Three Italy train tips for Liguria and Tuscany

 

Using trains in Italy can seem a bit daunting at first.  However, once you get used to it then it's really pretty straight forward.  I'd like to share some tips that I've learned and what options you have available.

App, in person ticket sales, or ticket machine at the station

I'll skip ahead to what I liked best which was the TrenItalia app. I purchased ahead, using Wi-Fi.  If you have data for your phone in Italy then it's likely even easier...  The machines at the stations are decent too although I ran into a situation in one of the Cinque Terre towns where the machine didn't take my credit card and I was glad to have cash to buy a ticket from someone nearby.  Which leads to the third method which is buying in person.  I feel like this works fine for short trips like between the towns in the Cinque Terre depending if there's a line or not for tickets.  One thing to keep in mind for longer trips is that it's good to have enough time for changing trains and also it might be hard to communicate your preferences if you don't know Italian.  Also, if you opt for a paper ticket be sure to punch it with one of the machines before you board (the ticket sales folks can show you where the machines are).

(on the way to Florence / Firenze!)

First class

First class can be nice for longer trips since you'll have more leg room and I noticed it was often less crowded as well.

Be prepared to show your ticket and don't just board any train

TrenItalia staff do check tickets frequently so be aware.  Also, I heard of folks getting a fine for boarding the wrong train because they wanted a different time which was more convenient for them instead of their scheduled departure.  I saw a young lady worker kick a guy off a train that was mouthing off to her and did not have a ticket either.

Thanks for dropping by and learning about train tips in Italy.  Feel free to share your tips in the comments or just say hello.  Ciao.

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