Short and to the point, thank you. We are hoping to travel by train from Roma Termini to Venice in November 2022 and return, so your tips certainly confirmed what we have in our minds to book and arrange.
This is one of the best and most informative videos I have seen. I am traveling from NYC to Venice for the very first time and was little nervous but seeing this video, I feel much more relaxed. Kudos to Nada
Great instructions, thank you. You may like to mention the billboard won't show your train if you are too early, or there is a delay from another train. Therefore it isn't unusual to figure out which platform you are meant to be on until the train is pulling into the station. These main stations you mentioned can have up to 24 platforms.
Thank you, Nada, for doing this video. I was getting stressed about the print-at-home ticket: whether I'd need to check in at the terminal, etc. So nice to know we can just get on, find our seats and wait for the on-board ticket agent. Whew!
This was incredibly helpful! I've been so stressed about understanding how to actually get on a train, and what to do with our luggage. Thank you so much for this video :)
Great video. I had to learn the hard way, without studying first! Your video is excellent and I envy your ability to pronounce the names of the train stations with perfect accent!
Very informative video that Nada is giving. My oldest son works at the U.S.Air Force side of Aviano AFB as a D.O.D worker. Should I visit Italy again, I will ride Trenitalia from where my oldest son lives at & ride to Taormina. I was last there in 1973 when I was in the U.S.Navy
Wow, I love your video very very detail and very precise. It's gonna help lots of travelers to travel their way very conveniently.. Grazie...! Greetings from Singapore
Love the video and info I will be contacting you I'm going im may this year want to take the train from Rome to Pisa stay one day and then go to Venice. Please I need help what trains to take
Thank you so much for this helpful video! I'm going to be an au pair in Italy and was asking my family how to use the train... They said just show up at the station LOL
I've been to Italy 4 times now . i have never bought a train ticket online . Always at one of machines that sells tickets , you can buy directly before the train arrives or days in advance ; but you can buy the printed out ticket from the machine . And ALWAYS find one of the ticket validating machines ( at stair entrance to a specific platform ) or near the train at the arrival platforms . You MUST have that ticket stamped ( it's like a time clock stamper ) ... When the person checking tickets comes to you and asks to see your ticket it must have been stamped after it was purchased ... i think the fine is 70 euro . This goes for local underground metro stations as well .
I thought about it and realized i've always visited italy on off seasons . So for something as the high speed trains ; that might be a time you would want to have bought your ticket way in advance online .
This may sound like a stupid question, but can I assume that when coming to a particular station (the town or city) that a loudspeaker on the train informs the passengers that the next stop is, say Florence, Rome, whatever-including the actual name of the station? I’ve never been on a passenger train before, and it seems they surely announce on the train which particular station they’re approaching, but I wanted to be certain.
OK, what do you do when the Italians have gone crazy and let EVERYONE board the train? Took the train from Milano to Switzerland in 2004 and the train was packed with so many people. Passengers were everywhere, even in the hallways and some even crowded into the bathroom. Why do they let them do this? Isn't this a fire hazard? Was this the last train for the day into Lugano, CH?
Enjoyed thanks. Am planning a 7 day trip to Italy on eurail global pass. Will be coming from Geneva. I intend to visit Florence, pissa, Verona, Rome, Naples. Afterwards I need to head towards Vienna. Can you please advice what route I should take from Geneva to cut down on budget travels. Should I stop in Florence for a day first and then head towards Rome or Naples?
I liked the vid. however being new to travel and a little old in the tooth, I'm struggling to book. I can find the train and times, book it, then try to pay. But it keeps telling me to register but when I try that it tells me I have to live in Italy. I can't fathom it out!!!!
One main thing i've noticed over time is ... beyond pick pockets and beggars ... there will be people that offer help to get to your train / platform and they expect a tip if they've helped you . For the most part they'll notice if you're distressed ( in obvious confusion mode body language wise ) and offer help ( to look at your ticket ) IT IS THEN YOU CAN SAY NO AND MOVE AWAY . But for the most part they are harmless . They aren't always immigrants that do this .. one guy was a ' normal ' dressed white Italian 20 year old ( in Bologna ) .Of the couple men i've gotten help from ( getting to my train platform on time in a very large confusing station ) they will always ask for more after you tip them what you consider a generous tip . You just sternly say ' No ' and walk away .
the website trenitalia will only accept payment in Euros. If I am in the USA paying with a USA credit card, how is that handled? Does the credit card company convert my payment from USD to EURO? How does this work?
Traveling to Italy in March. Going to Bologna, Vietre sul mare, and Florence. Should I buy train tickets in advance or get them at the station when I arrive? Thanks.
Hai ragione Carletto!!! Adesso c'e' Italo! I wrote a blog about train instructions on my website which has more detailed information, so I'll include a link to Italo. Thank you for your suggestion! :-)
Hi Mark. We can give you some information. Please visit www.nadasitaly.com and send us a message through our site about the specifics of your request and one of our team members can help you! Thank you for your request.
You don't need to validate tickets for Freccias and InterCity (with place reservation) trains: they are valid only for that specific train, because of reservation. You have to validate only for InterCity without place reservation and all local trains. Sadly, redunds are something pretty unusual to Trenitalia! I used to travel by train some time ago and I never had a proper refund (read: money back) in case of huge delays... at least you may receive a "bonus" (a ticket worth something like 25% of total price you paid), valid for purchasing other tickets. And last tip: collect all of your patience, folks... unfortunately, here in Italy we don't seem to have a taste for punctuality! (but nowadays it seems to be better than 10 years ago!)
If I buy the train ticket online (Roma Termini to Venezia Sta Lucia) can I exchange it with normal train ticket when I get to Roma Termini? for souvenir purpose.
NOTE --> There's actually no need to print the ticket, you can simply keep it into your device as a pdf file (it appears as shown in the video) and show it when requested. This will make you skip a major unnecessary step, especially tourists who may not have a printer at hand.
superjfbm you don’t have to validate the ticket , because in the ticket is specify the number of train , the departure hour , the number coach and the seat. Pay attention. It’s not refundable!
Thank you for the video! We're coming from cruise going to Rome, Florence, Naple. Do you recommend to travel from port to the cities? Thank you in advance.
+Q win : I think the port for Rome is in Civitavecchia, some distance from Rome, a short distance from Rome. I'm sure there is a train station or bus station there that takes you to Rome Termini station. Taxis are notoriously expensive and invariably corrupt
Questo video e la tua website e molte utile per li americani chi vivano in Italia. Io ero il comandante di la clinica di sanita ala base americane in Vicenza entre 2005 a 2007. Io spero che questa site era disponibale cuando io ho habitato la. Adesso io sono un professore di Italanio basico per studenti entre 12 a 17 anni. Con permesso Io vorrei de presentare il tuo website per megliore il Italiano. Grazie!
If I buy the tickets in the trenitalia site do i have to validate them before taking the train? I need to travel from Fiumicino to Roma Termini and then another one from Termini to Milano Centrale! HELP
Thank you for the video! If I prepaid online and have the voucher printed and in-hand, I assume I won't need to re-print an actual ticket for validation? The prepayment for the specific date and time is considered enough validation, and I should be able to skip the lines and board my train directly - is this correct?
You're right. The problem is that your destination don't necessarily match the train destination, if you have to get off at an intermediate stop. What is indicated on the tables are the train numbers and destinations. If you by a ticket with reservation, the train number matches the one on the ticket, but the train destination may not (If you move from Rome to Florence, your train will probably go further to Milan or Verona or Venezia). If you buy an ordinary ticket (with no reservation, no date and train assigned: just a fee for a destination) then you have to validate it (so that you'll give it a date) but don't expect to find a train number on it.
The trains usually have a numbering of their own: this is written on your ticket (e.g. ES FR xxxx from Milano Centrale to Lecce): xxxx is the number of the train, meaning only that particular train. It is usually also announced by speakers at stations, although in Italian only. You can have a dozen train combinations, but the numbers help you catch the right one(s).
J CINCILLA --> YES! On high speed trains the seats are assigned so you must make sure that the train# and time of departure match those shown on your ticket, as if it was an airplane flight. This is for many tourists a major case of arguments with onboard personnel cause foreigners rarely understand that on hi-speed lines they cannot take just "any" train for a certain destination. I mean, why bother mentioning the train# and the time of departure on the ticket if it wasn't necessary?
question... if i am landing in rome, is it better to take a train or flight? If my flight lands late, im guessing i want to buy tickets when i land (airplane or train)?
+Jsvlad js . ???? I'm guessing you want to carry on to Florence from Rome? You can get the train from the airport to Rome Termini station, where you can buy a ticket to Florence. I would check online if there are any flights from Fumicino Airport to Florence first, it would be less hassle.
"Bin" is "binario" or the number of the train platform that your train is located. "Carozza" is the coach or car number of the train. IIRC In the example, her train was located at Bin. 5 (binario 5), i.e. platform number 5. Her ticket was for a seat in Carozza 5 - which is the fifth car from the front of the train.
Hallo, if u book a train with assigned place (High Speed, EC/EN, IC, TGV, Italo) you don t have to stamp the ticket. Best way is to use official TRENITALIA/ITALO websites because you can check immediatly special prices. If you know in advance date of your travel better to book asap, you can save a lot of money. For passengers using MILAN-ROME route, take note that in 2016 number of Trenitalia Frecciarossa will be increased every month by introduction of new Frecciarossa 1000 rolling stock.
with Trenitalia you can never know. If you don't want to have a complicated journey, always print the tickets at the self-service machines at the station. Some personnel think ticketless... tickets are quite stressful for them. someone can even write a fine (I witnessed some cases during my travels).
