Which Is Better Italo Or Frecciarossa
Pierpont Oldham
In short, they both have much easier websites to use, customer service in English, and no issues with accepting non-Italian credit cards to book train tickets online. (This is a very frequent issue when booking directly with TrenItalia, in my experience.)
But buying train tickets ahead of time will save you money and time, and will help you avoid the possibility of waiting around in case tickets are sold out (which definitely happens). And having your tickets already saved on your phone just simplifies the train station experience.
(This is a major benefit to Omio versus ItaliaRail. You still get the better service, and an English language website that works without translation issues, but you can compare all Italian train options with Omio.)
Waiting will also give you less selection on popular routes. You might end up having to change trains instead of getting a direct route, take a slower train instead of the fastest Freccia Rossa ones, or have only one or two departure times to choose from instead of a dozen.
You cannot cancel Super Economy or Economy tickets, but you can change the date or time for an Economy ticket. Base price tickets can be changed (or refunded for 80% of what you paid) any time until one hour after the train leaves the station.
According to the stats printed on the back of Italian train tickets, taking the train in Italy emits about 75% less CO2 than the same trip in an airplane, and about 65% less than driving, on average.
Hi Ketti
This article about the trains were very helpful. Perhaps I can ask your opinion or suggestion.
My son and I are traveling to Italy for the first time in October.! This is a heritage trip to see where my dad grew up (Bari) and My maternal grandfather (Calabria)
One of the booking sites had a seat choice of upper or lower, we will have some luggage, would lower be easier?
The only other option from Bari is a bus, or rent a car and I drive, which family does not recommend.
I have not done the side by side comparison so I would like to get your thoughts on the benefit of buying an Eurail Italy Pass. We will be in Florence for 2 weeks and then travel to Amalfi by train. However, while in Florence would like to take a few day trips by train so it seems that a pass is good value but not sure and even if it is a good value whether it comes at the expense of losing some flexibility.
When travelling across borders Trenitalia can be more expensive than the Swiss, German or Austrian equal seat on the same train and their apps may allow specific seat reservations or even fixed pricing for daily travel
Italo have different train configuration s that change at short notice rendering car reservations problematic. Very disorganised. Not worth it in my view. Esp out of Venice. Think of cars all backward. Staff just allow anyone to sit anywhere so premium seats are lost. Trenitalia dont do this.
Also, Nicole (further to my post above), when I look in the ItaliaRail site for May 18 from Venice to Monterosso, it only gives me two choices, both leaving in the afternoon. I want a much earlier departure. Is this because their schedule has not opened up this far in advance? Thank you.
This was very informative. Thank you. We are considering a 10 day pass for our travels during the month of June. If we have a 10 day pass, do we still need to book a reservation each time we travel? Can reservations be made at the station?
Thanks !
Hello Ketti, Good information as I try to navigate a trip from Florence to Naples to Sorrento then a return from Sorrento to Naples to Rome. Which train would be best for this? Also, my daughter who will be studying in Florence for 8 weeks will have a very large suitcase. Are there luggage limits?
Thank you!
Ketti, I love your blog!
One question: Can an American traveler use Italo Senior rate? Or would I need to have that Argento card? Their site only says that you must be at least 60 to book it.
Thanks!
Thank you for the helpful tips! We are spending our Honeymoon in Italy in September and knew we wanted to travel via train, but was having a hard time deciding which way to go about booking before reading your post. Grazie!
Thank you very much for all the detailed explanation to clear the italian train related confusion in my head. I found your site very helpful. I was able to figure that there are two main train services but multiple websites and way to buy tickets. I am planning to visit Italy in early April. How far (latest) in advance should I buy train tickets to get a good deal and decent time options? I would like to buy in advance buy not too much in advance just in case my plans change. I am looking for tickets for my family between Rome and Florence, Rome and Naples.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions for your trip, and keep in touch! If you want to help support Tilted Map, buying your tickets through this link (one of the website I use and recommend above) lets me earn a small commission.
And in the meantime, you might find these other articles useful: My list of my favorite restaurants around Italy, all about eating and ordering in Italian restaurants, and my favorite travel booking links (hotels, travel insurance, and more).
Otherwise, have you seen some of my other articles about Italy that might be helpful for your trip? I have one about my favorite restaurants, which includes some in both Florence and Milan, so you should definitely hang on to that one!
Good piece with great tips. After visiting Italy frequently over four decades and now living here for six years, I can say that the train service is measurably more reliable, comfortable, and easier to use.
For long distance trips, I book in advance using trainline.eu.There is no fee and it clearly displays all the choices and gives details if desired. It also automatically calculates my pre-loaded senior discount fare. Even better, it has a cell phone option with a QR code that is simply scanned. No fussing with paper tickets or validation!
RE: Carta Freccia for non-residents
I am Australian and this year, I applied and received the CartaFreccia membership with no problem. It took about 6 weeks. Download the form, complete, scan and email. You then need to sign up and register to lefrecce.it to activate the membership. By the time I received the email and due to time difference of 8 hours, the link had expired, but I just requested a new one and it was not a problem.
I was on Trenitalia and it was horrible. Venice to Rome. 90 minute delay to start and then a 4 hour train ride took just under 5 hours. Never again. I have rode dozens of trains all over Europe and never had such bad service
Hello, I am traveling to Europe for the first time. I am planning to buy Eurail as suggested by my friend. I am taking a train from Rome to Naples and then Florence to Venice. Like to know if I can travel in Frecciarossa or italo trains with Eurail pass.
Thanks
I am planning a trip to this wonderful country for about 2 weeks some time in October 2024. We will be a family of 7, hence we would have a minimum of 7 medium-to-large suitcases and also 7 small strolley bags. To move with so many bags from point to point by train may be a bit inconvenient. We are, therefore, planning to make Florence as a hub, and from there make train trips to Milan, Bologna, Pisa and Cinque Terre. From Florence we intend moving to Verona and stay there for a couple of days. Our actual destination would be Venice, but we would prefer to stay in Verona as hotels there are likely to be a lot cheaper than those in Venice. We would travel to Venice from Verona by train. After Verona we intend to move to Rome and spend 3 days there. From Rome we are planning to move to Naples and spend a couple of days there before heading back to Rome to catch our return flight to Delhi.
This was very helpful and makes me feel a lot more comfortable with booking tickets in advance online. I live in the US and will be traveling to Italy in February for a week, not sure if theres a specific day on when to purchase cheap tickets on Trenitalia and do you have to validate tickets if it was purchased online?Also, do you recommend downloading the app?
FYI, I also have some articles you might find useful for your trip about Italian food! One about reading Italian menus and tips for restaurants, and one with some of my favorite restaurants all over the country.
Hi Ketti
Thank you for the excellent advice! We are travelling from Australia and arriving in Venice in June. My question is how to get from Venice to Cinque Terre. Im a bit confused by the different possibilities. So far I think Santa Lucia station in Venice to La Spezia (Trenitalia) then to somewhere in Cinque Terre- not sure! We are staying in Monterrosa. I know about the rail card for Cinque Terre trains.
Many thanks
This is our first time. I am trying to figure what time to book for my family trying to travel from Milan airport to Florence. Is 26-36mins enough to change train at Milan Centrale station? Our plane will land @7:30am, would you recommend booking 9:30am or later? And what if we missed train at the Milan Centrale station going to Florence?
I was also curious about the Salottino option on Trenitalia and the counterpart option on Italio. Are they configured such that you only have a window on one side and so you can only view the scenery on one side of the train?
Hi! Thank you for the very helpful info on train travel in Italy.
One question: can you provide any information on luggage space in the various train classes? That could be a factor for me in selecting a train class. I expect to have a carry on size roller bag and probably another tote.
thank you!
For Trenitalia, tickets generally go on sale for the high-speed routes about four months in advance. They are definitely cheaper when you purchase earlier (except when there are specials that pop up from time to time).
The downside is that these tickets are specific to the time for which you purchase them. If you miss your train, you cannot just grab the next one. So if you have any doubts about timing, it may be better to either wait until closer to the travel time or else pad your timing. For example, someone arriving at FCO in Rome and looking to travel onward that day to Venice or Florence would be well advised not to book a train ticket until at least 3 hours after the announced arrival time. (Which is less than ideal and a good reason not to schedule onward travel on the same day unless it cannot be avoided.)
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