If you are planning a trip to Italy and planning to travel by train, you may want to buy your train tickets in advance. While you can usually buy Italian train tickets directly at the station in Italy, it is generally more convenient to buy them in advance. This is partly due to the long lines at the ticket windows at some stations – you don’t want to miss your train because the ticket line didn’t move fast enough!
Buy Italian train tickets online
You can check timetables and buy tickets on Trenitalia, the Italian national train site. Although you have the option to register on the site, you do not have to do so to purchase tickets. Start by selecting whether you want a one way or round trip, then start typing at your station of origin. A pop-up menu of cities and stations will appear. For example, you can choose to search for itineraries from “Roma Termini” or from all stations in Rome by selecting “Rome (Tutte le Stazioni)” if you have more flexibility.
Follow the same steps to select your arrival city / station. Select the date and time of your desired departure (remember that in Italy, the dates are listed day-month-year and the hours are in a 24-hour schedule (for example: 2 pm is shown as 14). Then select the number number of passengers and click on «search».
Select your desired train from the list of results. Make sure to check if you need to change trains. Once you have chosen the trip, you may be asked to select the class of trip (1st or 2nd). Because quality, comfort, and cleanliness can vary so much on Trenitalia trains, it’s hard to say whether it’s worth paying the difference to travel first class – it may be more enjoyable, or it may be largely the same as second class. class; It just depends on the train.
You can pay for your tickets by credit card or PayPal. You will receive an email in a moment after payment confirmation, a receipt and an electronic ticket, in PDF format. If you are purchasing tickets for more than one person, there will be multiple tickets within the same PDF. You can print the PDF pages, but you don’t have to if you have a Wi-Fi enabled smartphone or tablet that works in Italy. In that case, you can open the PDF on your phone or device when the train conductor approaches. He or she will scan the QR code into your PDF and you are good to go.
You may be required to present a photo ID, but this is rarely the case.
Important note : Most Italian Frecce (fast train) and intercity train tickets are only sold within four months of the actual travel date (and sometimes less), so you generally won’t be able to purchase tickets with more four months in advance. The same is true for entries in Italo.
Italian regional train tickets
Unless your plans are set in stone, we generally do not recommend purchasing regional train tickets in advance as there is no discount. They can easily be purchased at the station ticket office or from a vending machine. This allows you more flexibility, as your plans may change. If you buy regional train tickets online, they will be for a specific date and time. Regional train tickets are cheap, you can buy them at the station and are valid for two months.
Reserved seats are not available on regional trains (short distances on trains that stop at more stations). If first class is available, it may be worth the extra cost if you are traveling in rush hour or with luggage, as there is generally more space in first class.
Important note about regional train tickets: If you have a paper train ticket, you must validate it in advance before boarding the train, unless the ticket has a specific date, time and train number. You can get a ticket on board if your ticket is not validated (yes, I have seen it happen many times). See how to validate your train ticket in Italy.
Italo, Italy’s private train service
If traveling between major cities, you may want to look at Italo, the private train service that uses the national rail system. Their high-speed trains are new and quite luxurious compared to Trenitalia, and there are different classes of service available. But Italo is only an option for longer trips from one big city to another, so you cannot reach smaller cities using this service.
Passport Eurail Italia
Italy rail passes must be purchased before arriving in Europe, within six months from the date you plan to validate it. Check prices or buy a Eurail Italy Pass through Rail Europe .