How to Travel by Train in ITALY
Traveling by train in Italy can be intimidating if you are not accustomed to train travel. But it can be the best, most efficient way to get around, especially if you are visiting Italian cities by train. This video is full of tips and advice about how to travel by train effortlessly and comfortably.
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Photo credits and licenses:
-Regionale:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Unchanged CC-BY 2.0
-Regionale Veloce commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... CC-BY 2.0 Unchanged
-Intercity
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
CC BY-SA 4.0 Maksym Kozienko Unchanged
-FrecciaRossa
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
CC BY-SA 4.0 Manny Mannheimer Unchanged
-Frecciarossa CC BY-SA 4.0 Falk2
-Italo
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
CC BY-SA 4.0 Superalbs Unchanged
-FR in station Pixabay
-Milan station
Photo by Anastasia Nelen on Unsplash
-TrenItalia and Italo map
Beria, Paolo & Grimaldi, Raffaele. (2016). An ex-post cost benefit analysis of Italian High Speed train, five years after. 10.13140/RG.2.2.34092.87689.
-Segnale di fine zona traffico limitato previsto come figura 322/B dell'articolo 135 del Regolamento di Attuazione del Codice della Strada.CC-BY-SA 3.0 Rome ZTL CC BY-NC 4.0
by Gigillo
-Taxi video
Video by Wil Serrano from Pixabay
-Train passenger
Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay
-Station sunlight
Photo by Charles Forerunner on Unsplash
-Girl train
Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash
-Milan platform
Photo by Anastasia Nelen on Unsplash
-Train sunflowers
Photo by frank andiver on Unsplash
-Milano centrale sign
Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash
-Small station
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
-Colleseo night
Photo by Peter Mizsak on Unsplash
-Girl platform
Photo by Peter Mizsak on Unsplash
-People moving train station
Video by Raquel Tinoco: www.pexels.com/video/people-g...
-Pisa Tower
Pixabay christophjkugler
What terrific information! I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying your videos…..and how envious I am of you two. 😁 -Melissa
Thanks! We appreciate it. We’re spending three weeks in Puglia right now and then going to our house in Le Marche. We’ll have some new videos out as soon as we can find to put them together, I hope a least a couple by later in the month. It’s hard to travel and see new places and edit video at the same time!
Great video… always happy to watch ❤🎉 very informative ❤
Glad you enjoyed it!
I recently discovered your channel. We'll be traveling to Italy next year for our first time. The plan is to fly into Rome for a few days, take the train to Venice, spend a few days their before joining our cruise ship. I cannot tell you how informative this video was.
Thanks for the nice comment. It’s really encouraging to us. Your plan of Rome-Venice high speed train is perfect!
This is so informative video. Looking forward for more videos 😊
Glad you liked it! Thanks.
Thank you, very thorough!
You’re welcome. Glad it was useful.
Planning our trip and your videos are so valuable!
Thanks! We really appreciate hearing that. Enjoy your trip!
Thank you for this video! I leave for Italy in a couple of days and have been watching videos on the train system most of the day today. I've found this one to be THE BEST! It is so detailed; you break things down so well and are so thorough. Again, thank you!
Thanks! That’s a great compliment. We appreciate it, for sure. Enjoy the trip! We’re also going over next week to kick off the (early) summer.
Thank you for this very detailed video on this topic! I am more at ease now about this part of my trip! Looking forward to more!
I’m glad t was helpful. We’re so out of touch with train travel in the US that it can be intimidating at first to walk into a station like Milano Centrale and see that 30 trains are leaving in the next 40 minutes. Enjoy your trip!
Excellent review and very accurate, we Arrive in Milan in two weeks and have purchased seats on Italo for Milano Centrale to Rome Termini, we used Trainline which I found to very good, also allows us to have our tickets on our smart phones and access when offline which is great, we have also booked other trains to Civitavecchia and Venice to Milan, easy to watch your video, thanks heaps from Aus
Thanks for the note. Buon viaggio!
Excellent Video
Thanks! We appreciate the comment. It’s great encouragement.
Thanks on my way in May and doing it all by train A little nervous about missing my train wrong platform etc
I’m sure it will all go smoothly. Key step is to identify the binario/platform based on the train company and number and scheduled time. Binarios are well-marked and you can verify that you’re in the right place with the overhead signs. Enjoy your trip!
@@OurBigItalianAdventure Thank you
Usually, the main information is on orange LED boards, that you should be able to tell identify from the coloured LCDs that show commercials.
@@giacintoboccia9386 thanks
just ask, Italian love help tourist :)
As an Italian, I travel by railways, not so often as I used to, but I can really say that they made such a progress. The trains are generally punctual, the level of service is excellent and price is quite good compared to other EU countries such as Austria and Germany, with crazy tariffs and a level that is quite lower than Italy. I am not talking only about the flagship frecciarossa, but also the small regional trains are quite good clean and punctual. Staffwise, they hired a lot of new people, which are supportive and professional. Good job Trenitalia.
I agree entirely.
Benvenuto in Italia
Grazie.
Great video. Definitely learned a lot. Looking to see if you can suggest an itinerary or best means for an upcoming trip. 2 of us are flying into Rome (FCO) on a Monday then need to head up to Monterossa for a few days, then back to Rome for a few days before we go to catch a cruise ship. Do you mind if I ask what steps would you take? Thank you.
I’d do the Leonardo Express from Rome Fiumicino airport to the main station Roma Termini. From there, you can take a Freccia high speed train to La Spezia and then change to a regionale to Monterossa. It’s about 5 and a half hours total from the airport and you can buy it all as one ticket from Trenitalia. Now, you didn’t ask, but I’ll offer this: unless your dead set in Cinque Terre, id skip it unless you’ve explored a lot of Italy before. The towns are very pretty, but completely overrun by tourists. It felt like Disneyland to me when I was there in September 2019. I’d consider visiting Siena, a beautiful town and more authentic. You just need to avoid the two times a year they hold the Palio, a competition between neighborhoods centered around a horse race. Arezzo is also a nice town. Anyway, enjoy the trip!
Thanks for this video. My partner and I will be travelling from Venice to Verona. We purchased our tickets through the Trainline app. We have QR codes on the app. I think we have to validate them at the station.
If you have a QR code and an assigned seat is shown, you shouldn’t have to check in. You can check at the Itali desk in Venice if you have any doubts. Buon viaggio!
@@OurBigItalianAdventure thank you. The last time we travelled on a train in Italy was in 1993 and we had something called a kilometrico and they deducted the distance each time we travelled from the ticket.
@gregneil612 I’ve never heard of the kilometrico before. That was certainly a while ago. And you bought it with lira, hundreds of thousands of them. I recall a 100,000 lira note not being worth very much given the huge number. (I looked it up. About $60.)
Just book my flight for my Mid-Oct-Mid November 2024 Trip. Going independently, and a bit nervous getting back to Rome from Salerno on Monday for a1:50 pm flight....I will leave VERY EARLY....or leave on Sunday and book an overnight hotel in Rome...Excited and nervous! I see there are passes offered by Trenitalia and Italy RailPass...still studying! I was reading reviews and some say Italo is better that TrenItalia (ItaliaRail I think is where you can book, too?.. The site for English speakers)??
Congratulations on getting your trip planned! I’m sure it will be great. Salerno to Fiumicino airport is a bit under 3 hours on a Frecciarossa to Roma Termini and then the Leonardo Express to the airport. If your flight is 1:50p (to the US?), I’d want to arrive at the airport by 11a or a bit after. You don’t want to be worrying about arriving on time and it can take awhile in the check-in line and for the security checks. I’d be looking at the 7:44a Freccia from Salerno which on the current schedule would arrive at the airport at 10:37. (If I really wanted to be safe, I’d book the Freccia before that, at 7:13a -> 10:07a, to have the other as a backup.) Of course, going to Rome the night before is also an option. Get a hotel not too far from Termini and then you can be more leisurely in the morning. As far as a rail pass, from what I understand based on research is that they are generally not a good deal unless you’re taking many trains. What is the general outline of your trip before Salerno? On the Salerno to Termini section, Italo is an option. It’s often cheaper and I like it a bit better. There are fewer trains, though. It looks like you’d be leaving Salerno on the 7:20a if not the 6:20. (Termini to the airport would then be the Leonardo Express.) I book directly through the Trenitalia and Italo apps or the websites. The only tricky part for English speakers is that Italo isn’t consistently Italian or English for city names. (It won’t find “Firenze” - it needs to be “Florence” - but Roma instead of Rome. Just a quirk.) Otherwise, the apps and websites have English versions. I hope some of this is helpful.
Please make a vid with info on New 2024 high speed train from Venice to Ljubljana, opening in July ( or rather, from Milan. apparently thats the departing station.. I thought it was Venice)
That’s an interesting topic. We’ll look into it. Ljubljana is a great little city.
Thank you very much for the informative video ! How about using Trainline and Omio Apps? Can I arrive to Rome Termini through the metro? IS there a one week ticket (open travels) that I can use one card for me and my partner? specifically in Milan and Rome? Thank you dear in advance for your reply, and God bless you
As I commented before, buy direct from the train operators, and not resellers such as Trainline and Omio. Trainline can be useful to find (and buy) connections that may not be offered directly, but I would still recommend buying direct
You can use them, though I don’t buy tickets that way. They’re useful for exploring your options, but I always book directly with the train company. That way, if something goes wrong, the train company views you as a customer (not Omio’s) customer and you’re more likely to get support. You can arrive at Termini directly from the airport at Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) on the Leonardo Express operated by Trenitalia. I’m not a good source for information on week-long tickets. It definitely depends on the city and the proximity of the sights you’re interested in to the metro or bus line. That determines whether it would be useful and a good value. Try Googling it. Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for the video. I have bought an online ticket from Tirano to Milano. If I want to take the earlier train, do I have to pay? 2- As you shown in the video, it's written "Not Valid for Travel" on the ticket bought from Trenord and directs me to Trenit app to check-in. So how can I check-in via the app, if the link doesn't work they sent to check-in alternatively? 3- From Venice to Milano, the QR code on the ticket to show on the machines of the gate will be enough to get on the train skipping the line? Thank you
Is the TrenNord ticket for a specific train? If so, I think you have a four hour window around that time, but I’d check with the agent in Tirano. (This ticket should show in the TrenNord app that you have, as should the “Check in” button.) For Venice to Milano, if you have a QR code and an assigned seat you should be good to go. Buon viaggio!
If you have bought it from Trenord, do not use Trenitalia app to check in. Moreover, there is no requirement to check-in for Trenord tickets, unlike Trenitalia. And the time allowed (if validated through paper ticket) is six hours, not four. Trenit is not the train operators app, it is only for checking schedules, do not use to check-in regional trains!
Thanks for the clarifications. Always things to learn.
Thanks for the video for rail travel. I've been to Italy and used their trains, and your correct on all points. One thing that may be helpful to mention: as a non-Italian resident, you can't register on the Trenitalia website, an Italian address is mandatory. BUT you can still purchase tickets on the app. Thanks.
I wasn’t aware of that and it is worth noting. I’m not a resident, but I do own a house and have a codice fiscale. Maybe I used it when I signed up.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure you do not have to be a resident or own anything, the comment is not true
That is not true. You can register as a foreigner no problem.
Thanks for adding this.
Yes, joecesa is wrong, you can register with Trenitalia as a non resident, you can even request the Cartafreccia card for Senior too.
On the Trenitalia app you need an Italian address. we are planning a trip in September of this year. What do you suggest? We are staying in hotels or rentals during our trip
Hi. I think if you choose “Stati Uniti” as your home country you can use your US address. Otherwise, I’d use a hotel address.
Are these trains rarely late? I have a flight to catch in Milan at 11:50 AM but am thinking of spending the night before in Verona. If I take the first train of the day (not a Frecciarossa, unfortunately), I can make it. TrenItalia says it can get me to Milan at 7:20 AM, plenty of time to get from the station to the airport. Unless the train runs late, of course. Is this an insane idea and should I not risk it, just spend the night before in Milan? Thank you so much for your video!
I can’t give you a firm answer. Usually they aren’t late or not by much, in general, but it probably depends on the route and certainly the particular day. The timing might be a bit tight if there is a delay, but is likely ok. The Malpensa express only runs twice an hour, at :25 and :55 past the hour from Milano Centrale and the trip is just less than an hour. So on the 7:55 train you’d arrive at the airport by 9:00, which is about 3 hours in advance of the flight, which usually is plenty of time. But this is all an estimate. Enjoy your trip!
@@OurBigItalianAdventure thank you so much!
Have a great trip!
Thanks for the video. We have been using tthe rainline app , I just booked a trim from Rome to Nice . From Rome to Milano centrale them to Vetimiglia and the French train line to Nice, easy pease , have you ever used them ? Thanks looking forward for more videos on trains.
That’s “thetrainline.com’, right? I’ve looked at it, but I’m not familiar with it. There’s also Omio.com. Just personal preference, but I generally book directly with the individual company. If you like train-related stuff, have a look at www.seat61.com/.
I bought a ticket online from Milan to Montreux on train EC number 32. The ticket states "please communicate your pnr to on board personnel. Failure to do so is equivalent of being without ticket". Kindly let me know how do you communicate your pnr number to the staff?
Hi. There is a person who checks tickets on the train. Just show them your receipt with the pnr (passenger name record) to that person. Check this from Trenitalia. www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/the_trenitalia_electronicticket.html
Thanks a lot. Your video was actually very helpful in many ways.
Thanks. We appreciate the encouragement.
ZTL was enstablished to avoid pollution from cars, and car related incidents. Moreover it makes more liveable the city centers. It hurts a lot our commodity, vlbecause cars are a commodity for all, but we have to admit that it works and there are some real benefits. So ZTL it is! 😑😮💨
I agree. I think the ztl is a great concept. Those of us who aren’t Italian just need to know about it and understand it so it’s not a big “gotcha” that can leave a bad taste about Italy. Sort of like the big fines for not having validated a train ticket or, God forbid, using the Telepass lane. I remember Florence before the ztl. It was a mess in the central area. You couldn’t drive or walk. It’s a much better experience these days.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure that's our fault. In past we was more soft in enforcing rules so many had the chance to brake them and even avoid paying or worst. As soon as there was cases of violence and after having privatized the sector, new rules and regulations came into effect to avoid such outcomes. Surely is a bit hard, but the consequences of not having any rules at all would be worst.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure moreover with all the refugees that had to be helped... Some of them struggled in integrating, others was examplary persons. But we had cases really unpleasant. Unconfortable. Then the tourists. At some point we had to address the demand from outside or pur system would have been not competitive. The current system is kinda of a compromise from all these three situations.
Tourism is certainly a difficult balance for Italy. It’s so important to the economy but places are being overrun and are at the risk of losing their appeal. Venice can probably be fine with an admission fee, as so many tourists see it as a “must do” item and wouldn’t be deterred by a small fee, For me, Cinque Terre and Amalfi are at risk of losing the charm they have because of popularity, CT in particular. I tell friends to think hard about visiting. To me, it’s become like Disneyland. The small villages are almost wall-to-wall people. Three years ago, in late September, I visited with friends who wanted to see it. They had planned 4 days there and decided after one that they had had enough.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure ah Venice is exactly the place that was injured the most by tourism. The city had a population of roughly 200.000 people in past. Today, due to tourism location transformation, the city is becoming costly, with specialized shops and high prices. The population is reduced to 20.000 citizens. But yet tourism brings a non indifferent amount of money on the budget. Every year the population of Italy double it's size and you can see people from every corner of the world. Between tourism, students from international courses, immigrants, both regular or refugees and the local population, today's Italy is a full multiethnic and multicultural country. Even multi-religion country. Muslims are the 1% of the population, but Islam is the second religion of the country surpassed only by those 30% of Christian Catholics. The big chunk of the population is at one step from becoming atheists. We don't like extremism and fanatism here. As tradition, we enjoy more a calm lifestyle and even if religion sometimes ask us to apply extreme measures, we tend to think before and act long long long time after that thinking pause. It's definitely hard to try to make all happy, but somehow, it serms work. Maybe we should thanks God for this, but I have the doubt of which god we have to thanks. 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you ! Do you have to download each app or is there an overall app for all of them combined. Is there a website where you can see all the trains available for a destination or do you have to go to each website? Can you do the website instead of the app?
The company apps are separate, but there is a site/app called www.omio.com/ that lets you compare prices and times and buy tickets. A good system is to use Omio to choose your trains and then buy from the company apps. That way you have all the advantages. You can use the websites as well, but then you need to print tickets. Or buy from the website and use the apps to store your tickets.
How can we tell if the seat is next to the window? I can't tell because I don't know what know what the thick gray bar is versus the white bar on the seating map. Can you tell me?
Hmm. Without seeing what you are looking at, I’m not sure. The diagram should show a train car with seats in rows. Any bars between the rows are tables. You should be able to identify an aisle running the length of the car.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure on the diagram there is a gray bar next to the seat. I can't tell if it's a window at a wall. I noticed on videos some of the sears have a wall next to it. I want to make sure I pick a single seat that has a window
@christinalove1309 Now I understand the question … but unfortunately I don’t know the answer. However, very little of the exterior of the car is “wall”. It’s mostly window.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure thank you 😊
You’re welcome. Enjoy the trip.
Guys please help. I am traveling through Switzerland into Italy and want to get a Eurail pass. I dont see many using the Eurail in Italy, is it not that popular, should I be booking individual tickets directly with the rail companies? I also read somewhere that Eurail does not cover Trenord, is this true?
I believe Eurail pass does cover Trenord but not ITALO. I think it is not as popular now because it is not as good a deal. In the old days you paid $350 or so for a 6 month pass…now it is much more restricted- you have less time to use it .
Fine review ideed. Driving a car in Italy may be felt as a discomfort even from an Italian commuting daily by car. Furthermore our cities were not thought for cars and inhabitants already have too many cars. And finally, forget cars if you plan to go to Venice. The old city itself has NO streets, only channels. Therefore: ride a train. Forget about intercity airplanes within Italy. I think there could be none anymore. Once the Milano-Romoa HS line was opened, airways company living mostly on that route, one for all, Alitalia, went bankrupt. I could add a couple of things, if you don't mind. First, a little explanation: "binario" means "railway track", our railwaymen think about the track the train will stop on. It was wise to use that word because we do not translate it in signs. Travel light, avoid large luggage. HS train have space for luggate, but not plenty for it. Regional trains on the other side, have almost no space for large luggage. Most of the trains are designed for commuters. But there are a few places where a Regionale Veloce is "the option". If your plane lands or leave from Pisa airport (Malpensa Express and Leonardo Express are special airport services and, even if the train might be the same as those used for regionali, the interiors are different with more luggage racks) or visit Venice and either book your hotel in Mestre (mainland counterpart of Venice - an uglier option, but cheaper) or want to visit Padova. In the first case any regionale fits, most of them will skip the only station between Venice and Mestre, and you have plenty of them; when traveling between Padova and Venice, a Regionale Veloce is as fast as an HS train.
Great info. Thanks. We should have talked more about luggage, in retrospect. “Binario” is interesting. It gets translated as “platform” on signs, but the word “track” is better and ironically what we would use in the US. I’m not sure about UK usage.
@@OurBigItalianAdventure platform is the UK usage in my experience. Platform 9 3/4 😁
Hogwarts, and all. I’d forgotten about that platform.
How is the TrenItalia Frecciarossa ticket validated?
You don’t need to do any “validation” for a Frecciarossa train. You have ticket for a specific seat on a specific train. So you just need to show the ticket on board.