The German train website DB Bahn is a great site for schedules and covers all of Europe including Italy.

You can generally make the reservations in the departure train station up to a couple of day’s in advance. The price of a ticket or Reservation will vary depending on Distance, tome of year, time of day, train company etc.

The pass usually cover’s all major train companies but there may be exceptions, check Eurail website for list of companies. I can’t remember having a problem in Italy with my pass being refused.

Your pass will cover the base fare for any train you’ll take on this trip, but it won’t cover the cost of the reservation which is required on many Italian trains. Check prices (which will include the reservation) for Italian trains at www.trenitalia.com or use “railsaver” under the “booking” tab at the top of the page to see if it recommends a railpass. Railsaver calculates using the base fare.

Personally, I don’t like to use a railpass in Italy…
1. Since train tickets are relatively cheap and distances between tourist haunts are relatively short, a rail pass is unlikely to save very much money. Reservations are expensive (often doubling the cost of the ticket) but you’re going to have to pay for those in any case.

2. It’s very easy to buy train tickets in Italy from the automated kiosks (user-friendly in English) with no waiting in line. The ticket will include your reservation if one is required. Buying “just a reservation” to use with your railpass requires waiting in a line — sometimes a very long line. While you can avoid trains that require reservations by taking slightly slower regional and local trains, the trains at “peak” times usually require reservations. I think you’ll find that the train you want to take usually requires a reservation.

If you do use a railpass, buy all of your reservations at once to avoid waiting in line multiple times.

Thanks for the help! ‘m trying to look at the price on trenitalia for a journey from rome to florence. it will only show me the timetable and not allow me to purchase it or even view the price. How do you buy the ticket online?

You may not be able to buy the ticket on line — other than from the travel agency/railpass sales websites. Those sites charge “global fare” (normally 30% more than you’d pay at the station) plus shipping and handling fees. I bought tickets on-line from Trenitalia in 2004 but the “purchase” option and the pricing didn’t operate 24/7. You had to buy during normal business hours (in Italy), so try that. We had lots of reports this last year that non-European credit cards were turned down. I get “technical difficulties” right now on trenitalia.

If there’s some reason you absolutely have to have your ticket in advance then try Italiarail.com They’re usually cheaper (in my experience) than the other travel agency/rail pass sites for tickets in Italy, but the tickets will still cost more than buying in Italy or from trenitalia.

This is great information! Thanks so much. I don’t need to buy the tickets now. I guess i can wait until i get there. So when i get to Rome, could i buy tickets for all the legs of my trip from one machine, so i don’t have to always get on line at the machines and can reserve my seats? Sounds like i won’t need a pass and it will be cheaper to buy at the station. (BTW – I’m going to be there May 1 to May 11.

I have 10 days on the ground in Italy. Here’s the route i’m planning:

Rome—>Florence
(posibbly a day trip ro Pisa from Florence)
Florence – -> Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre —> Venice
Venice —>Rome

It’s a pretty standard tourist route, so I’m sure there will be trains and seats available. I know it’s a lot to cover, but I’m confident I can do it.

1. I’ve never seen a line at a ticket machine.
2. Yes, you should be able to buy several tickets at once. The tickets will include a reservation if the specific train (time and date) you choose requires a reservation. You can change the reservation, without charge, at the kiosk as long as it’s before the original reservation date and time and you’re switching to another train that has the same reservation fee.
3. Italian trains can be very crowded in the summer and with your extremely rushed trip waiting 1/2 a day for a train with available seats will be a problem. I don’t think you’ll have any problems, but I’d get these tickets as soon as you can after you get to Italy.

I wouldn’t do Pisa as a day trip. Stop there for 2-3 hours on your way from Rome to Florence or Florence to Cinque Terre, store your bag in a locker at the train, go see the tower, etc. then catch your next train.

Thanks! Great advice on Pisa. Any opinions on Bologna? Maybe for a day?
Also, how big are the lockers at the train stations? Can it hold a carry on size suitcase?

I just remembered that Pisa doesn’t have lockers. You check your bag at the luggage counter and they give you a ticket. When you return you give them your ticket and they get your bag for you.

Make sure you understand the open and closed hours for the “left luggage” room and allow plenty of time to retrieve your bag before you catch your train. While left luggage will probably be open all day, you don’t want to miss your train because you didn’t know it was closed over the lunch hour. Also make sure you’re actually at the “left luggage” room and not handing your bag over to a very helpful thief.