*Posts on this site may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only work with companies I truly believe in and promote brands I use myself. Please see my disclosure policy for full details. Thank you.
In less than a week I’ll be in Italy, and starting my rail travel adventure!
Now in my last post I stated I was not going to book our trains and instead remain semi flexible as I travel from Naples to Venice. This has changed…
In full disclosure, I was a bit anxious not having my rail travel pre-booked, but this wasn’t the reason I have ended up buying all our train tickets in advance.
Money Matters
I was doing a bit of planning and preparing, just generally searching for where to but train tickets in Italy, and came across the knowledge that the cost of rail travel on Italy’s speedy Trenitalia and italio services goes up the closer to departure date you book.
Thank you Savvy Backpacker for that bit of information!
I was aware there would be a price increase, but not of how much more we’d have to pay. Basically triple the cost of pre-booking now.
We have all our accomodation booked so the days we’ll be travelling were set, which meant it was a no brainer, and I went ahead and booked all our train journeys!
This happily means I have spent just £65 per person getting from Naples to Venice over two weeks. Bargain! And each journey is only between 1 and 2 hours.
Rail Travel Apps
I used a few different sites to look for train options when planning this trip. Mainly searching for journey times and establishing average costs. My favourite is Omio, and ultimately ended up being who I used to buy our tickets through.
There are several options when it comes to planning European rail travel however. I’ve broken down the benefits and inconveniences of some key brokers.
Interrail
This is a great option if you want to have a flexible itinerary. On Interrail you buy a travel pass for a set price and pick how many days of travel you want to have.
For example, my trip includes 4 days of travel in one country, so the pass costs €153 at the time of publishing. If you don’t want to pre-book all your rail travel in advance, this is definitely the way to go. Whilst you still have to book your trains, you can do this at any time and not pay any extra for on the day tickets.
Interrail is also great if you are planning a longer trip across Europe. A Global Pass is valid in 33 countries and you choose how many travel days you need and for how long you plan to travel. It gives you ultimate flexibility and best value.
Italiarail
This is a great website for Italian rail. You can pick your currency and tickets are digital. Only qualm is it didn’t always have the best prices available. Still worth looking at though.
If you are comfortable with the format and language you can always investigate the local booking sites for each rail company. Sometimes you get the best deals by going direct, but I recommend using a compare site just to make sure you are getting the best deal.
Trainline
A long running and trusted booking agent. It’s made for English speakers so is very user friendly.
It tells you if it would be cheaper to travel on a different day, and also gives you options of alternative travel methods. For example, if you are travelling at a leisurely pace but on a budget a coach from Naples to Rome can be under £3!
They do charge a booking fee (usually £1.50 per ticket) but are often still cheaper than the prices quoted on direct sites.
Omio
This is the site I ended up using myself. I like the app interface, and it’s easy to filter and compare options.
Very similar to the Trainline, but their booking fee varies depending on the journey. Two of my journeys only had a £1 fee per ticket, and the other £1.50.
They also show you other transportation options, including flights and ferries when applicable.
Omio are a well established and trusted company, their app is very easy to use and store your tickets digitally. And having compared all the main sites for my rail travel needs came out as the most cost effective. I paid under £65 for my three journeys.
Having pre-booked trains limits my flexibility but for the savings made is well worth doing.
Tips for Train Planning
There are a few things to be aware of when making your travel plans. Being forward thinking and allowing time for unexpected stumbles will make your experience much less anxiety inducing if you like me are so inclined. And even if you’re the calmest of travellers, taking the time to check these questions off will make your trip a breeze.
Where are the stations?
Many large cities have more than one train station. London for example have SIX major stations inside the main city alone. Boston as I discovered almost too late has two major terminals.
Utilise GoogleMaps and make sure you are travelling to the most convenient station.
Check out/in times
Make sure you know what time you can check into your accomodation, and when you have to vacate your current one. If you can’t check in to your next sleep spot till late in the afternoon, perhaps travel later in the day.
Look at the length of the journey, and see what luggage storage options you have at either end of your journey. This can help you decide what time of day you want to travel.
Meal times
I really like taking a pack lunch onto the train. No idea why, but I enjoy eating whilst watching the scenery go by. So check the rules of the train your catching, and if you do take a meal on board or even buy something from the meal car on board, be considerate of fellow passengers and refrain from smelly options!
If you aren’t a fan of food on the go, consider travelling early and finding a lunch spot in your new destination.
Print tickets even if digital
Most tickets are now digital and exist conveniently of your phone.
But I do recommend printing off any pre-booked rail travel tickets before you leave home, just in case technology lets you down.
Phone batteries die, signals can be poor, and weirdly some stations don’t have up to date gates despite allowing e-tickets to be purchased.
Better safe than sorry.
Enjoy the Ride
Planning and pre-booking certainly makes rail travel less expensive, and having a set train to catch means you won’t waste precious time waiting around if you just miss a train.
The spontaneity may be eliminated, but for us anxiety strugglers that isn’t a bad thing.
Just remember that even if you do miss your train and have to buy another ticket on the day as it’s non-transferable, you really aren’t loosing much money. Stumbles happen and we pick ourselves up and carry on, learning from the experience and making a memory out of it.
