Taking the Train in Italy: Railroads Simplify Your Italian Vacations

By Veronica Mullen, Guest Author

Karen Tina Harrison has been a New York City-based lifestyle journalist for her entire career. She has covered travel since the last millennium, with luxury travel assignments that have taken her around the globe. Read more

Many Good Reasons to Consider Traveling by Train in Italy

Italy is a major luxury travel destination, but getting from place to place can be not so luxurious.

Taking the train throughout Italy is the comfortable, insider way to get around. Here s what Italian railroad travel can provide:

• Ease of Day Trips. Italy s extensive and frequent rain routes make it easy to stay in one town and explore another town for the day. This may also be a vacation-saver during high seasons. For example, say Venice s hotels are booked up, or their rates are soaring. You can day-trip to Venice by staying in nearby Vicenza, Padua or Verona and taking to explore Venice s canals.
• Picture Windows, No Distractions. Train passengers enjoy Italy s stunning mountain, sea, and countryside vistas out their windows -- without the stress of traffic or the distraction of navigating with road maps or street signs.

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• Easy Packing. Italy has a way of loading visitors up with shopping bags and with bottles: of wine, olive oil, limoncello, grappa . or other Italian gourmet pleasures that you acquire during your trip. By taking the train instead of flying from city to city, you can skip the hassle of having to fit all your stuff into your luggage flights (that is, until your bubblewrap-intensive flight home).
• Meeting the Locals. Italians make frequent use of the inter-city trains; it s not unusual for Italians to live in one city and commute to another for work or university. So visitors who take trains will always find a lively cross-section of locals riding the rails. Insider tip: If your train has a café car, head there to savor an espresso and some people watching.

On the flip side, trains along the popular tourist routes (Florence-Rome, Venice-Florence, etc.) are popular with North American travelers. So you if you re longing to speak English — or want to exchange travel tips — you may be in luck.

Italy s Rail System: The Basics

Italy s national rail network (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) runs a total of about 15,000 miles up and down The Boot. Service is operated by Trenitalia. Train types:

• Frecciarossa / Frecciargento: These new high-speed trains provide fast service to both major city centers as well as smaller towns in some regions. This high-speed network is still growing, but one popular current route links Milan (in the north) to Salerno (on the Amalfi Coast), with stops in Bologna, Rome and Naples along the way. Seat reservations are required in first class (for a nominal fee.) Insider tip: These trains typically feature free wifi access. First-class passengers are also entitled to one complimentary beverage and free newspapers.
• Eurostar (ES or Treni Eurostar Italia): Premier train service between major cities. (Note that this is not related to the English Channel Eurostar .) Advance seat reservations are required on all Italian Eurostar trains.
• Intercity / Intercity Plus: Linking both large and second-tier cities, these relatively fast trains run the length of The Boot. Reservations are required on Intercity Plus trains (the fee is included in the ticket price), while only some Intercity trains take reservations. Trains have both first and second class cars. Insider tip: Because these routes are popular with commuters and tourists alike, second class cars tend to fill up. So it may be worth going first class to ensure you get a seat.
• Regionale: These less-expensive local trains tend to run around work and school schedules, so can fill up fast. Most regional routes only have second-class seating.

Getting Tickets:

Italian train passengers can purchase tickets a variety of ways:

• At the train station, either at a ticket window or via an automated machine. Ticket window attendants are usually very helpful (and speak some English), so just ask if you have any questions.If your train requires a seat reservation (as on first-class Frecciarossa and all Italian Eurostar trains), be sure to purchase those supplements, as well.
• Online at the user-friendly Trenitalia site. There s an English version, and the site often features great deals on select routes.
• Rail Europe also sells single point-to-point tickets through its website. (These tickets must be purchased ahead in the US, so you d have to plan ahead)
• At a travel agent (look for the viaggi sign). There s no commission charged.

Once you have your hard-copy ticket, you must validate it at one of the yellow boxes located along the tracks before boarding the train. Conductors will ask to see tickets, and penalties for not validating can be stiff. (Passes bought via Rail Europe trains have a different validation procedure.)

Strikes (scioperi) are announced in advance. They re listed online, and it s not a bad idea to check.

If you will be traveling on multiple trains while in Italy, or anticipate traveling to bordering countries as well, purchasing a Rail Europe pass, also called a Eurail Pass, may be an ideal option.