This is such a comprehensive video with wonderful advice! Well done! As a local who avidly rides trains, I have a few pro tips to add: 1) Don't forget your passport in the hotel! Although it is technically the law to always carry your passport (or ID for EU citizens) with you in Italy, this is especially important in the trains. Many police officers randomly stop people in some of the bigger sations and ask to check your passport. I have only ever been stopped by the police at a train station, and it happened twice at Roma Termini, once at Firenze SMN, Roma Tiburtina, and even at Prato Centrale. 2) Don't arrive at the train station hours in advance like for a flight! Some of the bigger train stations have shops and restaurants, but the stations have very few places to sit. Waiting halls do not exist, except for the lounge for Frecciarossa/Italo Business class/executive passengers. Unless you want to sit on the ground, I would recommend arriving maybe 5-10 minutes ahead in a small station and 15 minutes ahead in a bigger one. About 20-25 minutes would be ideal before getting on a high speed train in a big station (except Bologna Centrale, see below). 3) Don't underestimate the size of some stations, particularly Bologna Centrale. Although Roma Termini and Milano Centrale are both big stations, one should take care when arriving at/departing from Bologna Centrale. It is massive; I have probably been lost there 4 times. The high speed trains are like 4 levels below ground and take a while to get to; I recommend the escalators if you have a lot of baggage. Also, the platforms for the regional trains towards Florence/Prato are kind of far away and hidden (usually platform 2-Est, a far walk from the underground passageway with the other non-high-speed trains). Be also careful when exiting Bologna Centrale to take the correct exit for the city center; there are many different exits. 4) Don't forget to buy return tickets on the app/online or in advance before going to very small stations. Although most train stations have at least one ticket machine, in very small cities, in might not be working. 5) Don't look for the station with the wrong names. When looking on Trenitalia's website, the nams of the cities are always in Italian (Roma, Firenze, Milano, Napoli, Venezia, etc.). Also, some common abbreviations include: C.le = Centrale (central) S. = San (Saint, like in San Giovanni) AV = alta velocità (high speed trains like Frecciarossa and Italo) 6) Don't forget the airport trains. Forget paying 30€ for an airport taxi. Airports like Rome Fiumicino, Bologna, Pisa, Milan, and others are connected well to the city by a train or people mover. Rome Fiumicino Airport even has some high speed trains! Also, there is a cheaper train from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Rome City than the Leonardo Express that arrives at Roma Tuscolana and Roma Tiburtina. 7) Don't forget that REGIONAL train tickets bought on the app/online are valid for up to four hours after your scheduled departure time since they are already validated. The only important thing is it is the same route. So, don't worry about getting a new ticket if you just missed your regional train by just a few minutes. 8) Don't forget about looking into the promotions on Trenitalia regional trains if you are going to be using them frequently over a 3-5 day period or for a long distance. The Italia in Tour pass is often a great deal, especially if one is doing lots of consecutive day trips or hopping between small/medium-sized cities. 9) Don't ignore information about buses. When booking a train on Trenitalia's website, sometimes buses are listed, such as Freccialink. Also, when there are outages, buses are used to substitute the trains. Part of the Florence-Bologna route for regional trains are being subsistituded by buses this summer, for example. 10) Don't miss out on the potential savings of overnight intercity trains. Although this only really applies when travelling really long distances in Italy, it can be an adventurous way to pay for a trip and a place to sleep somewhere -- potentially saving some money. 11) Most importantly, don't be unaware of strikes. You should be able to find information about strikes online, but it is hard to know as a non-local. Strikes happen very frequently on the trains, and often result in cancellations and significant delays. Even if you are able to get somewhere on a strike day, don't expect to come back soon; you may be stuck waiting at the station for hours. Unfortunately, Trenitalia's booking page on their website or app does not reflect cancellations due i strikes. I hope this information helps! Enjoy exploring Italy by train!
omg I cannot emphasize no. 2 enough. My first train experience was with a "flying" mentality. Hanging out at a train station for hours is not heaven, as he said no place to sit and you just sort or wonder around and it's exhausting. Train experience is awesome though.
@@sibelalbro - agreed! Total lack of seating within the station was the norm. We were fortunate to have large and strong suitcases it sit on, and as if mindful of Wolter's advice, to travel Eurail 1st class if only for its adequate luggage capacity. So things don't seem to have improved in 15 years!
Great video. Just spent a month in Italy and did many train trips. Just want to add, in Roma Termini, there were many people waiting for the Departure Board to update. When it did, there was a crowd of people who gathered around the board. I was behind my husband as he was looking up and a well-dressed woman tried to pick pocket him by grabbing for his back pockets. He yelled and she ran. Just a heads up of another area of the train station to be on your guard.
My son and I got stuck in Florence as we missed the last train. It turned out to be a brilliant and long night; sometimes the inconsistency works out. 🇮🇹 ❤️
Don’t forget to keep a close eye on your bags at all times. We’ve had bags taken because we relaxed and enjoyed the ride, forgetting our luggage. Relax, enjoy the ride, but also watch your bags.
In 2019, we were taking the train from Venice to Rome and arrived late and missed our train. I went to the service desk and explained our predicament, and they could not have been nicer. They rebooked our party on the next train to Rome at no charge. They deserve a lot of kudos - and they spoke English (thank goodness). Now it was early May and not peak season, so I think we got lucky that there was room.
Re bathrooms in Europe, I say go whenever you have the opportunity! Good advice about accepting things as they are but being smart to avoid missed connections etc Thanks, good video.
@@woltersworld I personally do not like overnight trains either. But the fact remains that in Europe overnight trains are enjoying a huge revival and are getting a lot of political support. In fairly large European countries such as Italy and France overnight trains are seen as a way of reducing (or eliminating) domestic flights.
In 2019 we flew into Rome. From Rome we took a train to Naples and took a cab to our hotel La Medusa on the outskirts of Naples in Castellammare di Stabia. I had my driver Gianluca take us where we wanted around the Amalfi, dropped us off and didn't have to worry about parking and we'd tell him how long we wanted to stay in each area and then he'd pick us up From there we took a train from Salerno to a Venice, then from Venice to Bologna then back home. Trains were super easy and the sight seeing was fabulous.
Lots of really good advice here. Definitely, definitely try to get your tickets online if you can. The kiosks in most train stations work fine, but there's often lines to use them, and when they don't, having to get tickets at the desk is a nightmare. Also definitely try to avoid using public restrooms in stations. It's absolutely disgraceful, but most of the times those toilets are borderline unusable becaose of the condition they are left in. They really are there just for emergencies. And in some place, like Milano Centrale, you have to pay to use them. One thing about train conductors and ticket controllers: do not argue with them. They are used to dealing with people using the train without tickets and then trying to make up excuses to avoid paying the ticket and the associated fine, so they are never in the mood for arguing. If you have doubts about your tickets, look for them at the head of the train and be polite, and 99% of the times they'll solve your problem if there is one, often without even asking for you to pay any extras or integrations. Even if you have to board in an absolute rush or an emergency and don't have a ticket, go to them and tell them. Worse thing that can happen is that they'll apply a surcharge (never happened to me, though) , but it's still so much better than being caught without a ticket. Most importantly, though: whatever you do, do not argue with them unless you want to explain the situation to the police, because they will call the police on you if you piss them off. I've seen it happen countless times.
Good to know on the tickets. I’ve always been afraid of that. I’ve hopped on when I was living in Umbria and forgot to validate my ticket once, but did go speak to the conductor about it and everything worked out fine. I’ve also seen others in various situations and it can go well if you’re proactive, and poorly for the ones that try to fare il furbo…
I was in a big rush one day and hopped on a Frecciarossa from Rimini to Bologna (about 1hr). I asked the Traintalia employee on the platform if I can pay for the ticket inside the train and he said yes. Then, after the train left the station, he told me where to go in order to pay for the ticket. So I went there and I had to pay 150 euros for 2 tickets that otherwise would cost 50 euros. It was 25 euro (the fare) plus 50 euros the surcharge for each ticket (200% surcharge). So please don't advise people to pay for the tickets inside the train. I was polite, I went to pay for the ticket just as we boarded the train and I showed no itention to ride without a ticket. This is one thing I would add to this video: don't pay for the tickets inside the train, at least not in Trenitalia. If you're losing the train and don't have time to buy a ticket at the kiosk, let it go and take the next one.
@@alexandrumih It's unfortunate, but policy is that, no matter the cause, you mustn't board without a ticket, so it's only fair that you were asked to pay a surcharge. Conductors often decide not to apply it, but it's not guaranteed. And it's oodles better than being caught without a ticket, which is very likely on an expensive train like the Frecciarossa. As I said, boarding without a ticket is only for emergencies, you shouldn't do it otherwise.
@@alexandrumihbut you went in a frecciarossa a train that require reservation, if the train was fully booked, you would have been “kicked’ off the train, that’s why you paid so much. Regional train don’t have reservation and if the kiosk didn’t work you won’t be charged an extra fee.
here's a tip which can come useful if you're in a hurry or you're at a tiny station with no place to validate them: if you bought a ticket but you go on the train without validating it for whatever reason you should find the train master, explain them the situation and they'll validate it for you. Also, unofficial but ends up being your only option sometimes: if you have a pen, or ask another passenger for one, you can write on the ticket the time when you got onto the train and it'll sorta count as validated.
This really needs to be split in 2 videos: 1) Long haul trains (IC, EC, FR, Italo), icluding service levels, reservation/cancellation polices; 2) Regional trains wich have different tiketing police, no seat reseevation etc.
Great tips! Might I add that if you are in a first class carriage where they often have some extra luggage racks, you MUST keep and eye on your luggage especially if it's not too close to your seat. Thieves will literally get on (especially at stops) grab luggage and walk away with it! Be watchful!
just a word about trains getting too hot: I live in Italy and often travel by train, almost always actually, and on the regional train in summer it can get way too cold (yes, cold) in one car and way too hot in another. In my region, Tuscany, the trains between the coast and the inland almost always are too cold. Once I was at the beach and I had to come back home in Florence by train (a couple hours) and decided to get on the train while still wet from the beach, I mean my hair (long) and my costume, and I was wearing flip flops. it was terrible, I had to travel between cars all the time to look for some place where it wasn't too cold. but yeah, trains can get too hot too. anyway, great advices and great video, as an Italian I can say you know our train lines very well, good work! Enjoy your time in Italy!!
Just completed two weeks around Italy by train. One thing I will point out is sometimes you book through the train website but part of the journey was by bus. This was the connection from Salerno to Matera. Didn’t notice until the day before we travelled but a pleasant journey anyway. Just use the toilet before as it’s a 3 hour journey with only one stop in Potenza.
Yes, you had lots of great advise to train travels in Italy, but where we had problems was navigating the platforms. Many platforms can only be reached by going down steps and then up steps to reach your platform. Easy...not! Most of these stations do not have elevators or escalators and being a senior traveler it's hard to carry your bags and accomplish this without killing yourself. This is traveling with only a personal bag and overhead bag. We buy our tickets on-line and reserve our seats! I just wish the stations had diagrams of the layout of the station or information regarding steps down and up, just something that would help us travel more safely. We do use public transportation, both bus and train in our travels and we love that about Europe. In Texas, you don't us either!! Thanks again for all your travel UA-cams!
The lift is obligatory wherever there is a subway, even in smaller stations, at least here in Tuscany. Sometimes they are faulty or hidden at the bottom of the platform, especially in less busy stations. May I ask where you have experienced these problems?
We traveled all around Italy in 2007 before cell phones, wifi, internet in the go, GPS, it was a great adventure. No lines of people anywhere. Traveling before Instagram was way more enjoyable.
Wow, I had a personal cell phone in the early 1990's, we had company cell phones in the mid 1980's. In 2007, I am pretty sure, everyone had cell phones.
If I can add one more and it's something that caught me off guard (got on the wrong train) Just because you see a train that is going to Rome on the tracks that you are supposed to be at, CHECK that train number. In my case, there were 3 consecutive Freccia trains going to Rome. Ours was the third" and they were literally only 10 minutes apart! Luckily I caught it quickly when I saw someone in my seat, the conductor, said.. "wrong train, WRONG TRAIN!" Of course, they were on a schedule and I am sure I am no the first to do that.... :) it all worked out. So my Don't is... don't just think that because it is going to Rome, and it's close to the time of your departure that it is your train... always check that number. I love all of these tips.. especially book early, book first class. You have so much more space.. the coach classes seem to be a cluster sometimes, lots of people standing in the aisles, oh and more room for luggage, right behind your seat so you don't have to lift if if you have mobility issues.
Definitely buy tickets online early. Just an example which happened in my case, all the fast direct trains from Milan to Venice on 24 Sept 2023 afternoon (after 2 pm) to night were sold out when I checked end of June, forcing me to stay one more night in Milan and changing my train to the following morning instead.
Lots of good advice. I am a resident of Switzerland and often cross the border into Italy. Here are a few of my comments on your video. 1) A big reason to plan on the trains (and buses) rather than driving is parking. In some destinations you can waste a lot of time trying to find parking, especially during busy times (summer high season, major holidays, etc.). 2) Even for longer distances a high speed train is often faster, city center to city center, than flying. Major train stations are often in/near city center while airports are often a distance outside the center. Add the time you need for checking in, security, etc, and the 5 hours from Milan to Naples on train is not that different that the time needed to get from center of Milan to center of Naples when flying. 3) Pay attention not only to times on the boards in the stations but also look out for platfrom (binario) changes. Some are easy; in Bologna the high speed trains use only 4 , 2 each direction. A platform change is just a matter of crossing 2-3 meters. But we have been caught with late platform changes at Venezia Mestre, Milano Centrale, and some others. Another reason to travel with less 'stuff' (one of our late changes was when traveling with bicycles and panniers .... a lot to haul up and down stairs when there is only a few minutes notice of the platform change). 4) Besides the Trenitalia and Italo apps, and the bookmarked websites, I also use Trainline, especially if there is a border crossing, e.g., into France or Austria. 5) Buses are good for moving around in some areas after arrival by train. Most regions have an app for the bus or the bus/train, or bus/train/cable car system in the area. We spend a lot of time in Südtiroll, so I have the Suedtirolmobil app on my phone and use it to plan trips and to buy and validate tickets. 6) I would suggest looking for higher classes of tickets rather than 'first class' tickets, particularly on the fast trains. Italo and the Freccia train class systems are not aligned with the normal first/second class structure. Freccia classes are something like Standard/Premium/Business and Italo they are usually Smart/Prima/Club Executive/Salotto. And there are normally a pricing structure in each class. On a recent trip from Verona to Milan I traveled Frecciarossa Super Economy Business Class, which was quite inexpensive since I bought the ticket a month in advance. 7) Understand your ticket/reservation. We have frequently seen folks who do not speak/understand Italian get beligerent when told they have the wrong seat. It is almost always a case of being in the correct seat number in the wrong car, but some get a bit testy when the actual seat holders come along and want their seat. Ugliest scene was when a party of US travelers on an Italo train found out they were in the right seat numbers but wrong car, and then realized the cushy Club Executive seats they were being asked to leave were much better than the 'Smart' class seats they had purchased. 8) And don't ignore that the train systems with neighboring countries are linked, so easy to travel between Italy and Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, etc.
2) yes! So much yes, I'd often get this (when using rail/sail in IE - UK) 'but it takes so long! Flight is half an hour!' no, it isn't. Dublin airport (it's now better) was always full, so at the very least, 2 h before flight, better 2.5 or 3. It's not exactly city centre either. Then the arrival, wait for luggage, find bus/train , travel maybe 2 h to the city. The difference starts to shrink very quickly.
Sometimes one carrier is cheaper than the local carrier too. Eg Lauterbrunnen switzerland is SBB land but a Dbahn train cheaper to munich etc. Italian trains can be good value v sbb or obb for same locations
@@paulgerrard9227 I agree that it is good to price shop when looking at trips. I, however. currently avoid traveling on DB and would advise others to avoid it if possible. SBB and DB started a 5X per day service between Zürich and Munich two years ago; it lasted a year and was canceled by SBB as DB was almost always late, often by hours (on a train trip marketed as being 4 hours total). And a friend lives in Zürich but has an office in Freiburg that she visits regularly. The trip home is always a disaster, as the DB portion to Basel Bad station is always so late that the SBB crew has given up and left so the train has to sit and wait for SBB to get a new crew to Basel Bad to take over the train into Switzerland. For now, FlixBus is faster and more reliable between Switzerland and Munich and Freiburg than DB. Also, one slight correction: Lauterbrunnen is not serviced by SBB, but rather by Bernese Oberland Bahn (BOB). SBB oversees schedule coodination, etc, but the trains are owned by Bernese Oberland Bahn and the staff are employed by Bernese Oberland Bahn.
I just purchased tickets on ItaliaRail for late next month, Rome Termini to Ravenna for a cruise. For 2 people and a 2 1/2 hour trip was only $100, and that was for business select seating!! The first leg, Rome to Bologna is on a regionale and the second leg to Ravenna is on a frecciarossa. Was easy and pain free to book and we have a few hour cushion before our appointment to board ship.
I bought my tickets between Rome and Florence and Florence and Naples for trip online a couple weeks in advance and got a huge discount on the tickets.
Good info! We traveled from Rome to Florence to Pisa, and then back to Rome. We booked online and had very enjoyable travel. The views between Florence and Pisa were amazing!! Be very careful at Roma Termini when traveling early morning (before 6a.m.) to the Rome airport. Sketchy characters will pop out of the dark while you are struggling with your luggage to get inside the terminal. We didn’t see any police until we were actually inside near the platforms.
Add - don't forget to keep listening for train announcements even on the platform as it's possible that they change platforms 2 to 3 mins before your train is scheduled to arrive.
Your videos are great! I was stationed in Germany for six years so I don’t need all of the information you provided but some is very helpful. I’ll be in Europe for two months. September and October 2023. I booked a nightjet from Salzburg to Rome and Florance to Vienna. Thanks for the great advice.
It's been watching this channel on and off for years and it's so satisfying to see higher quality editing. This channel's ability to be consistent and ever-evolving shouldn't be understated.
Great to see you in Bari, I was there 5 weeks ago and really enjoyed that city! I think it was more impressive then Venice ( where we encountered lots of Graffiti, smelly streets, it's expensive, lots of damaged buildings by the high water..)
I just came across your channel, this is a great video….very helpful! I just purchased my Trenitalia ticket yesterday online for my group traveling in Sept…and based on this video I’m sure glad I did! Btw - your Italian accent/pronunciation is great:)
Great video Just two comments. First, avoid Italy in the summer - too hot and too crowded. Second, know the word sciopero, meaning strike. Be prepared for strikes on the trains (and everywhere else). Note that there can be strikes on the regional trains but not the long distance ones, and vice versa, so if your preferred train is not running there may still be an alternative.
Wow, what a great video, thank you I live in Ecuador (a gringo) and we don't have trains, but we have a huge bus system that I use and love. Same key items, be cool, ask if you don't understand, and figure it out. Our bus system covers the whole country, you just have to be patient and understanding. No "Karens" on the bus, we all try to get along.
These are a few of my experiences while traveling in Italy with my family. Have a lot of patience. If you are traveling with anyone with a picky appetite find foods they will eat and stock up. The last thing for our experiences, we are a blended family and we experienced being overlooked a lot of times, shopping, dinner, or just traveling. We got a lot of local people starring. Since my husband is Italian, he prepared us for it.
Great video, Mark! First class on an Italian train is 👌. Last night, I was just looking into a train journey around the coast of Calabria for when I get my Italian citizenship. I was also on that EC from Verona to Innsbruck and that was the most amazing train ride I’ve ever been on! Can’t wait to go back to Italy 🇮🇹
@ no not yet, I didn’t have time on my last trip but I went on the Frecciarossa from Rome to Naples and that was amazing! Also took the circumvesuviana. I’ll probably be back to Italy at some point next year and might try that Calabria train journey, but I think it would have to be when the weather is nice given the state of trains in the region
@ yeah, some Italian train do not have air conditioning, so definitely want to avoid those really hot days in summer. I went in November and it was fairly comfortable if a bit on the cool side
Trains in Italy are very convenient. On a trip in 2016, I took it for many journeys. For some of them, it's really cheap. Salerno to Pompei was 6€ return for example.
Great presentation and all spot on. A point on Taking internal flights, take into account how long you have to be at the airport before your flights due time as well as time getting to and from the airports. You can easily add another 3-4 hours. So whilst the actual travel time is short, it might take just as long as a train trip. I love The trains, i find them relaxing and the final destination is generally central in the town to are travel to. Defiantly buy your train tickets in advance. Online bookings open about 4 months before departure. Different days and departure times have different pricing so be a bit flexible if you wan to save money. And strangely enough business class can be cheaper for a certain time slot. I discovered that earlier this year when I booked my fare. Bonus.. Happy travels everyone .
Fot really long distances I would recommend the Intercity di Notte, the nighttrain. There are ample possibilities. Traveling to Sicely your train will even make a trip by ferry! Not fast, but an adventure in its own. They have not the comfort of, say, Nightjet and there is no catering on board. So take a sleeper rather then a couchette and bring enough food and water.
I just subscribed after watching a couple of videos. I haven’t been to Italy since the 1990’s but just retired and I’m planning a trip soon. Pickpockets were a thing back then too. They were everywhere, even on scooters.
On some regional trains, you must hit the knob next to the door so that the door will open. I missed my stop because the doors do not open automatically. Had to walk back two miles to the town I missed. I was coming from sicily and going to scilla. The only one getting off. A great town, by the way. Fortunately, I travel light.
Great combination.. I'm on a Eurail pass (love it, so great for being flexible!) and going to Bari next week :) And you're SO right about the limited luggage space on Italian trains.. astonishing they don't have luggage areas considering how many people seem to travel with bags the size of wardrobes, then put them long ways on the overhead racks! Last time I travelled in Italy I had a first class rail pass. This time, 2nd class, and the difference is real! And although Italian train stations lack seating/waiing areas, I always arrive at least 30 mins before the train, as some stations are large and busy, and finding your platform can take a while.
The trains look modern and clean that’s what matters to me, being on vacation and if some trains are not on time not a problem for me I just watch more of the world go by.
My wife and I traveled Italy for our honeymoon last year. It was both our first time in Europe and traveling mainly by trains. Not being fully used to trains it was a little daunting… one thing I found is that the PAPER schedules that he shows in these videos were WAY easier to read/find what your looking for. It has the entire days worth of trains on there so it’s a good way to see where you need to be at the start before your train is listed on the electronic terminal.
@@Emmeefive The dates don’t really open up that early, meaning you can’t pre book months or even weeks in advance. Unfortunately you have to check often
Oh, don't I know about Italian trains! Rick Steves says, "On the platforms, an agent will be there to help you." Yeah, right. You got this one wrong, Rick (but I still love ya')! Good advice here, Mark.
Another thing I’d mention regarding the luggage space on trains is that the compartments really aren’t very deep and if it isn’t full and bags have room to move they could easily fall off. This happened to us when a standard size carry on bag we had put up slided off and hit my friend on the head. Fortunately she was fine but this kind of thing can be very dangerous and you should pay attention to it.
Excellent information. We Americans are not accustomed to using local trains. They can be the best but you need to know the ins and outs and this is what you helped with, thanks.
We just got back from a 3 week trip in Italy, and we did get stranded in Mantova during a train strike. It bothered me that no one told us before we got on, that’s so rude especially when it’s obvious we are not from there. After an hour or so of waiting for a taxi we were able to get a ride to our next stop, Sirmione. Scary, and a big hassle when you only know a minimal amount of the language to converse quickly with locals. Definitely check for strikes, and know that if you are traveling with a group of 4, it might just be better to travel by taxi, which is what we ended up doing for the remainder of our trip.
Sometimes with late regional trains, you may get on the wrong train. But they tend to head the same route so you're fine. If you have to put your luggage on the racks, keep an eye on it at each stop, because sometimes people will snatch and go. Regional trains are cheap af for short trips, but for long trips, we always find it easier and less of a headache to spend that extra money for business or first class on the freccia!
Pay attention to when your buying trains online though! We got a bullet train from Rome to Pompeii… what we didn’t realize is that we had to take a Trainatalia BUS from Naples to Pompeii!! Thankfully we managed to follow the crowd but looking back at it we are surprised we made that one!
Bullet train? The train to Pompeii Scavi, the ruins, (probably where you wanted to go) is on a slow commuter line, the Circumvesuviana. There is another train to Pompei, the modern city, some distance away from the excavations.
@@TheSirjull891 Oh, that makes sense now. Because the Circumvesuviana is not run by Trenitalia, they would not be able to sell you a ticket for it. If you do it again, there are also tourist trains that run on the Circumvesuviana that are more expensive, air conditioned, faster, and with reserved seats. And then just buy a ticket Rome to Naples. But I would visit Naples, too. One of my favorite places.
I'm watching this in Mestre :) after visiting Padua, and taking the slowest possible train both ways (return, the one I wanted was late, going, all me) and my tip is: stay in Mestre when visiting Venice. Cheaper, and easy to navigate, frequent city buses (or train if you stay near station) to Venice and you don't have to lug luggage over all those bridges, or block the vaporetto with them. Everyone wins! Also, quick day trip to beautiful Padua. Even on the stupid slow train.
As always, great job. I love traveling in Italy and yes, trains are the way to go. A couple of things I may add - I was in Milan, Rome, and Palermo last Fall and found that the "luggage storage" facilities still were not open. I hope that has changed. Second, if you do have time to kill, traveling via train(s) from the toe to the Alps is an AMAZING trip. Again, it's a LOOOOng train ride but really a beautiful one. Finally, if you have the chance, take the train from Messina to Calabria via the train ferry. It's such a unique and cool exprience.
We did this and I agree! But I did have a hard time figuring out whether I was supposed to buy a ferry ticket and meet the second train OR if I had a ticket for a train car that went on the ferry. Would love some advice about that. I bought my tickets and had them on the Omio app. I wound up walking to the ferry and buying a 2.50 Euro ticket and getting on two separate trains, but I am still unsure if that if was right (it did get me to Tropea, so it was fine). Thanks!
Come on everyone, pleaee tell 26k of your closest friends to subscribe so we can finally get Mark and his family to that well deserved 1M subs! This Italy train tips video is just another example of the great information in a fun style he puts out 2x a week, every week!
I made a rookie mistake back in 2016 in my first time in Italy. It didn't occur to me that I had to validate my ticket (which is something that seems obvious, but as I was born in a country where there is no train service at all, well, I didn't know), so I got fined with 75 euros. At least, it will naver happen again, so it was that one and only time.
Took a cruise from Citivecchia? Landed in Rome where everyone was on strike, my dad got locked accidentally in the men’s room, couldn’t find a wheelchair for him, but other than that it was a wonderful trip. supposed to take a tour in Rome, everything was delayed so we ended up going straight to the ship. someday I’ll see Italy!
Yes! Validation! When we were going from Rome to Venice, we had bought ours online so there was no problem but there was a party of about 30 who were on the train who had bought theirs at a kiosk. The ticket man looked at the first one and said "You didn't violate this. You can't just buy, you have to violate it." (The leader of this group said "You're kidding", he said "You think I'm here to make joke?") Every one of those 30 people had to pay a 30Euro fine. So remember - violate your tickets! (We still use the term when we're talking about parking passes and such "did you remember to violate your pass?")
Excellent video. When I was there last year we took a train from Venice to Florence. And then another from Florence to Rome. I can't recall which one was Freccia (it means arrow for those who don't speak Italian) and which was Italo. We paid for 1st/Executive class for each trip and let me say: 100% WORTH IT! We were there in the Summer and it was blazing hot. But the First class ticket gives you lounge access that had a/c and free food and drink! The food was snack type (chips, cookies, crackers), and the drinks were soft drinks. Also, the first class cars are cooler, less people, bigger seats, more space for bags...and you get food and drink (with wine as a choice). One of those trains gave us like full meal on real plates with real cutlery and glasses. The other gave us more of a boxed sandwich but we could get wine with it.
Back in the day I took a Eurostar from Rome to Bari, and the trip was about 5 hours. Later, I took the State rail FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) train from Bari to Sicily, and _that_ was a 24 hour trip.
6:53 I do believe you caught a crime in real time on camera! That bike looks like it got yoinked right there! And while in Italy I never saw one of those weird squat toilets. Maybe We were lucky. And as a first time, at the start of our trip in Barcelona we saw a bidet in the fancy hotel room. Never seen one IRL and seriously, have no idea what to do with it. It was quite a novelty to see that space-taking thing.
Bidets are used to clean both your feet as well as the front and back areas of your body. Here in Italy there's a liquid soap specific for that purpose. In the morning, after doing n. 2, people use toilet paper first then get on the bidet, clean themselves and in the end jump into the shower. The same is done in the evening before going to bed
Back in the 1980's, I was waiting for my train. All of a sudden, everyone left. I was left alone at the track. After a bit of puzzling things out, I figured out that the track was changed. I don't remember any announcements, and that was before the fancy electronics that told you where the train was supposed to be. Luckily, I managed to find out where my train was arriving.
Depends on where you're going. Next year, we'll be leaving Naples to go to Termoli to be close to Larino, the village where my paternal grandfather was born. By train, from Napoli Centrale to Termoli station takes 4h06 and we'd have to switch trains at Caserta and Foggia, so 3 trains (Regionale, Frecciargento and Frecciarosso) to get to destination. If we rent a car from Naples Airport to Termoli (picked a hotel across the street from the Termoli train station to calculate the running times), and it would a 2h34 drive. I already have the Italo app on my phone for our Termini to Napoli ride between our first and second legs of our trip. Wasn't able to download the Trenitalia app, because it's not available here in Canada. The stampy thing for the tickets, btw, is a validation machine. 😉 Overall, great video!
I had someone show me hidden storage between the seat backs on the trains that was a perfect size for medium sized luggage. Look for the ^ space made where two seat backs are against each other.
This is such a useful video! I’m going to Venice for a few days in the winter, and hope to go to Florence or Bologna on one of the days. These tips are great!
As always, go slow and enjoy the moment. As an American tourist we tend to want to do everything in once trip. In your California video you made this point, spend time in each region and enjoy it.
My first time going to Venice I got off the train at Mestre by accident. I thought, “Jeez! Venice has really gone downhill - they filled in all the canals! 😂”
This is such a comprehensive video with wonderful advice! Well done! As a local who avidly rides trains, I have a few pro tips to add:
1) Don't forget your passport in the hotel! Although it is technically the law to always carry your passport (or ID for EU citizens) with you in Italy, this is especially important in the trains. Many police officers randomly stop people in some of the bigger sations and ask to check your passport. I have only ever been stopped by the police at a train station, and it happened twice at Roma Termini, once at Firenze SMN, Roma Tiburtina, and even at Prato Centrale.
2) Don't arrive at the train station hours in advance like for a flight! Some of the bigger train stations have shops and restaurants, but the stations have very few places to sit. Waiting halls do not exist, except for the lounge for Frecciarossa/Italo Business class/executive passengers. Unless you want to sit on the ground, I would recommend arriving maybe 5-10 minutes ahead in a small station and 15 minutes ahead in a bigger one. About 20-25 minutes would be ideal before getting on a high speed train in a big station (except Bologna Centrale, see below).
3) Don't underestimate the size of some stations, particularly Bologna Centrale. Although Roma Termini and Milano Centrale are both big stations, one should take care when arriving at/departing from Bologna Centrale. It is massive; I have probably been lost there 4 times. The high speed trains are like 4 levels below ground and take a while to get to; I recommend the escalators if you have a lot of baggage. Also, the platforms for the regional trains towards Florence/Prato are kind of far away and hidden (usually platform 2-Est, a far walk from the underground passageway with the other non-high-speed trains). Be also careful when exiting Bologna Centrale to take the correct exit for the city center; there are many different exits.
4) Don't forget to buy return tickets on the app/online or in advance before going to very small stations. Although most train stations have at least one ticket machine, in very small cities, in might not be working.
5) Don't look for the station with the wrong names. When looking on Trenitalia's website, the nams of the cities are always in Italian (Roma, Firenze, Milano, Napoli, Venezia, etc.). Also, some common abbreviations include:
C.le = Centrale (central)
S. = San (Saint, like in San Giovanni)
AV = alta velocità (high speed trains like Frecciarossa and Italo)
6) Don't forget the airport trains. Forget paying 30€ for an airport taxi. Airports like Rome Fiumicino, Bologna, Pisa, Milan, and others are connected well to the city by a train or people mover. Rome Fiumicino Airport even has some high speed trains! Also, there is a cheaper train from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Rome City than the Leonardo Express that arrives at Roma Tuscolana and Roma Tiburtina.
7) Don't forget that REGIONAL train tickets bought on the app/online are valid for up to four hours after your scheduled departure time since they are already validated. The only important thing is it is the same route. So, don't worry about getting a new ticket if you just missed your regional train by just a few minutes.
8) Don't forget about looking into the promotions on Trenitalia regional trains if you are going to be using them frequently over a 3-5 day period or for a long distance. The Italia in Tour pass is often a great deal, especially if one is doing lots of consecutive day trips or hopping between small/medium-sized cities.
9) Don't ignore information about buses. When booking a train on Trenitalia's website, sometimes buses are listed, such as Freccialink. Also, when there are outages, buses are used to substitute the trains. Part of the Florence-Bologna route for regional trains are being subsistituded by buses this summer, for example.
10) Don't miss out on the potential savings of overnight intercity trains. Although this only really applies when travelling really long distances in Italy, it can be an adventurous way to pay for a trip and a place to sleep somewhere -- potentially saving some money.
11) Most importantly, don't be unaware of strikes. You should be able to find information about strikes online, but it is hard to know as a non-local. Strikes happen very frequently on the trains, and often result in cancellations and significant delays. Even if you are able to get somewhere on a strike day, don't expect to come back soon; you may be stuck waiting at the station for hours. Unfortunately, Trenitalia's booking page on their website or app does not reflect cancellations due i strikes.
I hope this information helps! Enjoy exploring Italy by train!
omg I cannot emphasize no. 2 enough. My first train experience was with a "flying" mentality. Hanging out at a train station for hours is not heaven, as he said no place to sit and you just sort or wonder around and it's exhausting. Train experience is awesome though.
@@sibelalbro - agreed! Total lack of seating within the station was the norm. We were fortunate to have large and strong suitcases it sit on, and as if mindful of Wolter's advice, to travel Eurail 1st class if only for its adequate luggage capacity. So things don't seem to have improved in 15 years!
Non so dove vivi, ma qui a Bologna i giornali sono pieni di articoli sui disservizi del people mover
Thank you for your information !
La stazione di Bologna è un trauma 😂
Great video. Just spent a month in Italy and did many train trips. Just want to add, in Roma Termini, there were many people waiting for the Departure Board to update. When it did, there was a crowd of people who gathered around the board. I was behind my husband as he was looking up and a well-dressed woman tried to pick pocket him by grabbing for his back pockets. He yelled and she ran. Just a heads up of another area of the train station to be on your guard.
My son and I got stuck in Florence as we missed the last train. It turned out to be a brilliant and long night; sometimes the inconsistency works out. 🇮🇹 ❤️
At least you got stuck in Florence. Could’ve been a lot worse.
@@Youssef-ml8gugo back to iran please
Yes. One foot closes and another opens
You missed a train and you speak of inconsistency of others? LOL
@@katjaxxx7353 una porta
Don’t forget to keep a close eye on your bags at all times. We’ve had bags taken because we relaxed and enjoyed the ride, forgetting our luggage. Relax, enjoy the ride, but also watch your bags.
In 2019, we were taking the train from Venice to Rome and arrived late and missed our train. I went to the service desk and explained our predicament, and they could not have been nicer. They rebooked our party on the next train to Rome at no charge. They deserve a lot of kudos - and they spoke English (thank goodness). Now it was early May and not peak season, so I think we got lucky that there was room.
It is just common. You miss one train you can take the next one at no extra cost.
@@DLGemma not true only if you paid for the ticket that let you change train if you lose it. And those cost way more.
@@germanopolito5294 I am 100% correct. You don't know what you are talking about.
@@DLGemma chill i’m italian and i know what i’m talking about, have a wonderful night
Why shouldn't they speak English in a train station?? 🤦♀🤦♀
Re bathrooms in Europe, I say go whenever you have the opportunity! Good advice about accepting things as they are but being smart to avoid missed connections etc Thanks, good video.
Very interesting and helpful. But you missed one important point. In Italy there are still overnight trains which go the length of the country!
True, but as my back does not like them, i didnt talk aboit them 😂
@@woltersworld I personally do not like overnight trains either. But the fact remains that in Europe overnight trains are enjoying a huge revival and are getting a lot of political support. In fairly large European countries such as Italy and France overnight trains are seen as a way of reducing (or eliminating) domestic flights.
In 2019 we flew into Rome. From Rome we took a train to Naples and took a cab to our hotel La Medusa on the outskirts of Naples in Castellammare di Stabia. I had my driver Gianluca take us where we wanted around the Amalfi, dropped us off and didn't have to worry about parking and we'd tell him how long we wanted to stay in each area and then he'd pick us up
From there we took a train from Salerno to a Venice, then from Venice to Bologna then back home.
Trains were super easy and the sight seeing was fabulous.
Lots of really good advice here. Definitely, definitely try to get your tickets online if you can. The kiosks in most train stations work fine, but there's often lines to use them, and when they don't, having to get tickets at the desk is a nightmare.
Also definitely try to avoid using public restrooms in stations. It's absolutely disgraceful, but most of the times those toilets are borderline unusable becaose of the condition they are left in. They really are there just for emergencies. And in some place, like Milano Centrale, you have to pay to use them.
One thing about train conductors and ticket controllers: do not argue with them. They are used to dealing with people using the train without tickets and then trying to make up excuses to avoid paying the ticket and the associated fine, so they are never in the mood for arguing. If you have doubts about your tickets, look for them at the head of the train and be polite, and 99% of the times they'll solve your problem if there is one, often without even asking for you to pay any extras or integrations. Even if you have to board in an absolute rush or an emergency and don't have a ticket, go to them and tell them. Worse thing that can happen is that they'll apply a surcharge (never happened to me, though) , but it's still so much better than being caught without a ticket.
Most importantly, though: whatever you do, do not argue with them unless you want to explain the situation to the police, because they will call the police on you if you piss them off. I've seen it happen countless times.
Good points!
Good to know on the tickets. I’ve always been afraid of that. I’ve hopped on when I was living in Umbria and forgot to validate my ticket once, but did go speak to the conductor about it and everything worked out fine. I’ve also seen others in various situations and it can go well if you’re proactive, and poorly for the ones that try to fare il furbo…
I was in a big rush one day and hopped on a Frecciarossa from Rimini to Bologna (about 1hr). I asked the Traintalia employee on the platform if I can pay for the ticket inside the train and he said yes. Then, after the train left the station, he told me where to go in order to pay for the ticket. So I went there and I had to pay 150 euros for 2 tickets that otherwise would cost 50 euros. It was 25 euro (the fare) plus 50 euros the surcharge for each ticket (200% surcharge).
So please don't advise people to pay for the tickets inside the train. I was polite, I went to pay for the ticket just as we boarded the train and I showed no itention to ride without a ticket.
This is one thing I would add to this video: don't pay for the tickets inside the train, at least not in Trenitalia. If you're losing the train and don't have time to buy a ticket at the kiosk, let it go and take the next one.
@@alexandrumih It's unfortunate, but policy is that, no matter the cause, you mustn't board without a ticket, so it's only fair that you were asked to pay a surcharge. Conductors often decide not to apply it, but it's not guaranteed. And it's oodles better than being caught without a ticket, which is very likely on an expensive train like the Frecciarossa.
As I said, boarding without a ticket is only for emergencies, you shouldn't do it otherwise.
@@alexandrumihbut you went in a frecciarossa a train that require reservation, if the train was fully booked, you would have been “kicked’ off the train, that’s why you paid so much. Regional train don’t have reservation and if the kiosk didn’t work you won’t be charged an extra fee.
here's a tip which can come useful if you're in a hurry or you're at a tiny station with no place to validate them: if you bought a ticket but you go on the train without validating it for whatever reason you should find the train master, explain them the situation and they'll validate it for you. Also, unofficial but ends up being your only option sometimes: if you have a pen, or ask another passenger for one, you can write on the ticket the time when you got onto the train and it'll sorta count as validated.
This really needs to be split in 2 videos:
1) Long haul trains (IC, EC, FR, Italo), icluding service levels, reservation/cancellation polices;
2) Regional trains wich have different tiketing police, no seat reseevation etc.
Great tips! Might I add that if you are in a first class carriage where they often have some extra luggage racks, you MUST keep and eye on your luggage especially if it's not too close to your seat. Thieves will literally get on (especially at stops) grab luggage and walk away with it! Be watchful!
just a word about trains getting too hot: I live in Italy and often travel by train, almost always actually, and on the regional train in summer it can get way too cold (yes, cold) in one car and way too hot in another. In my region, Tuscany, the trains between the coast and the inland almost always are too cold. Once I was at the beach and I had to come back home in Florence by train (a couple hours) and decided to get on the train while still wet from the beach, I mean my hair (long) and my costume, and I was wearing flip flops. it was terrible, I had to travel between cars all the time to look for some place where it wasn't too cold. but yeah, trains can get too hot too. anyway, great advices and great video, as an Italian I can say you know our train lines very well, good work! Enjoy your time in Italy!!
Just completed two weeks around Italy by train. One thing I will point out is sometimes you book through the train website but part of the journey was by bus. This was the connection from Salerno to Matera. Didn’t notice until the day before we travelled but a pleasant journey anyway. Just use the toilet before as it’s a 3 hour journey with only one stop in Potenza.
Yes, you had lots of great advise to train travels in Italy, but where we had problems was navigating the platforms. Many platforms can only be reached by going down steps and then up steps to reach your platform. Easy...not! Most of these stations do not have elevators or escalators and being a senior traveler it's hard to carry your bags and accomplish this without killing yourself. This is traveling with only a personal bag and overhead bag. We buy our tickets on-line and reserve our seats! I just wish the stations had diagrams of the layout of the station or information regarding steps down and up, just something that would help us travel more safely. We do use public transportation, both bus and train in our travels and we love that about Europe. In Texas, you don't us either!! Thanks again for all your travel UA-cams!
The lift is obligatory wherever there is a subway, even in smaller stations, at least here in Tuscany. Sometimes they are faulty or hidden at the bottom of the platform, especially in less busy stations. May I ask where you have experienced these problems?
We traveled all around Italy in 2007 before cell phones, wifi, internet in the go, GPS, it was a great adventure. No lines of people anywhere. Traveling before Instagram was way more enjoyable.
No cell phones or wifi in 2007..?
What in heck are you talking about??
@rheinhartsilvento2576 I bet she means smart phones. But even then...
I bet you she didn't think it was a great adventure when it was going on.
The Selfies are ridiculous these days.
Wow, I had a personal cell phone in the early 1990's, we had company cell phones in the mid 1980's. In 2007, I am pretty sure, everyone had cell phones.
I was 14-15 in 2007 and even I had a cellphone 🤨. Also when we traveled all we did was take photos people still had cameras. 🙄
If I can add one more and it's something that caught me off guard (got on the wrong train) Just because you see a train that is going to Rome on the tracks that you are supposed to be at, CHECK that train number. In my case, there were 3 consecutive Freccia trains going to Rome. Ours was the third" and they were literally only 10 minutes apart! Luckily I caught it quickly when I saw someone in my seat, the conductor, said.. "wrong train, WRONG TRAIN!" Of course, they were on a schedule and I am sure I am no the first to do that.... :) it all worked out. So my Don't is... don't just think that because it is going to Rome, and it's close to the time of your departure that it is your train... always check that number. I love all of these tips.. especially book early, book first class. You have so much more space.. the coach classes seem to be a cluster sometimes, lots of people standing in the aisles, oh and more room for luggage, right behind your seat so you don't have to lift if if you have mobility issues.
Definitely buy tickets online early. Just an example which happened in my case, all the fast direct trains from Milan to Venice on 24 Sept 2023 afternoon (after 2 pm) to night were sold out when I checked end of June, forcing me to stay one more night in Milan and changing my train to the following morning instead.
Lots of good advice. I am a resident of Switzerland and often cross the border into Italy. Here are a few of my comments on your video.
1) A big reason to plan on the trains (and buses) rather than driving is parking. In some destinations you can waste a lot of time trying to find parking, especially during busy times (summer high season, major holidays, etc.).
2) Even for longer distances a high speed train is often faster, city center to city center, than flying. Major train stations are often in/near city center while airports are often a distance outside the center. Add the time you need for checking in, security, etc, and the 5 hours from Milan to Naples on train is not that different that the time needed to get from center of Milan to center of Naples when flying.
3) Pay attention not only to times on the boards in the stations but also look out for platfrom (binario) changes. Some are easy; in Bologna the high speed trains use only 4 , 2 each direction. A platform change is just a matter of crossing 2-3 meters. But we have been caught with late platform changes at Venezia Mestre, Milano Centrale, and some others. Another reason to travel with less 'stuff' (one of our late changes was when traveling with bicycles and panniers .... a lot to haul up and down stairs when there is only a few minutes notice of the platform change).
4) Besides the Trenitalia and Italo apps, and the bookmarked websites, I also use Trainline, especially if there is a border crossing, e.g., into France or Austria.
5) Buses are good for moving around in some areas after arrival by train. Most regions have an app for the bus or the bus/train, or bus/train/cable car system in the area. We spend a lot of time in Südtiroll, so I have the Suedtirolmobil app on my phone and use it to plan trips and to buy and validate tickets.
6) I would suggest looking for higher classes of tickets rather than 'first class' tickets, particularly on the fast trains. Italo and the Freccia train class systems are not aligned with the normal first/second class structure. Freccia classes are something like Standard/Premium/Business and Italo they are usually Smart/Prima/Club Executive/Salotto. And there are normally a pricing structure in each class. On a recent trip from Verona to Milan I traveled Frecciarossa Super Economy Business Class, which was quite inexpensive since I bought the ticket a month in advance.
7) Understand your ticket/reservation. We have frequently seen folks who do not speak/understand Italian get beligerent when told they have the wrong seat. It is almost always a case of being in the correct seat number in the wrong car, but some get a bit testy when the actual seat holders come along and want their seat. Ugliest scene was when a party of US travelers on an Italo train found out they were in the right seat numbers but wrong car, and then realized the cushy Club Executive seats they were being asked to leave were much better than the 'Smart' class seats they had purchased.
8) And don't ignore that the train systems with neighboring countries are linked, so easy to travel between Italy and Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, etc.
Thanks for these tips
2) yes! So much yes, I'd often get this (when using rail/sail in IE - UK) 'but it takes so long! Flight is half an hour!' no, it isn't. Dublin airport (it's now better) was always full, so at the very least, 2 h before flight, better 2.5 or 3. It's not exactly city centre either. Then the arrival, wait for luggage, find bus/train , travel maybe 2 h to the city. The difference starts to shrink very quickly.
Sometimes one carrier is cheaper than the local carrier too. Eg Lauterbrunnen switzerland is SBB land but a Dbahn train cheaper to munich etc. Italian trains can be good value v sbb or obb for same locations
@@paulgerrard9227 I agree that it is good to price shop when looking at trips. I, however. currently avoid traveling on DB and would advise others to avoid it if possible. SBB and DB started a 5X per day service between Zürich and Munich two years ago; it lasted a year and was canceled by SBB as DB was almost always late, often by hours (on a train trip marketed as being 4 hours total). And a friend lives in Zürich but has an office in Freiburg that she visits regularly. The trip home is always a disaster, as the DB portion to Basel Bad station is always so late that the SBB crew has given up and left so the train has to sit and wait for SBB to get a new crew to Basel Bad to take over the train into Switzerland. For now, FlixBus is faster and more reliable between Switzerland and Munich and Freiburg than DB. Also, one slight correction: Lauterbrunnen is not serviced by SBB, but rather by Bernese Oberland Bahn (BOB). SBB oversees schedule coodination, etc, but the trains are owned by Bernese Oberland Bahn and the staff are employed by Bernese Oberland Bahn.
Definitely agree!! I just found TrainPal useful. They have so many discounts and train card sales. Really useful!!
i’m Italian and i agree w everything u said! hope u guys enjoy it here 💕
We always love our time in Italy
I just purchased tickets on ItaliaRail for late next month, Rome Termini to Ravenna for a cruise. For 2 people and a 2 1/2 hour trip was only $100, and that was for business select seating!! The first leg, Rome to Bologna is on a regionale and the second leg to Ravenna is on a frecciarossa. Was easy and pain free to book and we have a few hour cushion before our appointment to board ship.
I bought my tickets between Rome and Florence and Florence and Naples for trip online a couple weeks in advance and got a huge discount on the tickets.
Good info! We traveled from Rome to Florence to Pisa, and then back to Rome. We booked online and had very enjoyable travel. The views between Florence and Pisa were amazing!! Be very careful at Roma Termini when traveling early morning (before 6a.m.) to the Rome airport. Sketchy characters will pop out of the dark while you are struggling with your luggage to get inside the terminal. We didn’t see any police until we were actually inside near the platforms.
Add - don't forget to keep listening for train announcements even on the platform as it's possible that they change platforms 2 to 3 mins before your train is scheduled to arrive.
Your videos are great! I was stationed in Germany for six years so I don’t need all of the information you provided but some is very helpful. I’ll be in Europe for two months. September and October 2023. I booked a nightjet from Salzburg to Rome and Florance to Vienna. Thanks for the great advice.
Thank you for your service
Super helpful thank you! I'm travelling around Italy by train in a few months, will heed your advice.
It's been watching this channel on and off for years and it's so satisfying to see higher quality editing. This channel's ability to be consistent and ever-evolving shouldn't be understated.
This has to be one of the best travel advice videos I've come across, grazie!
Great to see you in Bari, I was there 5 weeks ago and really enjoyed that city! I think it was more impressive then Venice ( where we encountered lots of Graffiti, smelly streets, it's expensive, lots of damaged buildings by the high water..)
I just came across your channel, this is a great video….very helpful! I just purchased my Trenitalia ticket yesterday online for my group traveling in Sept…and based on this video I’m sure glad I did! Btw - your Italian accent/pronunciation is great:)
Great video
Just two comments.
First, avoid Italy in the summer - too hot and too crowded.
Second, know the word sciopero, meaning strike. Be prepared for strikes on the trains (and everywhere else). Note that there can be strikes on the regional trains but not the long distance ones, and vice versa, so if your preferred train is not running there may still be an alternative.
Wow, what a great video, thank you I live in Ecuador (a gringo) and we don't have trains, but we have a huge bus system that I use and love. Same key items, be cool, ask if you don't understand, and figure it out. Our bus system covers the whole country, you just have to be patient and understanding. No "Karens" on the bus, we all try to get along.
I love the train table in the station both in Italian and German! Hello, friends from Südtirol!
These are a few of my experiences while traveling in Italy with my family. Have a lot of patience. If you are traveling with anyone with a picky appetite find foods they will eat and stock up. The last thing for our experiences, we are a blended family and we experienced being overlooked a lot of times, shopping, dinner, or just traveling. We got a lot of local people starring. Since my husband is Italian, he prepared us for it.
Thanks!
Just booked round-trip FrecciaRossa tix for the Rome/Venice route. These tips were really helpful. Thank you.
Thats a nice train. Have a great trip!
Great video, Mark! First class on an Italian train is 👌. Last night, I was just looking into a train journey around the coast of Calabria for when I get my Italian citizenship. I was also on that EC from Verona to Innsbruck and that was the most amazing train ride I’ve ever been on! Can’t wait to go back to Italy 🇮🇹
Did you take a Calabria train journey and if so, how did it go. I want to go from Sorrento to Topea and from Tropea to Reggio Calabria.
@ no not yet, I didn’t have time on my last trip but I went on the Frecciarossa from Rome to Naples and that was amazing! Also took the circumvesuviana. I’ll probably be back to Italy at some point next year and might try that Calabria train journey, but I think it would have to be when the weather is nice given the state of trains in the region
@@cdt996 Weather is nice as in not too hot? We are considering going in mid September.
@ yeah, some Italian train do not have air conditioning, so definitely want to avoid those really hot days in summer. I went in November and it was fairly comfortable if a bit on the cool side
Trains in Italy are very convenient. On a trip in 2016, I took it for many journeys. For some of them, it's really cheap. Salerno to Pompei was 6€ return for example.
Great presentation and all spot on. A point on Taking internal flights, take into account how long you have to be at the airport before your flights due time as well as time getting to and from the airports. You can easily add another 3-4 hours. So whilst the actual travel time is short, it might take just as long as a train trip. I love The trains, i find them relaxing and the final destination is generally central in the town to are travel to. Defiantly buy your train tickets in advance. Online bookings open about 4 months before departure. Different days and departure times have different pricing so be a bit flexible if you wan to save money. And strangely enough business class can be cheaper for a certain time slot. I discovered that earlier this year when I booked my fare. Bonus.. Happy travels everyone .
Fot really long distances I would recommend the Intercity di Notte, the nighttrain. There are ample possibilities. Traveling to Sicely your train will even make a trip by ferry! Not fast, but an adventure in its own. They have not the comfort of, say, Nightjet and there is no catering on board. So take a sleeper rather then a couchette and bring enough food and water.
I just subscribed after watching a couple of videos. I haven’t been to Italy since the 1990’s but just retired and I’m planning a trip soon. Pickpockets were a thing back then too. They were everywhere, even on scooters.
On some regional trains, you must hit the knob next to the door so that the door will open. I missed my stop because the doors do not open automatically. Had to walk back two miles to the town I missed. I was coming from sicily and going to scilla. The only one getting off. A great town, by the way. Fortunately, I travel light.
Great combination.. I'm on a Eurail pass (love it, so great for being flexible!) and going to Bari next week :) And you're SO right about the limited luggage space on Italian trains.. astonishing they don't have luggage areas considering how many people seem to travel with bags the size of wardrobes, then put them long ways on the overhead racks!
Last time I travelled in Italy I had a first class rail pass. This time, 2nd class, and the difference is real!
And although Italian train stations lack seating/waiing areas, I always arrive at least 30 mins before the train, as some stations are large and busy, and finding your platform can take a while.
Thanks for the awesome information, genuinely well done Wolt! 👍🏻
Best wishes from Australia
🇦🇺🦘👍🏻
The trains look modern and clean that’s what matters to me, being on vacation and if some trains are not on time not a problem for me I just watch more of the world go by.
:)
Wow… you are informative… I never travel in summer months … and my next plan is taking train thru Italy… so glad to find you!
I can't agree more! It is helpful for tourists ~ By the way, I found a code to get discounts on train tickets on TRIP ~🎉
My wife and I traveled Italy for our honeymoon last year. It was both our first time in Europe and traveling mainly by trains. Not being fully used to trains it was a little daunting… one thing I found is that the PAPER schedules that he shows in these videos were WAY easier to read/find what your looking for. It has the entire days worth of trains on there so it’s a good way to see where you need to be at the start before your train is listed on the electronic terminal.
You could have / should have done this video in the shade! NExt time. Thanks for this. Very helpful
Totally agree with pre booking first or business class tickets, regardless of where you are. Such a nice treat 😊
I know, right? I will just pre-book from now on to get those good price 1st class seats
I once treated myself to an Executive class ticket on a Frecciarossa 1000, totally worth it!
How far in advance do you need to pre-book to get good prices on 1st class seats?
@@Emmeefive The dates don’t really open up that early, meaning you can’t pre book months or even weeks in advance. Unfortunately you have to check often
Will be in Italy for several weeks in October, this is a very helpful refresher.
For the regional trains you can also pick up tickets from some local shops.
Excellent information. Good for new travelers and for those who need reminders of train travel in Italy.
Great video, a ton of usable info that would have taken me days to research and figure out myself. Thanks!
Oh, don't I know about Italian trains! Rick Steves says, "On the platforms, an agent will be there to help you." Yeah, right. You got this one wrong, Rick (but I still love ya')! Good advice here, Mark.
Brilliant. I love all the great tips... thank you!
They are not kiosks but ticket machines. Kiosks are small open-fronted huts or cubicles from which newspapers, refreshments, tickets, etc. are sold.
Actually, Termini does not stand for "terminal". Roma Termini it is named after Terme di Diocleziano, ancient roman hot springs in the surroundings.
Super helpful!! Thanks a ton, Cheers!!
We spent three months traveling by train throughout Italy. They were fabulous!
Another thing I’d mention regarding the luggage space on trains is that the compartments really aren’t very deep and if it isn’t full and bags have room to move they could easily fall off. This happened to us when a standard size carry on bag we had put up slided off and hit my friend on the head. Fortunately she was fine but this kind of thing can be very dangerous and you should pay attention to it.
Excellent information, great delivery, and excellent extra tips!
Excellent information. We Americans are not accustomed to using local trains. They can be the best but you need to know the ins and outs and this is what you helped with, thanks.
can't agree more! It is helpful for tourists ❤~ By the way, I found that I can use code to get discounts on train tickets on TRIP ~🎉
I took the train from Rome to Florence, it was fast , clean & on time.
That would be a Freccia 😀
me too. Fast!
We just got back from a 3 week trip in Italy, and we did get stranded in Mantova during a train strike. It bothered me that no one told us before we got on, that’s so rude especially when it’s obvious we are not from there. After an hour or so of waiting for a taxi we were able to get a ride to our next stop, Sirmione. Scary, and a big hassle when you only know a minimal amount of the language to converse quickly with locals. Definitely check for strikes, and know that if you are traveling with a group of 4, it might just be better to travel by taxi, which is what we ended up doing for the remainder of our trip.
Sometimes with late regional trains, you may get on the wrong train. But they tend to head the same route so you're fine.
If you have to put your luggage on the racks, keep an eye on it at each stop, because sometimes people will snatch and go.
Regional trains are cheap af for short trips, but for long trips, we always find it easier and less of a headache to spend that extra money for business or first class on the freccia!
Hey Mark, I just graduated high school yesterday! I hope I can go to Europe while in college.
Congrats Brian!!!!
Very good you explained everything that people need to know. I hope you having a great afternoon
Lots of good information you have given. Thanks Wolters :)
Pay attention to when your buying trains online though! We got a bullet train from Rome to Pompeii… what we didn’t realize is that we had to take a Trainatalia BUS from Naples to Pompeii!! Thankfully we managed to follow the crowd but looking back at it we are surprised we made that one!
Bullet train? The train to Pompeii Scavi, the ruins, (probably where you wanted to go) is on a slow commuter line, the Circumvesuviana. There is another train to Pompei, the modern city, some distance away from the excavations.
@@bberris the high speed train to Naples. Then the tickets we bought included a bus to Pompeii
@@TheSirjull891 Oh, that makes sense now. Because the Circumvesuviana is not run by Trenitalia, they would not be able to sell you a ticket for it. If you do it again, there are also tourist trains that run on the Circumvesuviana that are more expensive, air conditioned, faster, and with reserved seats. And then just buy a ticket Rome to Naples. But I would visit Naples, too. One of my favorite places.
I'm watching this in Mestre :) after visiting Padua, and taking the slowest possible train both ways (return, the one I wanted was late, going, all me) and my tip is: stay in Mestre when visiting Venice. Cheaper, and easy to navigate, frequent city buses (or train if you stay near station) to Venice and you don't have to lug luggage over all those bridges, or block the vaporetto with them. Everyone wins! Also, quick day trip to beautiful Padua. Even on the stupid slow train.
Trains in Italy are pretty easy. Trains in Spain are super easy. Trains in Japan are superb. Use trains.
This video has been soooooooo helpful! Thank you I never knew train rides were so simple!
Hey Wolter! Good time to visit Norway since our currency isnt doing well. Its a haven for internation tourists these times
As always, great job. I love traveling in Italy and yes, trains are the way to go. A couple of things I may add - I was in Milan, Rome, and Palermo last Fall and found that the "luggage storage" facilities still were not open. I hope that has changed. Second, if you do have time to kill, traveling via train(s) from the toe to the Alps is an AMAZING trip. Again, it's a LOOOOng train ride but really a beautiful one. Finally, if you have the chance, take the train from Messina to Calabria via the train ferry. It's such a unique and cool exprience.
We did this and I agree! But I did have a hard time figuring out whether I was supposed to buy a ferry ticket and meet the second train OR if I had a ticket for a train car that went on the ferry. Would love some advice about that. I bought my tickets and had them on the Omio app. I wound up walking to the ferry and buying a 2.50 Euro ticket and getting on two separate trains, but I am still unsure if that if was right (it did get me to Tropea, so it was fine). Thanks!
Fantastic videos, thank you for all the great information! I love train travel in Europe.
Come on everyone, pleaee tell 26k of your closest friends to subscribe so we can finally get Mark and his family to that well deserved 1M subs! This Italy train tips video is just another example of the great information in a fun style he puts out 2x a week, every week!
One of the donts of any warm country you forgot to do yourself is to NEVER wear black clothes during the day. ☀️☀️☀️
I made a rookie mistake back in 2016 in my first time in Italy. It didn't occur to me that I had to validate my ticket (which is something that seems obvious, but as I was born in a country where there is no train service at all, well, I didn't know), so I got fined with 75 euros.
At least, it will naver happen again, so it was that one and only time.
Okay
0:12 that’s my city’s destination from Milano Centrale!!
Adoro i tuoi video!! Conosci davvero la tua strada in Italia!
Took a cruise from Citivecchia? Landed in Rome where everyone was on strike, my dad got locked accidentally in the men’s room, couldn’t find a wheelchair for him, but other than that it was a wonderful trip. supposed to take a tour in Rome, everything was delayed so we ended up going straight to the ship. someday I’ll see Italy!
Your videos are always so helpful. Me and my gf are going on vacation to Italy next week.
Thank you so much! This is exactly the information that i am looking for
Yes! Validation! When we were going from Rome to Venice, we had bought ours online so there was no problem but there was a party of about 30 who were on the train who had bought theirs at a kiosk. The ticket man looked at the first one and said "You didn't violate this. You can't just buy, you have to violate it." (The leader of this group said "You're kidding", he said "You think I'm here to make joke?") Every one of those 30 people had to pay a 30Euro fine. So remember - violate your tickets! (We still use the term when we're talking about parking passes and such "did you remember to violate your pass?")
Yes, it happens a lot.
(Validate)
Validate, you mean!
Validate the ticket
@shelaghjackson9577 LOL yes, I didn't think I had to explain the joke.
Is it the word validate?
Excellent video. When I was there last year we took a train from Venice to Florence. And then another from Florence to Rome. I can't recall which one was Freccia (it means arrow for those who don't speak Italian) and which was Italo. We paid for 1st/Executive class for each trip and let me say: 100% WORTH IT! We were there in the Summer and it was blazing hot. But the First class ticket gives you lounge access that had a/c and free food and drink! The food was snack type (chips, cookies, crackers), and the drinks were soft drinks. Also, the first class cars are cooler, less people, bigger seats, more space for bags...and you get food and drink (with wine as a choice). One of those trains gave us like full meal on real plates with real cutlery and glasses. The other gave us more of a boxed sandwich but we could get wine with it.
Back in the day I took a Eurostar from Rome to Bari, and the trip was about 5 hours.
Later, I took the State rail FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) train from Bari to Sicily, and _that_ was a 24 hour trip.
6:53 I do believe you caught a crime in real time on camera! That bike looks like it got yoinked right there! And while in Italy I never saw one of those weird squat toilets. Maybe We were lucky. And as a first time, at the start of our trip in Barcelona we saw a bidet in the fancy hotel room. Never seen one IRL and seriously, have no idea what to do with it. It was quite a novelty to see that space-taking thing.
I will have to look at that time stamp
Bidets are used to clean both your feet as well as the front and back areas of your body. Here in Italy there's a liquid soap specific for that purpose. In the morning, after doing n. 2, people use toilet paper first then get on the bidet, clean themselves and in the end jump into the shower. The same is done in the evening before going to bed
Back in the 1980's, I was waiting for my train. All of a sudden, everyone left. I was left alone at the track. After a bit of puzzling things out, I figured out that the track was changed. I don't remember any announcements, and that was before the fancy electronics that told you where the train was supposed to be. Luckily, I managed to find out where my train was arriving.
Depends on where you're going. Next year, we'll be leaving Naples to go to Termoli to be close to Larino, the village where my paternal grandfather was born. By train, from Napoli Centrale to Termoli station takes 4h06 and we'd have to switch trains at Caserta and Foggia, so 3 trains (Regionale, Frecciargento and Frecciarosso) to get to destination. If we rent a car from Naples Airport to Termoli (picked a hotel across the street from the Termoli train station to calculate the running times), and it would a 2h34 drive.
I already have the Italo app on my phone for our Termini to Napoli ride between our first and second legs of our trip. Wasn't able to download the Trenitalia app, because it's not available here in Canada.
The stampy thing for the tickets, btw, is a validation machine. 😉
Overall, great video!
This video was AWESOME! Thanks for this thorough examination!
In regional trains the average temperature is 25°C: half of carriages at 50°C, half of carriages at 0°C.
Travel by train is fun. Thank you for your good advice.Nice video! Thank you for sharing👍🙏❤
Thank you, lots of good information in this video.
I had someone show me hidden storage between the seat backs on the trains that was a perfect size for medium sized luggage. Look for the ^ space made where two seat backs are against each other.
I know what you are talking 😀 those were super helpful on the regional trains
Hi friends
Great Info. Thanks for sharing your tips! 👍🌻
Very helpful video! Thank you!
Awesome info, thank you!
This is such a useful video! I’m going to Venice for a few days in the winter, and hope to go to Florence or Bologna on one of the days. These tips are great!
If you're staying in Venice, then Padua/Padova is an easier day trip and just as fascinating.
As always, go slow and enjoy the moment. As an American tourist we tend to want to do everything in once trip. In your California video you made this point, spend time in each region and enjoy it.
My first time going to Venice I got off the train at Mestre by accident. I thought, “Jeez! Venice has really gone downhill - they filled in all the canals! 😂”
😂😂😂 mitico, premio turista più simpatico dell'anno.