Ten Italian Train Tips

The easiest and least expensive way to travel in Italy is by rail.   Italy is more chaotic compared to the rest of Western Europe, and rail service is no exception.  Through trial and error and listening to advice from locals, my wife and I were able to navigate Italy by rail with no major mishaps.  Before you book your next trip to Italy, follow these ten tips for hassle-free and money-saving train travel in Italy.

1. For most trips, point-to-point tickets are cheaper than the Italy Rail Pass.  My wife and I traveled four days on our last trip to Italy and purchased point-to-point tickets for each destination.  In the end, we saved about 100 EURO per person over the Italy Rail Pass.

Italian Automatic Rail Ticket Machine

2. Use the red, white, and green automated ticket machines marked "Biglietto Veloce/Fast Ticket to buy tickets or look up schedules.  These machines will not work for international tickets and some local destinations. For nearby destinations, you'll want to use the smaller blue and gray machines that say "Rete Regionale" and accept only cash.

3. Write down each transfer location and train number of your itinerary.  An itinerary may not be printed with tickets from the kiosk and you'll want to write this information down.  If your trip requires a transfer at any point, you need to know where to transfer and to what train.  If you forget to write it down when you buy your tickets--don't panic.  Use the automated ticket machine to look up the schedule--just repeat the process you used to buy the tickets without actually completing the purchase. 

4. Not all itineraries can be purchased using the automated machines--some have to be purchased from a ticket window.  International tickets and some regional destinations need to be purchased from the ticket window.  If the automated machines say that no tickets are available for your destination, check at a ticket window before giving up!

Don't rely on the printed schedules like this one!

5. Never rely on printed schedules for train departures and arrivals.  They often differ from the actual schedule of trains which can be found using the automated ticket machines.  On our last trip to Italy, we wasted two hour at a train station waiting for a train that didn't exist, but was printed on a schedule hanging on the wall.


6. Write down where and when you want to go for ticket clerks.  Do not assume that the employees will understand English or your attempts to speak Italian.  Writing the information down is the best way to assure you get the right ticket.  Remember that in Europe dates are written in day/month/year format.

Look here for Italian Rail Arrival and Departures

8.  To find the track number for where to board your train, look for the train number and not your destination on the electronic departure board.  The destination displayed by each train number "Treno" is the final destination of the train, much like labels used on subways.  There is a good chance you'll be getting off before the final destination, so you must rely on the number to find your train.  When using the electronic board, make sure you are looking at departures labeled "treni in partenza" and not arrivals labeled "arrivo."

9. Validate your ticket in one of the machines located next to the tracks.  

Watch the video to see how easy it is to validate a ticket.  The ticket I'm validating is a small regional ticket in the Cinque Terre, but the process is exactly the same for the larger tickets you get for destinations farther away.

10.  When boarding the train, sit in the car and seat assigned on your ticket.  On your ticket, this will be labeled as "carrozza" car and "posti" for seat.  Don't be surprised if someone is sitting in your seat.  Either politely ask them to move or find another seat in the same car.