Why you shouldn’t book your train tickets in advance

03. Jul, 2011 0 Comments

Italy boasts an extensive rail network, and travelling by train is a much preferred method of getting around Italy for many travelers. After all, reaching world-class cities like Florence, Milan or even Venice in just a few hours is quite the charm. We often get questions from travelers dealing with issues when ordering train tickets in advance. Our answer is pretty simple: don’t. Let us explain why:

First of all, there’s simply no need for it. Trains in Italy hardly ever sell out, and the number of available trains on the most popular lines (Florence, Venice) is plenty. Rest assured that you’ll have a train available for you when needed.
Booking a ticket in advance puts you in a tight and cramped travelling schedule. Railway tickets are only valid for several hours when booked in advance. The added assurance of having your train ticket with you in advance is totally not worth the stress of having to reach the train station on time. We advise you to opt for flexibility instead. Besides, even if you book in advance, what if you miss a connecting flight, bus or train? You might not even make the train you booked a ticket for at all.
Unlike popular belief: there’s no need to buy a ticket from the clerks at the service desks in Termini station. Most people decide to queue up in an enormous line for buying tickets, while instead you can use one of the many vending machines on the far side of the terminal. The terminals are multilingual (including English) and using them should be pretty straightforward. Just be sure to keep your luggage close to you when using the vending machines, pick pockets are known o operate in the Termini station area. Either way, enduring the queue to speak to a service desk employee is only advisable if case of problems.
The Trenitalia booking system might be down. Every now and then, problems occur with either payment processing or the booking system itself. Don’t count on the website to work at the exact moment you need it – it might be down for maintenance.