Venice, with trains hourly or better.

• Rome-Florence takes 1 hour 35 minutes, Rome-Milan 2 hours 59, Rome-Venice 3 hours 45, Rome-Naples 1 hour 10, Florence-Naples 3 hours.  Faster than flying.

• To understand the different types of train, see the What are Italian trains like? section.

• There are now 15%, 30% & (in some cases) 60% discounts from the normal 'base' fare if you book a high-speed Italian train 7 days, 15 day or 30 days before departure.  To understand the choice of fares, and the rather poor translation of sleeper types, see the how to use trenitalia.com section.

• Map of the Italian railway network

• Schematic map

Buying tickets at the station, the easy way...

It's easy to buy tickets at the station on the day of travel or perhaps the day before, even if you don't speak Italian.  Simply go to one of the pale blue and yellow 'fast ticket' machines installed at all main stations (see photo below), which have a touch screen with an English language facility.  Click the UK flag for English, then click 'buy tickets'.  The machines will sell both local and long-distance tickets, including seat reservations, for departure that day, the next day or any date you like within the next 60 days.  They take Visa and MasterCard credit cards without a problem.  For local journeys such as Florence-Pisa or Florence-Siena, you just buy a ticket and hop on, no reservation necessary.  For long-distance trains it's now always necessary to make a seat reservation, but there's almost always seats available and you can buy a ticket immediately before the train departs from the fast ticket machines or ticket office.

However, Trenitalia have now (early 2009) increased there normal 'base' fare and introduced advance-purchase discounts.  Booking opens 60 days in advance, and you can get a 60% discount on the normal base fare on some routes if you book more than 30 days ahead, a 30% discount if you book more than 15 days ahead, and a 15% discount if you book more than 7 days ahead.  So bear that in mind when anyone tells you you can easily buy at the station on the day at no extra cost, as you can now save money by pre-booking!  Remember to validate a local or regional ticket by putting them into the small yellow machines at the entrance to every platform - there's a fine if you don't.  Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City & InterCity tickets don't require validating in this way as they are for a specific date and train anyway.

Buy Italian train tickets online...

Option 1:  The cheapest way to buy Italian train tickets is online direct from Italian Railways (Trenitalia) at www.trenitalia.com (English button top right).  The advantage of using this system is that it has all trains, all routes and all the cheapest prices, and has a hassle-free 'ticketless' system where you book online and simply quote your booking reference on board the train.  The one big problem with www.trenitalia.com is that it often has problems accepting non-Italian credit cards. I guestimate that it accepts only 60% of UK cards and just 20-30% of US or Australian ones. It also doesn't explain the fare choices, and is poorly translated in places, so before using it, see the step-by-step guide below.  Bookings open 60 days before departure.

Option 2:  If using trenitalia.com proves too difficult, you can buy Italian train tickets the easy way, though it will cost a bit more as you won't get the 60%/30%/15% discounts and they won't use a very good exchange rate:

• If you live in the UK, you can buy Italian train tickets for main routes using www.raileurope.co.uk.  This is the easiest system to use, with no booking fee, though it doesn't feature all trains and all routes, just the main cities.  Tickets are sent free of charge to any UK address.

• If you live in the USA or Canada, you can buy train tickets for Italy online at www.raileurope.com or www.raileurope.ca.  Tickets can be sent to any American address.

• If you live in the Australia or New Zealand, you can buy train tickets for Italy online at International Rail Australia.  This features all Italian routes and trains, as it links directly to Trenitalia's system.  Tickets can be sent to any Australia or New Zealand or Asian address.

Eurostar Italia trains (ES AV or ES*) Frecciarossa & Frecciargento...

Trenitalia's top-of-the-range trains are the Eurostar Italia 'Frecciarossa' 175mph high-speed trains and Eurostar Italia 'Frecciargento' 125mph tilting trains, shown in timetables as 'Eurostar Italia AV' or 'ES*' or 'ES AV' (AV =  'alta velocità' = 'high speed').  Higher fares are charged for these trains, and tickets always include a seat reservation - in other words, you can't just turn up and hop on, you need to make a reservation on a specific train before boarding, but can do this right up until departure.  Eurostar Italia tickets are only valid on the specific date and train you've booked.  Eurostar Italia 'Frecciarossa' (red arrow) services are operated by 175mph high speed ETR500 trains like the one shown below.  Eurostar Italia 'Frecciargento' (silver arrow) services are operated by 125mph ETR450/460/485/600 'pendolino' tilting trains.  All Eurostar Italia services are air-conditioned with refreshments, and most have a waiter-service restaurant car, a pleasure to use, with the set 3-course menu costing around 32 euros, a half bottle of wine 9 euros, credit cards accepted.  All seats have power sockets for laptops & mobiles (2-pin, 220v).  A supplement must be paid by railpass holders (10-15 euros per trip), which given the fares are cheap anyway (for example, 25 euros Venice-Milan, 39 euros Rome-Florence) doesn't make railpasses very good value in Italy.

Above:  The majority of Eurostar Italia services are operated by sleek modern 175mph ETR500 trains like this one, with streamlined power car at each end.  They're now known as 'Frecciarossa'.		Lunch in a Eurostar Italia restaurant car costs 32 euros for 3 courses or 22 euros for 2 courses, a half bottle of wine 9 euros.  Credit cards accepted.

Second class on a Eurostar Italia ETR500  'Frecciarossa' train, spacious & comfortable.  All seats in both classes have power sockets for laptops & mobiles (2-pin, 220v).		First class on a Eurostar Italia ETR500 'Frecciarossa' train.  All seats have power sockets for laptops & mobiles.  A complimentary welcome drink of coffee, juice or sparkling prosecco is served in 1st class.

Eurostar City trains (ES City, Frecciabianca)...

One step down from Eurostar Italia, 'Eurostar City' services use locomotive-hauled coaches which have been refurbished to Eurostar Italia standards.  They are air-conditioned and have a refreshment trolley, but no restaurant or bar car.  Seat reservation is compulsory, and railpass holders must pay a supplement (10 euros) which includes the reservation fee.

A Eurostar City train seen at Bologna...		First class on a Eurostar City train, less crowded and more spacious.  All seats have power sockets for laptops & mobiles.		Second class on a Eurostar City train.  Most seats have access to  a power socket for laptops & mobiles (2-pin 220v).

InterCity (IC)...

Next in the pecking order are the InterCity trains, fast trains hauled by locomotives at up to 100-125mph.  All InterCity trains are now 'seat reservation obligatory', so you must make a reservation before boarding, you can't just hop on.  A small supplement is payable by railpassholders for InterCity trains, about 3 euros, which includes the reservation fee.

An Italian InterCity train...		2nd class 6-seat compartments on an InterCity train.  Some cars have open-plan seating.		1st class seating on an InterCity train.  Some cars have 6-seater compartments.

Espresso, Regionale & local trains (E, R)...

No seat reservation is necessary (or, in many cases, possible), you just buy a ticket and hop on.  Remember to validate your ticket at the platform entrance before boarding.  There's no supplement for railpass holders, you can just hop on and show your pass.

Overnight trains...

An overnight sleeper train is often the best way to travel long distances, for example from Rome, Milan or Venice to Sicily, or from Venice or Milan to Naples.  It's an experience in itself that's effectively faster than flying, and saves a hotel bill too.  Italian overnight trains have several types of couchette & sleeper.  Some also have seats or reclining seats, but a couchette or sleeper is recommended, as you can lie flat and sleep in a safely-locked compartment.

• 6-berth couchettes:  6 basic flat padded bunks, arranged as upper, middle & lower on each side of the compartment.  Rug, sheet & pillow provided for each passenger.  Compartments are mixed sex, as you don't normally fully undress.

• 4-berth 'Comfort' couchettes:  Modern air-conditioned cars with eight or nine 4-berth compartments, each with two upper & two lower bunks.  Rug, sheet & pillow provided for each passenger.  An attendant travels with each pair of cars.  A good economical choice, see the photos below.  Compartments are mixed sex, but women travelling alone can book berths in ladies-only compartments.

• 1, 2 & 3 berth standard sleepers:  Traditional sleeping cars with twelve comfortable carpeted compartments each of which can be used with 1, 2 or 3 beds folded out as '1st class Single', 1st class Double' and '2nd class Tourist T3'.  See the photos below.  Each room has a washbasin, and offers fully-made-up beds, convertible to a private sitting room with sofa & coffee table for evening or morning use.  Compartments are single-sex unless a group of you book all the berths in a compartment.  Each car has its own sleeper attendant who can serve drinks, snacks and a light breakfast.  A sleeper is the civilised, recommended option!  On trenitalia.com, these traditional sleepers are described (confusingly!) as 'First class single seat compartment', 'First class double seat compartment' and 'Tourist 3 bed cabin' respectively.

• 1 & 2 berth 'T2S' sleepers:  Sleeping cars with seventeen very narrow compartments each of which can be used with 1 or 2 berths folded out as '1st class Special' or '2nd class Tourist T2'.  Each room has a washbasin, and offers fully-made-up beds, convertible to a very small private sitting room with seats & coffee table for evening or morning use.  Compartments are single-sex unless a group of you book all the berths in a compartment.  Each car has its own sleeper attendant who can serve drinks, snacks and a light breakfast.  A bit cheaper than the standard sleeper, but the compartments are much more compact, to the point of being cramped.  On trenitalia.com, these sleepers are described as 'First class special seat compartment' and 'Tourist 2 bed cabin' respectively.  Recommended if you're trying to save money, or the standard sleepers are sold out.

• 1 & 2 berth 'Excelsior' sleepers: On a few routes, for example Rome-Sicily and Milan-Naples, you'll also find a deluxe 'Excelsior' sleeping-car with ten 1- or 2-bed compartments each with private shower & toilet.  The sleeping-car also has one 'suite matrimoniale' with double bed, toilet & shower.  Rooms convert to a private sitting room with sofa & coffee table for evening or morning use.  Each car has its own sleeper attendant who can serve drinks, snacks and a light breakfast.  Only whole compartments are sold, for single or double occupancy, you cant book just one berth in a 2-berth sleeper in these cars.  See the photos below.  Recommended if you have the money!

• You can find virtual tours of these couchettes & sleepers at www.trenitalia.com.  Click 'Trains', then look for 'night trains', then look for the blue box on the right.

Standard Italian 1, 2 or 3 berth sleeper...

Above:  Standard Italian sleeper on overnight train.  It has 12 compartments, each of which can be used as 1st class Single, 1st class Double or 2nd class 3-berth.

Standard sleeper in evening/ morning mode, with beds folded away, sofa folded out.

1st class double.  If the third (top) berth was folded out, it would become 2nd class 3-berth.

Italian 'Comfort' 4-berth  couchettes...

Above:  A 'Comfort' couchette car		Above:  A 4-berth 'Comfort' couchette compartment in night-time and daytime modes.

Excelsior deluxe sleeper...

Above:  A deluxe Excelsior sleeper, 2 berth compartment with private shower & toilet, shown here in both daytime & nighttime modes.  Only on a few routes!

	Restaurant cars:  A table for two in the restaurant car of a high-speed Eurostar Italia express linking  Venice, Florence, Rome & Naples, and yes, the flowers on the tables are real!  So much more civilised than a flight...
	Self-service ticket machines are found on all main Italian stations.  They have a touch screen, click the UK flag for English.  They can sell tickets for both local trains and Eurostar Italia/Eurostar City/InterCity trains, plus some international trains, and can sell seat reservations for railpass holders.  They take both cash & credit cards.  Easier & faster then going to the ticket office!
	Ticket validation machines:  If you have a ticket for a local or regional train, make sure you validate it by putting it into one of these machines at the entrance to the platform before boarding.  There's a fine if you don't.  Train-specific mainline tickets (for example, for Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City & InterCity) do not need to be validated, as they are only valid on a specific date and train in any case.

• Ticket validation:  All Italian regional and local train tickets must be validated immediately before you board your train, by putting them into the small yellow machines at the entrance to every platform.  There's a fine if you don't.  See the photo below right, so you know what machine to look for.  This is to prevent people using an 'open' local ticket valid for 2 months from being used fraudulently for more than one journey.  You do not need to validate Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City or InterCity tickets as these are only valid on a specific date and train in any case.

• Language problems:  First-time visitors often think this will be a problem, but it hardly ever is.  At stations, signs are usually in English as well as Italian, or easy-to-understand pictograms are used.  On high-speed trains, announcements are usually repeated in English.  The one thing that does help is knowing the Italian version of place names:  Rome = Roma, Florence = Firenze, Venice = Venezia, Naples = Napoli, Milan = Milano, Turin = Torino, Genoa = Genova.  The ticket machines at every main station have a touch-screen with an English language facility.

• Food & drink on Italian trains:  Most long-distance trains have a bar or even (on Eurostar Italia trains) a restaurant car.  Eating a meal on the move in a waiter-service restaurant is an experience, and not hugely expensive, either.  However, feel free to bring your own food and drink (even a bottle of wine, if you like) onto the train, there's no rules against that on the rails!

• Luggage:  There are no baggage fees or weight limits, and you don't check your bags in, you simply take them with you onto the train, placing them on the racks at the end of each car, or above your head.

• Left luggage:  All main Italian stations including Rome Stazione Termini, Florence SMN, Venice Santa Lucia, Milan Centrale, Naples Centrale, Verona, Turin Porta Nuova have left-luggage facilities, either lockers or a staffed facility.  Information on prices & opening times.

• Bicycles:  You can take a bike with you on suburban, Regional & InterRegional trains, if you buy a bike ticket costing about 4 euros.  On long distance trains including Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City & InterCity, you need to place your bike in a zip-up bike bag, front wheel & pedals removed and handlebars turned, see the bikes by train page.

• Dogs & pets:  Go to www.trenitalia.com, look for 'FAQ' at the very top, then look for 'animal transport'.  You can take dogs on many trains, but the rules vary by type of train.  On Eurostar Italia trains, only guide dogs and very small dogs in containers are carried.  On regional, InterRegional, InterCity & Eurostar City trains, small dogs go free, larger dogs go travel for a 5 euros fee.

• First class lounges at Italian stations:  Unfortunately, only holders of Trenitalia's special 'Club Eurostar' frequent traveller card can use the 'Club Eurostar' lounges at stations.

Railpasses for Italy...

• By all means check out the InterRail pass for Italy (for European residents) or Eurail passes for Italy (for non-Europeans) at the seat61 rail shop.  However, Italy has relatively cheap train fares and for most people making simple circuits of Venice, Florence, Rome & Naples, normal point-to-point tickets will be much cheaper than a pass.  Indeed, passes have even lost their convenience factor, as all Eurostar Italia, Eurostar City and InterCity trains now require a seat reservation before boarding.  One might say that the situation has reversed in the last 20 years.  It's now the point-to-point passenger who buys cheaply online and breezes onto the train quoting their reference number on board, while the railpass holder has to queue up at the ticket office to make a reservation and pay a surcharge for just about every train.

• Making reservations in Italy if you have a railpass:  If you have a railpass, the easiest way to make a seat reservation is using the self-service machines installed at all main station (see the photo on the right).  They have a touch screen: Click the UK flag for English language, then 'buy tickets' and select 'Global pass' when the choice of fare is offered.  The machines can sell passholder reservations for any mainline train within Italy including sleepers, and for many direct international trains starting in Italy.  You can pay in cash (notes or coins) or by Mastercard/Visa credit card.

Which station in which city?

• Which station in Rome?  The main station in Rome is the Stazione Termini, walking distance from all the sights.  Roma Ostiense and Roma Tiburtina are on the outskirts of the city, you'll need a taxi or local train into the city centre.  The Vatican has its own suburban station, Roma San Pietro, but it’s easy to reach St Peter’s from the Stazione Termini by bus or taxi.

• Which station in Venice?  The main station in Venice is Venezia Santa Lucia, in the city of Venice itself on the banks of the Grand Canal and walking distance from the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square.  Venezia Mestre is on the mainland in an industrial area, a long way from Venice.

• Which station in Florence? The main station in Florence is Firenze Santa Maria Novella, normally abbreviated to 'SMN', in the city centre easy walking distance from all the sights.  A few trains, use Campo Marte station outside the city centre, linked to SMN by frequent local trains.

• Which station in Milan?  Milano Centrale is the main station, a huge terminus in the city centre, served by most mainline and international trains.  Malpensa airport trains arrive at Milan Cordona, a small local terminus also located in the city centre.  Milan's Lambrate and Porto Garibaldi stations are much less central, and Milan Rogoredo is nowhere near the city centre..

• Which station in Turin?  Torino Porta Nuova is the main station, a big terminus.  However, trains to Paris leave from the other station, Torino Porta Susa, and some trains to Rome, Milan or Venice call at Porta Susa after leaving Port Nuova.  Both stations are in Turin's historic city centre, walking distance from all the sights.

Direct trains to Sicily...

• There are direct InterCity trains from Rome & Naples to Sicily (Palermo, Catania, Siracuse) & direct overnight sleeper trains to Sicily from Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence & Turin.  All of these trains are shunted onto a ferry at Villa san Giovanni for the 40 minute crossing of the Straits of Messina to Sicily.  It's one of the few places in Europe where trains still go onto a ship, and it's an experience in itself.  Once the train is secured in the ship's hold, steps are placed next to the train doors, and you can remain on board the train, or get off and walk upstairs to the deck to take some sea air, returning to the train as the ship docks on the far side.  Highly recommended!  You can book all of these trains to Sicily as shown here.

Places not served by the main rail network...

• Sorrento, Pompeii:  The railway from Naples to Pompeii & Sorrento isn't run by Trenitalia, it's the Circumvesuviana Railway, see www.vesuviana.it.  The Circumvesuviana Railway runs every 30 minutes throughout the day.  No reservation is necessary, just buy a ticket at the station and hop on.  From Naples to Pompeii the fare is 2.30 euros one-way, 4.50 euros day return, journey time around 40 minutes.  From Naples to Sorrento, the fare is around 3.20 euros one-way, 6.40 euros day return, journey time 55-65 minutes.

• Capri:  The island of Capri is just off Sorrento.  There are various ferries and catamarans for the short hop from Sorrento to Capri, crossing time about 25 minutes.  Alternatively, there are ferries or catamarans direct from Naples (journey 40 minutes).

• Amalfi, Positano, Praiano:  There's no railway to these towns on the famous Amalfi Coast, but buses run from Sorrento & salerno.  Buses between Salerno & Amalfi run hourly or better between 06:00 & 22:30 on Mondays-Saturdays, slightly less frequently on Sundays, journey time 1 hour 15 minutes, fare about 1.80 euros one-way, you simply buy a ticket on the bus.  The buses are operated by SITA, so see www.sitabus.it to confirm exact bus times.  At the time of writing, the English version of www.sitabus.it doesn't work, so leave it in Italian and under 'Scegli la Regione' select 'Campania' (the name of this region).  On the next page, select 'Orari linee Campania'.  On the next page, look for Quadro 14 & 15 and click for a .pdf format timetable.  To check fares, you'll need to use public transport site www.unicocampania.it, though it can take some time to work out how to use it!  For buses linking Sorrento with Positano, Praiano & Amalfi, see www.sitabus.it.  Sorrento-Amalfi takes 1 hour 30 minutes, buses run hourly or so, and the fare is around 2.40 euros.  The journey along the coast road is dramatic, the bus hugging the cliff and it rear end swinging out precariously at every hairpin bend!

• Ischia:  Ferries link Naples with Porto Ischia, see either www.caremar.it (sailings every hour or two, crossing time 45 minutes fast ferry or 90 mins conventional ferry) or www.alilauro.it.

• Elba:  Travel by train to Piombino Marittima.  Moby Lines (www.mobylines.it) sail every hour or so from Piombino to Portoferraio on Elba, crossing time 1 hour, foot passengers 7 euros one-way.

Italy is a very popular destination, and the Italian Railways website www.trenitalia.com is well worth getting to know.  It can sell:

• Domestic Italian train tickets for any train journey within Italy, including couchettes & sleepers on overnight trains, at cheap prices with no booking fee;

• International tickets for most direct international trains starting in Italy and bound for Paris, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Slovenia, including couchettes & sleepers on overnight trains, again with cheap 'smart price' tickets if you pre-book.  Ticket collection only in Italy, though!

Why use www.trenitalia.com instead of a rail ticketing agency in your own country?

• If you buy direct from Trenitalia, you can buy tickets for all Italian trains & routes, not just selected routes and it's the cheapest way to buy Italian train tickets because all the advance-purchase cheap deals available.  Overseas agencies usually only sell full fare tickets without discounts.

• You can choose a hassle-free 'ticketless' option for many Italian trains, much easier than paying an agency to send tickets to you, or having to queue up at the ticket office, you just breeze onto the train.

• Typical example:  Florence to Rome by Eurostar Italia cost 44 euros (£40 or $64) full-fare on www.trenitalia.com, or 31 euros (£28 or $45) if a special 'Promo -30%' advance purchase fare happens to be available on your train.  www.raileurope.co.uk charge £41.50 for the same ticket plus a £1.95 postage fee.  If you're in the USA, www.raileurope.com charges around $70+$18 postage = $88 for the same ticket.

The only catch:  www.trenitalia.com often struggles with UK (& other non-Italian) credit cards

• It's often reported that UK & other non-Italian credit cards don't work on Trenitalia.com. 

• Roughly 60% of the emails I receive say they successfully used a non-Italian credit card to buy tickets at trenitalia.com, and just over 40% report that their UK-issued credit card failed.  US cards seem to have a lower success rate than UK ones, perhaps 20% success.  Non-Italian Amex cards certainly will not work.

• When people call Trenitalia's telesales line they are often (wrongly) told that Trenitalia.com doesn't accept non-Italian cards at all, but it certainly does.

• Clear Trenitalia.com with your bank:  If your card doesn't work, the problem can sometimes be with your bank rather than Trenitalia, as a number of banks block their credit cards from working on foreign websites like Trenitalia.  Just call your bank and ask them to unblock Trenitalia.com for you.  It can be a good idea to call you bank before using Trenitalia.com.

• A second transaction may not work, even if your first transaction does:  Even if your car works for one transaction, Trenitalia often block cards for a second transaction made soon after the first (meaning a few hours or a day or two).  So book all your tickets as one transaction if you can to avoid this problem, or use another credit card for the second transaction, or wait a few weeks.  Trenitalia.com allows up to 4 journeys to be added to your shopping trolley and paid for as one transaction.

So which cards work & which don't?        Please report a card as working or not working

Credit cards reported as working...

UK cards:  My own UK-issued First Direct Visa card has always worked fine on Trenitalia, and my John Lewis MasterCard works fine too.  First Direct Visa, Egg MasterCard, Co-Operative Bank Visa (1 report), NatWest Visa (2 reports), NatWest MasterCard (3 reports), HSBC Visa debit, Nationwide Visa (1 report), Alliance & Leicester Visa debit, RBS Visa, Barclays Visa debit (1 report), Lloyds MasterCard, Saga Platinum Visa, Post Office MasterCard, Barclaycard Platinum Visa, Capital One, Marks&Spencer MasterCard (2 reports), Tesco MasterCard, Yorkshire Bank Visa.

US & Canadian cards:  Canadian CIBC Visa (2 reports). 

Australian & NZ cards: 

South African cards:  FNB Visa.

Credit cards reported as not working...

UK cards:  No Amex card will work, Co-Operative Bank Visa (1 report), Nationwide Visa (2 reports), Abbey-MNBA Visa, Abbey MasterCard, BA Amex, Halifax MasterCard, Citibank Visa, Smile Visa Debit, BT Visa, Lloyds TSB Visa, Virgin Mastercard, Barclaycard Goldfish MasterCard, Barclays Visa debit (1 report), Virgin Mastercard, LloydsTSB Visa (2 reports), HSBC Maestro, HSBC Visa credit, MBNA Platinum.

US & Canadian cards:

Australian cards:  NAB Visa, Bank SA Visa, Commonwealth Bank Visa

There seems to be very little pattern to which cards work and which don't, as some cards get reported as both working and not working!

Solutions...

• Solution for UK travellers:  Take out a pre-paid euro currency card from CaxtonFX, as these cards have been reported to work on Trenitalia.com, giving you access to all Trenitalia's cheap deals across Italy.  These cards are a good idea anyway, as you save money on your travels with no ATM fees and a guaranteed exchange rate.  Sign up for a CaxtonFX card here.  Seat61 gets a small amount of commission if you get one of these cards.

• Solution for US American Express cardholders:  Contact the Amex office in Milan, they will arrange tickets for you at Trenitalia prices.  Unfortunately, I do not know any email or website address for them.

• Solution for Australian travellers:  A suggestion from an Australian user whose card wouldn't work is to take out a pre-paid Visa debit card in euro denominations.  Even using one provided by an Australian bank, this worked and tickets were successfully bought online.

• If all else fails and you really can't get Trenitalia.com to accept your credit card, try buying your Italian train tickets at www.raileurope.co.uk (only a bit more expensive and easy to use, UK residents only, the drawback is that it hasn't got every Italian train or route programmed into it) or use these links to buy Italian rail tickets in the USA, ...in Canada & in Australia, the only drawback being it's more expensive than using Trenitalia.com, even before postage is added.

How to use www.trenitalia.com...

• Go to www.trenitalia.com, and click 'English' top right.

• Use the journey planner to find train times.  It will also show the 'base' (normal undiscounted) fare for each train.

• Select a service and click 'continue' to buy tickets or check availability of discounted fares.

• If you see a note against a train saying that "Reservations must be made in Italy", all it actually means is that seat reservation is compulsory, for any part of the journey within Italy.  It does not mean you can only make reservations on this train when you get to Italy!

• You can book mainline tickets up to 90 days in advance (originally 60, but it was increased to 90 days in summer 2009).  You can't book further ahead than this, and indeed most local & regional trains can only be booked (an the ticket price checked) less than 7 days before departure.  Remember that all European railways change their timetables on a Sunday in mid-June & mid-December every year, and unfortunately the 90 days usually gets squeezed to less than 90 (often as little as 60 days or even less) around these times.  Don't be surprised if you find no trains shown at all (or just one or two) if you enquire for a date after a timetable change, as data may not be loaded for the new timetable yet.  If you are travelling more than 90 days from now (or on a date after a timetable change) then by all means check times & prices for a date within the next 90 days (or before the timetable change) to get an idea, they probably won't change that much.

• What type of train should you choose? 

  For domestic Italian daytime journeys, 'Eurostar Italia' Frecciarossa and Frecciargento and 'Eurostar City' (look for the ES* or ES AV logos) are the best, fastest and most modern trains, all fully air-conditioned.  InterCity trains are the next best, also air-conditioned.  Espresso, Diretto & Regional trains are much slower.

• What fare should you choose?

  'Base' or 'Standard' is the normal full-price fare, it's the price you'd pay at the ticket ticket office on the day of travel (although a 5% discount on the base fare is available if you book online and use ticketless option).  You can change your travel plans at least once with a 'Base' ticket, even up to 3 hours after the departure of the train you're booked on. 

  'Flessible' or 'Flexi' is 20% more expensive than the 'base' fare but more flexible and not really necessary for most travellers.  A 1st class Flessible ticket allows you to use the first class lounge.  Aimed at those travelling on business.  You probably won't need it!

  'Meno' -60%', -30% or -15% advance booking 'promo' discounts.  These are non-changeable & non-refundable.  The cheapest way to go, if they're available on the train you want.

  'Smart Price' (or Smart Price 2) is the fare to look for on international journeys if it's available, it's a cheap advance-purchase fare, non-refundable, no changes to travel plans allowed.  You may also see 'MOOVE' or 'GO' fares, which are pretty much the same as 'Smart price' so you can also use these.

  Ignore the other discounted fares (including student & senior fares) are normally only for people the Italian Railways 'Cartavaggio' railcards.

• "Seat near to...".  All it's asking is whether you want to book a seat near another specific seat that someone else has already booked, for example if your granny is already booked on the same train is car 12, seat 56, you can ask for a seat near that one.  If granny isn't on the train, just ignore this bit, leaving the coach and seat number boxes blank.

• "Seats Salottino Business" (an option it gives under 'mandatory reservation' when booking first class on Eurostar Italia Frecciarossa trains) simply means seats in an enclosed business meeting compartment with 4 leather seats.  Unless travelling on business in a small group, you won't want this.

• Booking sleepers on night trains:  When booking Italian sleepers, the translation to English is poor and can be confusing.  'Single seat compartment' actually means single bed sleeper compartment, 'double seat compartment' actually means 2-bed double sleeper, 'Tourist 3-bed sleeper' does indeed mean a bed in a 3-bed room, these are all in a standard-size sleeper compartment, see above.  There is also another type of sleeper with very narrow compartments (17 compartments instead of 12 in the same length of sleeping-car), described as 'first class special sleeper' for sole occupancy or '2nd class 2-bed cabin' for 2-berth occupancy, at cheaper fares than the single or 2-bed rooms in the standard sleeper.  If you have lots of luggage or like your space, and don't mind the extra few euros, I recommend the larger standard sleeper.  On a handful of routes (for example Milan-Naples), there is a deluxe Excelsior sleeper with private shower and toilet.

• Registration:  You need to register before buying your first ticket.  This is a simple enough process.  After you register they will email a password to you.  The email may arrive within minutes or may take a few hours, but it will come.  When you go to login using this password, you'll first need to change it to a new one.  If it says this new password failed, don't worry, click 'logout' then log in again using the new password and it should work fine.  It's a good idea to add 'trenitalia.com' to your spam filter white list.

• How are tickets delivered?  On many Italian trains (not international ones, just domestic ones) you can select a 'ticketless' option, which means you can simply get on the train and quote your booking reference to the conductor when he comes down the train.  Easy!  Alternatively, tickets can be picked up from machines at all main Italian stations, you simply enter your name and booking reference and out come the tickets.  Or they can be picked up from the ticket office at any main Italian station.  The hassle-free 'ticketless' option is a great advantage of using Trenitalia.com instead of agencies in your home country who have to physically send out tickets.

• You can book up to 4 journeys as one transaction.  Even credit cards that work can fail to work if used for a second transaction, so book all your trips together (up to a maximum of 4 journeys), by adding each ticket to your basket and paying for them all together.

• Remember that tickets cannot be collected at stations outside Italy, and the 'ticketless' option is only for Italian domestic trains, so even though trenitalia.com will book a ticket from Paris to Milan, you can't pick up the tickets in Paris (do I really have to spell it out?) because Paris is not in Italy and not a Trenitalia-staffed station...  And no, they won't accept the booking printout as a ticket on the train!

• If you have difficulties you can also buy Italian railway tickets online from agencies based ...in the UK   ...in the USA  ...in Canada   ...in Australia & NZ.  Prices are higher than those charged by Trenitalia.com, but you will be dealing with an agency in your own country and tickets can be posted to you.

The Thomas Cook European timetable has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.  It's essential for any serious traveller and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Still not convinced you need one?  More information on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains.  You can buy the latest monthly edition online at www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings Cross stations in London.  Or buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:  Winter 2009/10 edition (Dec 2009 to June 2010)   Summer 2010 edition (June to December 2010)

The Thomas Cook Rail Map of Europe is the best and most comprehensive map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south.  High speed & scenic routes are highlighted.  Highly recommended!  Buy online at www.amazon.co.uk (worldwide delivery).  See an extract from the map.

Paying for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's only a fraction of what you spend on the whole trip.  If you have a decent guidebook, you see so much more and know so much more about what you're looking at.  I think the Lonely Planets or Rough Guides are the best ones out there for the independent traveller.  My own book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The Man in Seat 61", is due to be published in June 2008, and Amazon will let you pre-order now.

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

Or buy the Lonely Planets from the Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide.

 

Find a hotel or guesthouse anywhere in Italy...

www.venere.com is probably the best website for hotels in Italy, because they're an Italian-based company and have places in even the smallest towns.  They're also good because the price you see is the price you pay, no hidden extras, and you just pay the hotel when you get there.  After you've booked, you can change or cancel your reservation in line with the hotel's own change and cancellation policy.  Here are links to their hotel pages in key Italian destinations:  Florence   Venice   Verona   Rome   Naples   Milan   Siena  Lucca   Bologna   Pisa   Sorrento   Genoa   Ancona   Other Italian towns & cities

Late bookings with www.laterooms.com...

It's also worth checking www.laterooms.com using the search form below.  Laterooms negotiates discounts for hotel rooms booked within 3 months of travel, which makes it ideal for train travellers booking tickets within the normal 90 days advance booking period.  The discounted prices will be shown in orange.  Click on the dates to sort results by price.

Town or city...	-- Choose a country -- UK England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland -------------------------------------- Andorra Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Montenegro Morocco Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Syria Tunisia Turkey Ukraine Vatican City Wales ...or choose a country
	-- No. of nights -- 1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 nights 5 nights 6 nights 7 nights
-- Room Sleeps -- 1 person 2 people 2 + 1 child 2 + 2 children 2 + 3 children 3 people 4 people 5 people 6 people 7 people

Finally, www.tripadvisor.com is a good place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

Backpacker hostels...

www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget the backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers has online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most Italian cities and elsewhere in Europe, at rock-bottom prices.

In Italy, cars and city centres don't mix, so for a city-based tour, stick with the train.  But if you want to get out of the cities and into the countryside, for example Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast, hiring a car can be a good idea.  For an inexpensive hire with a reputable operator, try Holiday Autos.

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