Train Tickets

One of the biggest questions for anyone who’s planning a trip to Italy is what to do about buying Italy train tickets. Should I get a rail pass? Should I buy tickets in advance? Should I wait to buy tickets as I go? There are a few options in this department, and the best one for you will depend on the kind of trip you’re taking (among other things), but here are some things to think about when you’re looking at buying Italian train tickets.

Many years ago, train travel in Italy used to be so cheap that unless you were visiting other countries in Europe or were planning to take only long-distance or overnight trains you were almost always going to be better off buying individual train tickets in Italy as you traveled. As the Italian rail network has added more high-speed trains - and raised ticket prices as a result - and especially since Italy swapped the lira for the euro in 2002, that blanket advice no longer applies to everyone.

People who are traveling on a very strict budget but have more time to spend on their trip can still opt for the slower - and cheaper - trains, making buying individual tickets along the way a reasonable option. Anyone who doesn’t have as much time to play with, plans to take lots of high-speed or long distance or overnight trains, or will be visiting other European countries besides Italy might be better off buying a rail pass instead of booking individual tickets. A rail pass can make the average cost of each ticket significantly less than you’d pay if you bought the tickets separately.

Keep in mind that even if you buy a rail pass, there are many types of trains in Italy where you’ll still need a seat reservation - most high-speed and overnight trains among them. Tickets work differently depending on the train: a high-speed or Intercity ticket is for one specific train and already includes your reserved seat, while a paper regional ticket isn’t tied to a particular train (just validate it before you board).

A rail pass is the equivalent of a train ticket, so if you have a rail pass you’ll just need to book the seat reservation. If you don’t have a rail pass, there’s nothing extra to buy: the seat comes with the ticket.

The easiest way to skip the lines is to buy online or in the Trenitalia and Italo apps (Italo, a private company, has run high-speed trains between the main cities since 2012). If you’d rather buy in person, remember that some train stations in Italy are notoriously busy at all times, so if you’re worried about having enough time to wait in line to buy train tickets in Italy then it’s a good idea to go to the train station on a day other than your travel day. You can buy tickets for any day in the near future, and even from different stations - so you could buy all your Italy train tickets at once if you wanted to, provided you’ve got a kind ticket agent who speaks English and you’re not holding up a long line of grumpy customers!

photo by Joe Shlabotnik